How to translate Chinese video to English with live subtitles (Windows)

The quickest way to translate Chinese video to English is to subtitle the audio your PC is playing, rather than the video file. RealSub recognizes spoken Chinese (Mandarin) on your own machine as it plays, and the Full Version translates each line into English, showing the Chinese original and the English translation together in a subtitle bar that floats over any app. Nothing to download, no subtitle file to find.

Below: why so much Chinese video comes without English subtitles, how the approach works, and how to set it up.

Why Chinese videos often have no English subtitles

Most Chinese video is made for a Chinese-speaking audience, so English subtitles are the exception rather than the rule. You run into this all the time with:

• Bilibili uploads. Many have Chinese captions burned in or no captions at all, and almost never an English track.
• Douyin clips. Short videos reposted around the web rarely carry any subtitle file.
• C-dramas off-platform. Episodes watched outside an official international release often come with Chinese subtitles only.
• Live streams. Streamers talk in real time, so there is no subtitle file to translate in the first place.

What these have in common: waiting for someone else to subtitle them is not realistic, and downloading the video to process it afterwards is slow.

Subtitle what your PC is playing, not the file

Instead of working with the video file, a live subtitle app listens to the audio your PC is already playing. If your PC can play it, it can be subtitled: a video in a browser tab, a desktop player, a streaming app, a game. The website or player does not matter.

This kind of real-time audio translation on Windows also means the subtitles keep pace with the video. There is no upload and no waiting for a transcript. RealSub runs speech recognition on your own PC, so the original-language subtitles appear without a network connection, and your audio never leaves the machine.

Set up RealSub to translate Chinese video to English

You only need to set three things: where the sound comes from, which language is spoken, and which language to translate into. The first-time wizard asks for the language you are listening to and the language you want to read, and you can change both later in Settings.

1. Choose the app. Under Settings → Transcription → Audio source, “Entire system (default)” subtitles everything your PC plays. To keep other sounds out, pick just the browser or player showing the video. An app only appears in the list once it has played a sound, so start the video first and press Refresh.

2. Recognize Chinese. Set the recognition language to Chinese (Simplified) or Chinese (Traditional), depending on which script you want the original line in. If a video switches between languages, Auto works too.

3. Translate to English. With the Full Version, set “Translate to” to English. The Chinese original stays on top and the English translation appears under it, line by line.

Then just play the video. The recognition models are bundled with the app: nothing extra to download and no account to create.

Original and English together in a floating bar over any player

The subtitle bar floats on top of every window and lets clicks pass straight through, so it never gets in the way of the player underneath. Hover over it to reveal a frame you can drag and resize; font, size and colour are in Settings. There are two looks:

• Dark background. A dark subtitle bar that stays readable on any picture.
• Transparent (outlined text). No background, just outlined text floating right on the video, much like built-in subtitles.

Reading the Chinese alongside the English is also handy if you are learning the language: you can compare the two lines as you go. RealSub keeps running from the system tray while you use other apps.

Scroll back and export SRT/TXT after watching

Missed a line? Scroll back instead of rewinding. Hover over the subtitle bar and click the small arrow on its top edge to expand it, then scroll up through recent subtitles and copy anything you need. Scrolling back is part of the free base app.

To keep a whole session, use the Full Version’s history: subtitles are saved as you watch, and afterwards you can export them as SRT subtitles or plain TXT, or export the audio as MP3. That makes it easy to keep a bilingual transcript of a lecture or a stream.

Frequently asked

What does the free version do? The base app is free and gives you complete live transcription with no usage limit: Chinese speech becomes Chinese subtitles. Choosing the audio source, scrolling back, and the dark or transparent looks are all included. The English translation line, history, and SRT / TXT / MP3 export come with the Full Version DLC. See the FAQ.

Does recognition work offline? Yes. Speech recognition runs on your own PC, so the original subtitles keep coming without an internet connection, and your audio is never uploaded. The privacy policy has the details.

Can I translate Mandarin video from Bilibili or a live stream? Yes. Play it in your browser or app as usual, set the audio source to the whole system or to that app, recognize Chinese and translate to English. No browser extension or download needed.

Which other languages does it handle? RealSub recognizes Japanese, English and Chinese, and translates between Japanese, English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. For Japanese video, see How to watch Japanese video that has no subtitles.

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