Create Arabic closed captions

Make your videos accessible with ADA-compliant Arabic closed captions. Sonix automatically generates accurate captions that meet Section 508 and WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards.

Free to start — no credit card required.See pricing

ADA compliant
508 compliant
WCAG 2.1 ready
Arabic transcription guide

Create Arabic closed captions in minutes

  1. 1
    Upload your video~1 min

    Upload your video file from your computer or cloud storage.

    50+ formats supported
  2. 2
    AI captioning~5 min

    Sonix AI generates Arabic closed captions with models trained for accessibility compliance.

    Word-level timestamps
  3. 3
    Review captions~2 min

    Review and correct your captions in the browser editor with synchronized video playback.

  4. 4
    Export and publish~10 sec

    Download your Arabic captions as SRT or VTT files, ready for YouTube, Vimeo, or your website.

    30+ export formats
The Arabic language

Understanding Arabic transcription

Who transcribes Arabic content?

Broadcasters and news agencies covering the Middle East and North Africa, academic and policy researchers, NGOs and international organizations, and diaspora media outlets regularly transcribe Arabic interviews, briefings, and broadcasts. Journalists and documentary teams also use Arabic transcripts to pull quotes and create subtitles.

Arabic dialects and accents

Arabic is diglossic: Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) dominates news broadcasts, speeches, and formal settings, while everyday conversation happens in regional dialects such as Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf, Iraqi, and Maghrebi. Spoken dialects can differ substantially from MSA and from each other, which affects how recognizable conversational audio is to speech recognition.

Where Arabic is spoken

Arabic is spoken in Algeria, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, Tanzania, Somalia, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

5 min
Average turnaround
1-hour video captioned in ~6 minutes
99%
Caption accuracy
Industry-leading Arabic recognition
SRT/VTT
Caption formats
Compatible with all major platforms
30+
Platforms supported
YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and more
Arabic transcription FAQ

Frequently asked questions about
Arabic closed captions

What's the difference between closed captions and subtitles?

Closed captions include all audio elements (dialogue, sound effects, music cues) for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers. Subtitles typically only include dialogue and are meant for viewers who can hear but don't understand the spoken language. Sonix can create both.

Are Sonix captions ADA compliant?

Yes. Sonix generates captions that meet ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), Section 508, and WCAG 2.1 accessibility requirements. Our captions include accurate timing, proper synchronization, and support for required caption formats.

Can I add sound effect descriptions to captions?

Yes! In the Sonix editor, you can add non-speech audio descriptions like [music playing], [applause], or [door closes]. These descriptions help deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers understand the full audio context.

How accurate are Arabic closed captions?

Sonix delivers 85-99% accuracy for Arabic captioning depending on audio quality. Clear audio with minimal background noise achieves the best results. You can review and edit captions in our browser-based editor.

What platforms support closed captions?

All major video platforms support closed captions including YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Wistia. Sonix exports SRT and VTT formats compatible with all these platforms and more.

Can I burn captions into my video?

Yes! Sonix offers a burn-in feature that permanently embeds captions into your video file. This is useful for social media where closed captions may not display automatically. See our burn-in subtitles service for more details.

Can Sonix transcribe Egyptian Arabic and other dialects?

Sonix transcribes Arabic audio, and speech close to Modern Standard Arabic generally produces the cleanest results. Dialect-heavy recordings such as Egyptian or Maghrebi conversation can be transcribed and then polished in the browser-based editor, where the text is synced to the audio.

Does Sonix handle right-to-left Arabic text?

Yes, transcripts are displayed in Arabic script and can be edited directly in the browser. Finished transcripts export to standard formats such as Word documents and SRT or VTT subtitle files.

How do I transcribe an Arabic audio or video file with Sonix?

Upload your file (up to 4 GB or 4 hours) from your computer, Dropbox, or Google Drive, select Arabic as the spoken language, and Sonix returns a transcript you can edit and export.

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