How to Add French Subtitles to a Video
Generate timed French SRT subtitles from any video or audio. Transcribe the speech with the right characters and accents, then export a clean SRT.
To add French subtitles to a video, upload it to LiteScribe and it transcribes the French audio into timed text, preserving the characters and accents French needs. Export the result as an SRT subtitle file aligned to the speech, ready for any editor or player. Free to start on web, desktop, mobile, and Chrome.
Subtitling conventions for French
French subtitles run a little longer than English for the same idea, because French tends to use more words and longer constructions. French subtitling practice typically allows lines up to about 40 characters and a reading speed in a similar range to English, but because the text expands, condensing is often necessary: a spoken French sentence frequently has to be tightened to fit two readable lines. LiteScribe lets you trim and reflow lines in the transcript before you export the SRT.
Accurate French captions depend on preserving accented characters: the acute, grave, and circumflex accents (e, e, a) and the cedilla (c) are meaning-bearing, and a caption that drops them reads wrong. LiteScribe keeps them in the transcript and the exported SRT. French also features liaison and elision, where words run together in speech ("les amis", "j'ai"), so a quick check of word boundaries on fast passages is the main edit before publishing.
Where French subtitles get used
French captions serve a wide, multi-region audience: France, Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec, and large parts of West and Central Africa. EU institutional content, media interviews, and corporate communications across the Francophone world all need French captions, and accessibility rules increasingly require them. With LiteScribe you transcribe French audio or video, edit for accents and word boundaries, and export an SRT ready for any editor, with the option to also translate the transcript into another language.
Why use LiteScribe for French subtitles
Accents preserved
The acute, grave, and circumflex accents and the cedilla are kept in the transcript and the exported SRT.
Condensing-friendly
French text expands, so the editor lets you tighten lines to a readable length before export.
Liaison-aware
Check fast passages where words run together, then export clean French captions as an SRT.
Translate too
The same French transcript can be translated to another language, useful for bilingual caption sets.
How to Add French Subtitles to a Video
- 1
Add your French media
Upload your French audio or video to LiteScribe, paste a link, or record live. Common audio and video formats upload directly, and large files use resumable upload.
- 2
Transcribe the French speech
LiteScribe transcribes the French audio into timed text with speaker labels, preserving the characters and accents that French needs.
- 3
Review and refine
Read the timestamped transcript, fix any misheard names or terms, set sensible caption line breaks, and rename speakers so the French captions read cleanly.
- 4
Export the SRT
Download an SRT subtitle file aligned to the French speech, ready for any editor or player. Convert it to WebVTT with the free subtitle converter if a web player needs it.
SRT out of the box, VTT in a click
LiteScribe generates subtitles by transcribing your media and exporting an SRT file, the most widely supported caption format, aligned to the speech. When you need WebVTT for a web player, run the exported SRT through the free in-browser subtitle converter to produce a valid VTT with no upload. If the captions sit slightly ahead of or behind the picture, the free timing shifter nudges every cue by a fixed offset. Transcribe once, then convert and retime for each destination.
Frequently Asked Questions
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