- Wordpause
- Translate subtitles on PC
Coming soon for Windows
Translate subtitles while you watch, on any video on your PC
Wordpause reads the subtitles on your screen and shows what any word means. No subtitle file and no plugin, and it works with burned-in subtitles too.
Paused Pero alguien me quiere matar.
The short answer
How to translate subtitles while a video is playing
Point at the subtitle. Wordpause, a small Windows tray app, pauses the video and reads the line off the screen. Hover a word to see its meaning; move away and the video plays on.
Most subtitle translators work on a file: you upload an .srt, wait, and get a translated copy back. That is the right tool when you want a whole film in your own language.
It is the wrong tool when you are learning the language of the film. Then you want to keep the original subtitles and look up only the words you miss, without leaving the player. Wordpause does that on whatever is already on your screen, so the video does not need a subtitle file at all.
How it works
One movement of the mouse
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Hover the subtitle
The video pauses the moment your cursor touches the line.
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Hover the word
See what it means, with real example sentences. Drag across a few words to translate a phrase.
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Move away
Playback carries on from the same frame. Save the word first if you want to review it later.
What it works with
Any player, any subtitle you can see
Desktop video players
VLC, mpv, PotPlayer, MPC-HC, MPC-BE and Windows Media Player work out of the box. Add another app from the tray menu.
Burned-in subtitles
It reads the picture, not a file, so subtitles that are part of the video work the same as ones you can switch off.
A word, a phrase or the line
Hover one word, drag across a few, or translate the whole line when a single word is not enough.
Saved words
Save a word together with its subtitle line and review it later as a card.
Good to know
What it does not do
Wordpause does not produce a translated subtitle file, and it does not add a second subtitle track under the first. It is made for learners who keep the original subtitles on.
Protected streaming apps, such as the Netflix app for Windows, show a black picture to anything that reads the screen. On those services, watch in Chrome and use the Wordpause Chrome extension instead.
Questions
Before you ask
Do I need a subtitle file?
No. Wordpause reads the subtitle that is showing on your screen, so the video only needs to have subtitles switched on.
Does it work with hardcoded subtitles?
Yes. Burned-in (hardcoded) subtitles are read the same way as any others, as long as they are clear enough to read on screen.
Which video players does it work with?
VLC, mpv, PotPlayer, MPC-HC, MPC-BE and Windows Media Player are recognised automatically. For another app, bring it to the front and choose it from the Wordpause tray menu.
Does anything leave my PC?
Subtitles are read on your own computer. Only the word, phrase or line you look up is sent for translation.
Which languages does it support?
Subtitles can be read in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Ukrainian, Japanese and Korean, and translated between those languages.
Is it available yet?
Not yet. Wordpause is in development. Write to wordpause@releasium.com and we will tell you when it is ready.
How much will it cost?
There is a free plan with 30 lookups a month. Paid plans start at $3.99 a month, or $2.67 a month billed yearly. See plans