Sinhala subtitles for YouTube: upload an SRT or burn them in

Last updated: 15 September 2026 · AutocaptionsLK, Sri Lanka

YouTube’s automatic captions cover a limited set of languages, and the list differs between channels, regions and account settings. If Sinhala is not offered to you, you can still publish Sinhala subtitles: generate a Unicode SRT file, then upload it as a subtitle track in YouTube Studio — or burn the captions into the video before you upload it. This page covers both routes, the file formats YouTube accepts, and the Sinhala font and timing problems that come up most.

Two ways to get Sinhala subtitles onto a YouTube video

• A subtitle track. Upload a timed file in YouTube Studio. Viewers can switch it on or off, it can be edited later without re-encoding the video, and search engines and YouTube’s caption tools can read the text.
• Burned-in captions. The Sinhala text is part of the picture. Use this when you want a specific Sinhala typeface, colour or animation, or when you are publishing the same clip to platforms that do not take subtitle files.

Most creators want the subtitle track first and burned-in captions only for a specific look.

Step by step: upload a Sinhala subtitle file in YouTube Studio

1. Generate the Sinhala subtitle file. Upload your video or audio to the caption tool, enter your activation key and run the job. Download the Unicode SRT.
2. Open YouTube Studio and select the video, then the Subtitles (or Captions) section in the left menu.
3. Add a language and pick the Sinhala option your account offers. Language lists can differ by channel and region, so compare what you see with YouTube’s own documentation.
4. Add → Upload file → With timing, then choose the .srt you downloaded. Choose the without timing option only if you are uploading a plain transcript and want YouTube to sync it.
5. Check the sync in the preview. YouTube lets you shift all timings or edit individual lines in the subtitle editor, which is where you fix a drifting name or a missing pause.
6. Review, then save. Read names, numbers, dates and English loan words against the audio before you publish the track.

Treat automatic output as a draft. Background noise, overlapping speakers and heavy accents are the usual sources of errors, and the cheapest fix is ten minutes of reading before publishing.

Which subtitle format YouTube accepts

YouTube lists the subtitle and closed-caption file types it accepts in its help centre: supported subtitle and closed caption files. SRT and WebVTT are on that list. AutocaptionsLK returns both.

• Unicode SRT — the file to upload. It carries plain Unicode Sinhala text plus timecodes.
• VTT — the same content in WebVTT, useful for web players and for any tool that prefers VTT.
• TXT — plain text with no timing. Handy as a transcript for your description, blog post or accessibility notes, but it is not a subtitle file.
• FM Abhaya SRT — only for older Sinhala software that expects that legacy encoding. Do not upload it to YouTube.

Sinhala text, fonts and rendering on YouTube

YouTube renders subtitles with its own player fonts — you cannot ship a font inside a subtitle file. That is why the Unicode file matters: it contains standard Sinhala characters, and any modern player (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux) has a Sinhala-capable font to draw them with. The FM Abhaya encoding instead maps Sinhala onto Latin positions, which is exactly why it looks like “nfhda…” gibberish on YouTube.

If you want the Sinhala captions to appear in a specific typeface for everyone, burned-in captions in CapCut or Adobe Premiere are the way to do it.

Timing and readability that survive the upload

• One or two lines per caption, roughly 35–42 characters per line.
• Keep each caption on screen about 1–7 seconds and split long sentences at natural pauses.
• Leave a small gap between captions so viewers register the change.
• Let the caption end slightly before the speech does rather than cutting a phrase in half.
• Numbers, names, place names and English loan words are the lines automatic captions get wrong most — read those first.
• Check the first and last caption of the file, where timing drifts are easiest to spot.

Publishing bilingually for Sri Lankan viewers

Many local channels run Sinhala and English in the same video. Upload both as separate subtitle tracks and let viewers pick. You cannot force a default track — YouTube chooses based on the viewer’s language settings — so keep both tracks accurate rather than assuming one will always appear.

Sinhala caption packages

Caption minutes are prepaid and used per decoded audio second. Prices are in Sri Lankan rupees and payment is confirmed on WhatsApp before a private activation key is issued.

One-time minute packages, not monthly subscriptions. Usage is based on decoded audio duration, rounded up to a whole second per file. Failed jobs return their reserved credits, while completed jobs use them. Activation keys have no calendar expiry, but availability depends on the service. Purchases are arranged manually on WhatsApp and packages are non-refundable except where required by law — read the refund policy first.

Frequently asked questions