English text
The French recording in English, each line with the time it was said, for notes, reports or quotes.
Translate French audio to English text and subtitles
Upload a French recording and translate French audio to English without retyping a word. Kotosay transcribes the French and gives it back in English, every line timed to the original, so you can check any passage against the recording.
French from any regionEnglish lines with French timingSRT and VTT in English with Single file or Unlimited
English captions
SRT and VTT files cut to the French speech, for your own films, vlogs and course videos.
How to translate a French audio recording to English
- 1
Upload the French file
A class, an interview or a vlog, from any device. French is detected for you.
- 2
French in, English out
With Single file or Unlimited, the transcript and the English translation come from one job.
- 3
Review and export
Check false friends and names in the editor, then download TXT, DOCX, PDF, SRT or VTT.
French recordings people translate
Lectures and seminars
A class recorded in Paris or Montreal, as English notes to study from.
Research interviews
Interviews in French for an English thesis or report.
Business calls
A recorded call with a partner in Brussels or Geneva, as English text.
Films you made
A short film or a vlog in French, with English subtitles.
French transcript free, translation with Single file or Unlimited
| No account | Free account | Unlimited | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free | $9.99 a month, or $119 paid once a year |
| Files | Your first file | 3 a day | 3 at once |
| Transcribed per file | First 5 minutes | First 5 minutes | Up to 10 hours |
| Read, edit and copy | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TXT, DOCX, PDF, SRT and VTT | No | No | Yes |
| Translation | No | No | Yes |
No account
- Price
- Free
- Files
- Your first file
- Transcribed per file
- First 5 minutes
- Read, edit and copy
- Yes
- TXT, DOCX, PDF, SRT and VTT
- No
- Translation
- No
Free account
- Price
- Free
- Files
- 3 a day
- Transcribed per file
- First 5 minutes
- Read, edit and copy
- Yes
- TXT, DOCX, PDF, SRT and VTT
- No
- Translation
- No
Unlimited
- Price
- $9.99 a month, or $119 paid once a year
- Files
- 3 at once
- Transcribed per file
- Up to 10 hours
- Read, edit and copy
- Yes
- TXT, DOCX, PDF, SRT and VTT
- Yes
- Translation
- Yes
Unlimited adds the English version and cancels in one click. Single file does it for one uploaded file at $4.99.
What happens to your file
French recordings are transcribed on secure servers. Delete a file, or the whole account, whenever you choose.
GUIDE · 3 min read
Translate French audio to English, then read it like a French speaker
Translate French to English audio, step by step
Your French recording is written down word for word, and that French text is then carried into English in short segments. Since each segment holds on to its original start and end, French to English voice translation stays easy to compare with your own recording.
That timing is also what lets the English serve as a subtitle file.
French from France, Quebec and beyond
French is spoken very differently in Paris, Montreal, Brussels, Geneva, Dakar and Abidjan. A few regional habits are worth checking.
Meals move too. In Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec, déjeuner is often breakfast, dîner is lunch and souper is the evening meal, so an invitation can land at the wrong hour in English.
- In Belgium and Switzerland, seventy and ninety are often septante and nonante, where France says soixante-dix and quatre-vingt-dix.
- Quebec French has its own everyday words, such as magasiner for to shop and char for car.
- Speakers in West Africa often mix in words from Wolof, Bambara or other local languages.
- Spoken French drops sounds, so je suis often sounds like chuis, and il y a like y a.
Tu and vous in an English text
French separates tu and vous, and English has a single you, so a shift in tone leaves no trace in translation. In an interview, a switch from vous to tu often marks a moment of trust, worth a short remark in your English version.
Tu and vous both become you, which also hides whether one person or a group is addressed. Vous covers both, so read the context when a speaker turns to a panel, a class or a whole family.
On usually means we
In everyday French, on replaces nous. On y va means let's go, and on a fini means we have finished. An English line that renders on as one or people sounds stiff, so change it to we wherever the speaker plainly includes themselves.
Homophones and the missing ne
French has many words that sound alike, such as vert, verre, vers and ver, or ces and ses. The transcript picks one from the context, so short lines with little context around them are the place to check.
Spoken French often drops the ne from a negative, so je sais pas means I do not know. The whole negation then rests on pas, and one misheard word flips the meaning. Compare negative sentences in the English with your own recording.
Faux amis in French
Watch for these French words that seem familiar to an English reader.
- Actuellement means currently.
- Une librairie is a shop where you buy books, and the place to borrow them is une bibliothèque.
- Sensible means sensitive. Sensible in English is raisonnable.
- Éventuellement means possibly.
TipBefore the English goes out, look these words up again along with names and figures. Each line's timestamp shows where that passage sits in your French recording.
Phone numbers and long figures
French speakers read phone numbers in pairs, such as zéro six, douze, trente-quatre. Check those pairs digit by digit in the English. In France, seventy to ninety-nine are built from twenties, so quatre-vingt-dix-sept is ninety-seven, and a slip there changes a price or a year.
Acronyms English readers will not know
French speech is full of acronyms, such as SNCF for the national rail company, TVA for value added tax or PME for small and medium firms. Add a short English explanation the first time each one appears, and keep the French letters so readers can look them up.
Names with hyphens and particles
Hyphenated first names such as Jean-Pierre or Marie-Claire belong together, and particles like de or du stay with the surname, as in Charles de Gaulle. Accents count too, so Hélène keeps both of hers in the English text.
Subtitling your French films and vlogs in English
For a vlog or a short film, translate a video from French to English by uploading the file itself. Single file or Unlimited exports SRT and VTT with cues that follow the French dialogue, so you can translate French video to English subtitles for YouTube Studio, Vimeo or an editor.
Official papers and certified translation
A sworn or certified translator should handle official documents, contracts and medical records. Give them the French transcript as their starting text.
Translation questions
How do I translate a French audio recording to English?
Upload the French recording on this page. With Single file or Unlimited, Kotosay transcribes the French and translates it into English in one run, keeping the timestamp of every line. Correct any names in the editor, then save the English as a DOCX, PDF or TXT file, or as SRT and VTT subtitles.
Can I translate a French video into English subtitles?
Yes. Upload the video here, and with Single file or Unlimited the English comes back with the timing of the French speech. Export it as SRT or VTT and add the file in YouTube Studio, Vimeo or your video editor, where it plays as an English subtitle track.
Does it work with Canadian French?
Yes, upload it like any French recording. Quebec words such as magasiner for to shop or char for car are the ones to check in the transcript and the translation. Read the free first 5 minutes of your own file to see how the accent comes through.
Can I keep the French transcript as well?
Yes. Transcribe the file on the audio or video page to get the French text, and upload it here for the English. Each version has its own timestamps, so you can line up any sentence by time. You can copy the French on any plan, and Unlimited downloads both.
How accurate is French to English AI translation?
It handles everyday French well. False friends such as actuellement or sensible, regional numbers like septante, names and idioms need a second look. A clear recording gives a cleaner English translation, and the timestamps lead you to every line worth checking.
Do I need a paid plan to translate French?
Yes, translation into English comes with Single file, $4.99 once for one file, or with Unlimited, at $9.99 a month, or $119 paid once a year. The French transcript works on the free plan, 3 files a day with the first 5 minutes of each, so you can read, edit and copy it in the browser first.
Does it work with Belgian, Swiss or African French?
Yes, all of it is French and uploads the same way. Check regional numbers like septante and nonante, local words and names in the transcript. Speakers who mix in Wolof, Bambara or other languages may need a few lines fixed by hand in the editor.
Can I translate a French lecture?
Yes. Upload the recording of the class and translate the French transcript into English with Single file or Unlimited. Files up to 10 hours fit, so a full seminar goes through as one file. Technical terms and the names of authors are the parts to check before you study from the text.
What if the speakers switch between French and English?
Pick French from the language list if most of the speech is French, then check the English passages in the editor. Mixed speech is common in Montreal and in business meetings, so read those lines once before you translate the rest into English.
When do I need a human translator for French?
For official documents, contracts and medical records, choose a certified human translator. For lectures, interviews, calls and your own videos, AI translation gets the meaning across for much less than a translator charges. You can also give the translator the Kotosay transcript as the French source text, which spares them the typing.