Show YouTube subtitles in Japanese and English at once

Set up

1. Add the Taiyaku extension to Chrome or Safari and log in (install and set up).
2. In the 訳 toolbar panel, set “Translate into” to English.

Turn on bilingual subtitles

1. Open a YouTube video with subtitles. Auto-generated Japanese subtitles work too.
2. Click the 訳 button in the player’s lower right, next to the subtitles button.
3. The Japanese subtitles and their English translation appear as two lines.

Taiyaku picks the subtitles in the video’s original language. Once it’s on, other videos with subtitles get bilingual subtitles automatically; click 訳 again to turn it off.

Make them easy to read

Under Settings › Subtitles in the extension you can change the following. Bilingual subtitles also work in full screen.

• “Put the translation on top” shows English above the Japanese line.
• “Show the original line” off shows only the English subtitles.
• “Position” puts the subtitles at the bottom or the top of the video.
• “Text size” makes them larger or smaller.

For Japanese listening practice

Keep the Japanese line on top and follow it first; glance at the English only when you miss something. For reading practice, see learning Japanese side by side.

If the subtitles don’t appear

• Videos without subtitles (including auto-generated ones) can’t get bilingual subtitles. In Chrome, audio translation listens to the tab instead.
• Subtitles of live streams aren’t translated.
• Subtitles already in English aren’t translated.
• Reload the page and try again.

Cost

Bilingual subtitles work on the free plan. Subtitle translation counts toward your monthly characters (30,000 on the free plan), and only the part around what you play is translated.