French
Français
Transcribe French Audio to Text
Turn French interviews, lectures, podcasts and meetings into editable text with proper accents and punctuation. Upload a file or paste a public link; French is detected automatically, and 120 minutes a week are free.
See It In Action
Here is a line of spoken French from a meeting, as it appears in the transcript and translated into English.
"Bon, on commence ? Je voulais d'abord revenir sur ce qu'on s'est dit la semaine dernière à propos du budget."
"Bon, on commence ? Je voulais d'abord revenir sur ce qu'on s'est dit la semaine dernière à propos du budget."
Translation: "Right, shall we start? First I wanted to go back to what we said last week about the budget."
Correct French spelling and punctuation
The transcript is written the way French is written: accents on every é, è and à, the cedilla on ç, elisions like l'école and qu'il, and French punctuation. Homophones such as ces and ses, or a and à, are resolved from context and are usually right. On clear audio accuracy is up to 99%; background noise, crosstalk and distant microphones lower it. You can fix any word in the browser editor.
Try Free NowFrench from every Francophone region
French is spoken very differently in Paris, Montréal, Brussels, Geneva, Dakar and Abidjan. One general model handles all of them, and it does best with standard French from France. Clear Québec, Belgian, Swiss and African French usually transcribes well, while strong local slang or accents may need a few corrections. The language is detected automatically, so you never have to choose a variety.
Try Free NowTranslate French into 60+ languages
On the paid plans, a finished French transcript can be translated into English or any of more than 60 other languages. That helps teams who do not speak French follow a meeting in Lyon or an interview in Montréal. If a speaker switches between French and English, the language is detected once for the whole recording: short English phrases often come through, but long English passages may be transcribed poorly.
Try Free NowFrench accents and regional varieties
One general model handles every variety of French. It does best with the standard French heard in France, and clear audio matters more than where the speaker comes from.
Metropolitan French
France
Standard French as spoken in Paris and across France gives the best results. Strong southern or regional accents can still come through well on a clean recording.
Québec French
Canada
Québécois speech is transcribed by the same general model, so everyday conversation works well, but joual expressions and strong local slang may need a quick edit.
Belgian French
Belgium
Belgian French is close to the standard, and regional words like septante and nonante are usually written as spoken. Expect accuracy close to French from France.
Swiss French
Switzerland
Swiss French from Geneva, Lausanne or Neuchâtel transcribes much like standard French. Regional numbers such as septante, or huitante in Vaud, may come out in their Swiss or French form, so check figures.
West and Central African French
Francophone Africa
French from Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon and other countries is handled by the general model. Clear speech works well; strong accents, local words and noisy settings lower accuracy.
Caribbean French
Caribbean
French spoken in Martinique, Guadeloupe or Haiti transcribes on clear audio. Creole is a different language, so passages in Creole may come out poorly or be rendered as French.
How French transcription works
Upload a French recording or paste a public link, let the language be detected automatically, then check the text and export it.
Add your French recording
Upload an audio or video file up to 500 MB, record in the browser, or paste a public link to a French video or podcast.
French is detected and transcribed
The language is recognised automatically and the recording is transcribed with timestamps on every segment, usually in minutes.
Check names and homophones
Click a timestamp to hear that passage, then fix proper names, local expressions or an a that should be à.
Export or translate
Download TXT on the free plan, or SRT, VTT, Word and PDF on the paid plans, and translate into English if needed.
Who uses French transcription
Anyone who records French speech and needs it as text: teams, creators, students, researchers and journalists across the Francophone world.
French YouTubers and podcasters
Paste a link to your French video or podcast episode and get a transcript to reuse in show notes and articles, or export SRT subtitles on the paid plans.
Teams working in French
Transcribe recorded meetings with French-speaking colleagues, clients or suppliers. On the paid plans, translate the transcript so colleagues who do not speak French can follow what was agreed.
Researchers and journalists
Transcribe interviews recorded in France, Québec or West Africa, search the text for key terms, and quote speakers accurately after checking the passage against the audio.
Learners of French
Transcribe French film clips, radio shows or lessons and read along with timestamps, spotting how spoken French like chais pas matches the written form.
What you get with French transcription
Up to 99% on clear audio
Clean French recordings typically land between 95 and 99% accuracy. Noise, music under speech and overlapping voices lower it.
France, Québec, Belgium, Africa
One general model covers every Francophone accent. Standard French does best; strong regional accents may need light editing.
Accents, cedillas and elisions
Text comes out with é, è, à, ç, œ and apostrophes in place, so it reads as normal written French.
Speaker labels on every plan
Every plan labels each voice as Speaker 1, Speaker 2 and so on, so you can follow who said what in a meeting or interview. On the paid plans you can rename them.
Connected speech in written form
Words run together in speech, like les amis or c'est, are written as separate words with the apostrophes where they belong.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which French accents does it understand?
How well does it transcribe Québec French?
Does the transcript keep French accents like é, à and ç?
Does it work with fast spoken French?
Can I translate a French transcript into English?
What file formats can I upload for French transcription?
Transcribe your first French recording free
Create an account and get 120 free minutes every week to turn French interviews, lectures and meetings into editable text, with no credit card required.
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