Why subtitle lines are cut at 42 characters
Line length is not a style choice. It is a reading-speed calculation: two lines of 42 characters is about as much as a viewer can read before the next cue arrives.
You get an SRT you can edit, or a copy of the video with the line already burned in.
before우리 내일 오전 열 시에 공항으로 출발해요.
after · english subtitleWe leave for the airport at ten tomorrow morning.
00:00:12,480 → 00:00:15,120 · one cue, one line
Open the translator
Free under 60 seconds, no account. Longer videos: 1 credit per minute.
What happens to your video
- Upload the file or paste a public link. Phone footage (HEVC/MOV) is read as it comes off the phone.
- The audio is transcribed first, with word-level timing, so every cue starts where speech starts.
- Each line is translated on its own. Timecodes are copied through and never rewritten.
- Download the SRT, or a copy of the video with the subtitles burned in at the original resolution.
Notes on the audio
- CJK languages carry more meaning per character, so their lines are shorter in count and longer in content.
- German compound nouns blow past the limit and have to be paraphrased.
- Never shrink the font to fit; split the line instead.
What it costs
Free under 60sno signup, no watermark
1 credit / minute$1 buys 20 credits
Both outputsSRT, or burned-in video
Questions
Is 42 characters a hard rule?
It is a convention from broadcast captioning; streaming platforms vary between 37 and 42.
What about two-line subtitles?
Two lines maximum, and only when the sentence cannot be split.
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