Japanese Subtitle Generator
Add Japanese subtitles to any video automatically. Upload a video with Japanese speech and get accurate, timed subtitles back in natural mixed script — kanji, hiragana and katakana where each belongs — with the export encoded so it displays everywhere.
Japanese has no spaces, no single correct script for many words, and a politeness register that changes the verb at the end of every sentence. The transcription handles the script choice, the register and the segmentation rather than producing a wall of kana.
- Kanji, kana and katakana
- Register preserved
- Line breaks at phrase boundaries
- Free
Caption Maker is live. Create a free account and generate Japanese subtitles in minutes.
Free to start. No credit card, no watermark on your exports.
What makes Japanese subtitles different
Every language breaks in its own way. These are the parts that matter for Japanese.
The right script for each word
Kanji for content words, hiragana for grammar, katakana for foreign borrowings. The transcript follows the conventions a Japanese writer uses rather than defaulting everything to kana.
Breaks that respect the phrase
Japanese has no spaces, so a subtitle line can only be cut at a phrase boundary. Lines break at bunsetsu, never inside a word or between a noun and its particle.
Register kept as spoken
Desu/masu form, plain form and the casual endings of a vlog are transcribed as said, so the subtitle carries the same tone as the speaker.
Sized for CJK on a phone
Japanese characters are wider and denser than Latin. Lines are limited by character count so two lines stay readable in a vertical frame, with fonts that carry the full kanji set.
How to add Japanese subtitles to a video
Upload, review, export. No timeline scrubbing and no timecodes typed by hand.
- 1
Upload your video
Create your free account, then drop in an MP4, MOV, MKV or audio file containing Japanese speech. There is nothing to install.
- 2
Generate Japanese subtitles
The model transcribes the Japanese audio into standard mixed script, choosing kanji where a native writer would use it and katakana for loanwords, and breaks lines at bunsetsu boundaries so nothing splits mid-word.
- 3
Edit and export
Correct any names or terms in the editor, then download the video with Japanese subtitles burned in, or export a clean .srt or .vtt file.
Japanese subtitles that read like Japanese
A transcript of Japanese speech is never just a transcript, because the same word can be written several ways and the choice is a matter of convention and tone. Kanji where the meaning is clear, hiragana for grammatical words and softer tone, katakana for loanwords, emphasis and sound effects. A model that outputs everything in kana is technically correct and reads like a children's book. The one here chooses the script the way a Japanese writer would, and the editor lets you adjust individual words.
Segmentation is the second problem. Japanese is written without spaces, so there is no obvious place to break a subtitle line. Breaking mid-word or between a noun and its particle produces something a reader has to re-parse. Lines are broken at bunsetsu — the natural phrase units — and limited by character count rather than by word count, which is what keeps them readable at speed.
Register and homophones round it out. Japanese has an enormous number of words that sound identical and differ only in kanji; the transcript chooses from context, and the editor is there for the rest. The politeness level the speaker used is preserved, because a formal interview and a casual vlog should not read the same on screen. Everything is exported as UTF-8 so kanji display correctly in every player.
Related tools and languages
Other formats, and the other languages people caption most often.
Frequently Asked Questions
Specific to Japanese, not the generic list.
Does it output kanji, or only hiragana?
Standard mixed script: kanji, hiragana and katakana chosen the way a Japanese writer would. Any individual word can be changed in the editor.
How does it handle homophones with different kanji?
The kanji is chosen from context. For the cases where context is ambiguous, the editor makes the correction a single click.
Where are subtitle lines broken, since Japanese has no spaces?
At phrase boundaries (bunsetsu), never inside a word or between a noun and its particle. Lines are limited by character count to stay readable on a phone.
Will kanji display correctly in the exported SRT?
Yes. Subtitle files are exported as UTF-8, and the burned-in caption styles use fonts with full Japanese coverage so no character falls back to a box.
Can I get English subtitles from a Japanese video?
Translated tracks are on the roadmap. The Japanese transcript comes first so a translation is made from a corrected source rather than a rough one.
Can I edit my captions before exporting?
Yes. Correct the transcript, adjust timings, choose a caption style and then export the finished video or a clean SRT or VTT file.
Do I need an account to use Caption Maker?
Caption Maker is live and free to start. Create an account with your email or your Google account, and you can upload, caption and export straight away.
Start subtitling in Japanese
Caption Maker is live. Create a free account and generate Japanese subtitles right now.
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