Which languages does Whisper handle?

90+ languages — Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, and many more. Accuracy is strongest on the top 20.

What if auto-detect picks the wrong language?

Hit the language retry on the result screen. It’s free — we don’t charge a second credit for a language correction.

Can TranscriptX translate directly?

Not yet — we return the transcript in the spoken language. Paste into Google Translate, DeepL, or ChatGPT for the translation step.

What about videos with mixed languages?

Whisper handles one dominant language well. If a video switches mid-way, expect patchy results. Transcribe each section separately if you can.

How to Transcribe a Video in a Different Language (and Translate It)

Updated 24 Apr 2026 · TranscriptX editorial

Quick answer: Paste the link — Whisper auto-detects the language. If it comes back in the wrong language, use the “retry with different language” option (free) and pick the correct one. Then paste the result into Google Translate or DeepL.

Whisper speaks 90+ languages. The trick is getting it to pick the right one.

The 60-second answer

Paste the video URL on TranscriptX. If the output looks wrong (garbled, wrong script), click the language retry and pick the correct language. Free. Then translate.

Step-by-step

1) Transcribe normally

Paste the URL. Let auto-detect do its thing.

2) Check the output

Does it match what you heard? If the video was Portuguese and the output is Spanish, auto-detect guessed wrong — common on similar-sounding languages.

3) Use the language retry

On the result screen, look for the “retry with different language” option. Pick the correct language. We rerun at no extra cost.

4) Translate if you need it

Paste the transcript into Google Translate, DeepL, or an LLM. DeepL is usually cleaner for European languages.

Common things that break

Auto-detect picks a similar language. Portuguese → Spanish, Norwegian → Danish, Urdu → Hindi. Use the retry.
Code-switching mid-video. Whisper struggles if the speaker swaps languages every minute.
Heavy dialect. Accuracy drops on strong regional dialects. Still usable, spot-check.
Idioms in translation. Any translator fumbles idioms. Cross-check phrases that feel literal.

Related guides

Try it

3 free transcripts a month, retry language free. Paste a link in any language and go.

Try TranscriptX free →