Guide

How to get translated subtitles for Hong Kong dramas and Cantonese video on iPhone

If the episode already has subtitles in a language you read, use them. When it doesn't — a clip with Chinese subtitles only, a variety show, a vlog, a livestream or a news segment with no subtitles at all — you need something that understands spoken Cantonese. Hono Translate listens to the Cantonese audio playing in any app on your iPhone and floats live subtitles over it, in English, Simplified or Traditional Chinese, or any of 20 subtitle languages, all on the device.

Which option fits your case

Your situationWhat works
The episode has subtitles in your languageThe player's own subtitle menu
No subtitles in a language you readAn app that translates the Cantonese audio
A Cantonese livestream, vlog or variety clip with no subtitlesAn app that translates the Cantonese audio
You want to follow the Cantonese and the translation togetherBilingual subtitles: Cantonese text with the translation

Why Cantonese is the hard part

Most speech features treat Chinese as Mandarin. Cantonese is spoken very differently, and Hong Kong dramas are fast, colloquial and full of slang, so tools that expect Mandarin either fall silent or produce nonsense. Subtitles that come with a show are usually written in standard Chinese rather than spoken Cantonese, which helps Chinese readers but leaves everyone else, and much unsubtitled content, without a way in.

On iPhone, the built-in features don't close that gap. Live Captions transcribes but does not translate, and Live Translation works in calls and conversations, not over a video.

How to do it in Hono Translate

  1. Open Hono Translate and choose Cantonese as the video language.
  2. Choose the subtitle language: English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean or another of the 20 subtitle languages.
  3. Tap Start translating sound, confirm Start Sharing in the iOS sheet, then tap the empty space below the sheet. The first time, iOS downloads the language models once.
  4. Go back to the app you are watching in. The subtitle card floats over the drama.
  5. Drag the top of the card to make it taller and keep a few lines of dialogue on screen, or shrink it to one slim line in landscape.

What to expect

  • Recognition and translation run on your iPhone. The audio never leaves it, and once a language is downloaded it works offline.
  • Cantonese translations appear a little later than other languages, about two to three seconds after a sentence ends.
  • For dialogue that comes quickly, a taller card shows more of the recent lines at once.
  • Choose Bilingual to see the Cantonese text with the translation, or Translation to see only the subtitles you need.

Questions

Can I get English subtitles for a TVB drama on iPhone?

Yes, if the player doesn't offer them: Hono Translate translates the Cantonese audio into English live, over whatever app you watch in.

Can it turn Cantonese into Mandarin Chinese subtitles?

Yes. Choose Simplified or Traditional Chinese as the subtitle language. Switching between Simplified and Traditional is done directly, without a second translation.

Does it work on livestreams and short videos?

Yes. It works on any app whose audio iOS lets you share, including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Safari.

Is my audio uploaded?

No. Speech recognition and translation both run on the iPhone.

Can an iPhone app hear the sound another app is playing? Do I need a second phone?

Yes, and one iPhone is enough. Through screen sharing — the iOS sheet you confirm when you start — iOS hands the sound that is playing to the app you pick. Hono Translate takes that audio from iOS, not from the microphone, so headphones are fine, and its subtitles float in a Picture-in-Picture window over TikTok, YouTube or any other app.

Guides for specific apps

View other guides