How to Download TED Talk Subtitles in Any Language
TED talks are a language learner's dream. Every talk gets translated by volunteers into dozens of languages. Many popular talks have 30 to 50 subtitle tracks. Until recently, getting those out as files meant digging through ted.com's page source. It doesn't have to be that hard.
Step-by-step
- Open the talk on ted.com and copy its URL.
- Go to our TED subtitle downloader.
- Paste the URL, click download, and wait a few seconds.
- Choose your language and grab it as SRT, VTT or TXT.
Why TED subtitles are so good
TED's translation program is run by volunteers and goes through a review process, which is why TED subtitle quality is consistently excellent, arguably the best of any major platform. If you're learning a language, reading the transcript while you listen is one of the most effective ways to improve. Our TXT format is perfect for that: clean text, no timestamps, easy to annotate.
Which format for TED talks?
- SRT. Use it to pair the subtitles with a downloaded version of the talk and watch offline in VLC.
- VTT. Use it when embedding the talk and want captions on the web.
- TXT. The best choice for reading and language study.