YouTube Subtitles Workflow

Download YouTube videos with subtitles for free language practice

Why YouTube for Language Learning?

YouTube is a goldmine for language learners. Millions of videos in every language imaginable, often with accurate subtitles provided by creators or auto-generated. Instead of paying for AI transcription, you can download these existing subtitles and import them into Mimikaki for free.

Great content types for learning:

News broadcasts - Clear speech, current vocabulary
Podcasts - Natural conversation, often with CC
Educational content - Slower speech, explained concepts
Vlogs - Casual, everyday language
Interviews - Multiple speakers, formal and informal

What You'll Need

yt-dlp - Free, open-source video downloader
A YouTube video URL - With subtitles enabled
Mimikaki account - Free tier works fine

Install yt-dlp

yt-dlp is a command-line tool that downloads videos from YouTube and many other sites. It's free, fast, and actively maintained.

macOS (Homebrew)

brew install yt-dlp

Linux/Windows (pip)

pip install yt-dlp

Verify installation

yt-dlp --version

Download Video + Subtitles

This command downloads both the video and any available subtitles:

yt-dlp --write-subs --sub-langs "ja,en" -f "mp4" "VIDEO_URL"

Replace ja,en with your target language codes. Common codes:

ja - Japanese
ko - Korean
zh - Chinese
fi - Finnish
es - Spanish
fr - French
de - German

Include auto-generated subtitles (if no manual subs exist):

yt-dlp --write-auto-subs --sub-langs "ja" -f "mp4" "VIDEO_URL"

Find Your Files

After download completes, you'll have:

video-title.mp4 - The video file
video-title.ja.vtt - Japanese subtitles
video-title.en.vtt - English subtitles (if requested)

Mimikaki accepts both .vtt and .srt subtitle formats.

Import into Mimikaki

Go to Mimikaki Dashboard
Upload your .mp4 video file
Click "Import Subtitles" when prompted
Select your .vtt or .srt file
Done! No credits used.

Advanced Options

Download Audio Only

For podcasts or when you don't need the video, download just the audio track to save space:

yt-dlp --write-subs --sub-langs "ja" -x --audio-format mp3 "VIDEO_URL"

Best Quality Settings

For clear video with synced subtitles displayed in the player:

yt-dlp --write-subs --sub-langs "ja" -f "bestvideo[height<=1080]+bestaudio/best[height<=1080]" --merge-output-format mp4 "VIDEO_URL"

Download Entire Playlist

yt-dlp --write-subs --sub-langs "ja" -f "mp4" "PLAYLIST_URL"

Note: Only download videos you have the right to use. Many creators allow personal use of their content for learning purposes, but always respect copyright.

Checking for Subtitles First

Before downloading, check if subtitles are available:

yt-dlp --list-subs "VIDEO_URL"

This shows all available subtitle tracks. Look for your target language in either manual subtitles or auto-generated.

Troubleshooting

No subtitles found

Try adding --write-auto-subs for auto-generated captions
Some videos have embedded captions that can't be downloaded separately
Consider using Mimikaki's Whisper transcription instead

Subtitles out of sync

Mimikaki lets you edit timing directly. Click and drag the annotation boxes on the waveform to adjust start and end times.

Video won't upload

Check file size (max 25MB for free users, 100MB for Pro)
Ensure it's MP4 or WebM format
Try re-encoding with: ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -c:a aac output.mp4

Have a video ready?

Upload it to Mimikaki and start practicing with interactive subtitles.

Go to Dashboard