Pronunciation above words
Show how each word is pronounced right above the subtitle line — IPA, furigana, pinyin, romanization, stress marks and more, depending on the language.
Transcription writes how each word is pronounced above the line that is playing. It helps when spelling doesn’t tell you the sound, or when you can’t read the script yet.
How to turn it on
- In the player, tap the mode button in the side controls.
- Find the Transcription row and switch its toggle on.
- To choose the writing system, tap the row name and pick one from the menu.
Pronunciation appears above the words of the current line. To hide it, switch the toggle off.
Writing systems
Every language has two options:
- IPA — the International Phonetic Alphabet.
- Native — the sound spelled out in your native language’s letters.
Some languages also have their own systems:
| Language | Systems |
|---|---|
| Japanese | Furigana, Rōmaji |
| Chinese (Simplified) | Pinyin |
| Chinese (Traditional) | Pinyin, Zhuyin |
| Cantonese | Jyutping |
| Korean | Romanization (Revised Romanization) |
| Thai | RTGS |
| Hindi, Marathi, Nepali | IAST |
| Arabic, Persian, Urdu | Harakat (short vowel marks) |
| Hebrew | Niqqud (vowel points) |
| Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian | Stress Marks |
By default, Japanese uses Furigana, Chinese uses Pinyin, Cantonese uses Jyutping, and other languages use IPA.
Furigana appears only over words with kanji, and stress marks only over words with more than one syllable.
Free or Pro
Transcription is a Pro feature. Without Pro, the row shows a Pro badge, and tapping it explains the feature. See Free and Pro.
Common questions
I don’t know how to read IPA
Open the chat with Lingo and tap How to read the transcription? See Chat with Lingo.
Why is there more space between lines?
Transcription needs room above the words, so line spacing grows while it’s on. You can also change Word Spacing in Subtitle appearance.
Related guides
- Subtitles and translationWatch YouTube with two lines of subtitles — the original and a translation into your language — and switch the translation or original on and off.
- Part-of-speech highlightingUnderline nouns, verbs, adjectives and other parts of speech in colour right in the subtitle line, and choose which ones to mark.
- Chat with LingoOpen a chat with Lingo from the player to ask about a word, a line or the video itself — with quick shortcuts and answers in your AI language.
- Free and ProWhat you can do in PlayLingo for free every day, what the daily limits are, and what PlayLingo Pro adds.