Bringing a Hawaiian video in
Drop in the video file without converting it: MP4, MOV, MKV, WEBM, AVI, 3GP or a screen recording from your phone. The sound is pulled out on our server, and every timestamp points to the same moment in the original video. If the video is online, use Import from link: public YouTube, TikTok and Vimeo videos, Dropbox and Google Drive share links and direct file links all work. Only the audio is fetched, one video per link, and several links can wait in the queue.
The draft opens beside the player; clicking a line replays it while you correct.
Expect heavy editing
Hawaiian has very little training data in the model, so expect a rough draft with many corrections. It works best on slow, clear speech from one speaker, such as a kumu teaching a lesson or a narrator reading. For language revitalisation work, the timestamps alone save time when you build subtitles or line up an archive recording.
The ʻokina and the kahakō (macrons on ā, ē, ī, ō, ū) change meaning, and the draft often leaves them out or writes an apostrophe instead of the ʻokina. Add them while editing; they are kept in every export. English is mixed into many videos, and Hawaiʻi Pidgin is an English-based creole: for a video mostly in Pidgin, select English instead.
Hawaiian videos worth transcribing
What people upload:
- Recordings of mānaleo (native speakers) for archives and teaching.
- Lessons from immersion schools and university Hawaiian classes.
- Oli and mele with spoken introductions and explanations.
- Community talks, ceremonies and storytelling.
- YouTube videos that need Hawaiian subtitles.
Hawaiian subtitles
Export SRT or VTT for Hawaiian subtitles. The UTF-8 files keep the ʻokina and kahakō; if your editor's font lacks the ʻokina character, choose one that includes it, such as Noto Sans. Edit before exporting.
DOCX and PDF suit archive records. Speaker labels are available on paid plans and with a Minute Pack.
English and audio-only recordings
Machine translation of Hawaiian is weak, so treat any English version as a rough guide and check it with a fluent speaker.
The transcript is written in Hawaiian as it was spoken; nothing is translated. To read it in English, open the Google Translate link on the transcript, or use the AI prompt export to hand the text to ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. For recordings without video, see the Hawaiian audio to text page.