How to use
- Choose your subtitle files: drag garbled subtitles into the box above. You can add a whole season at once.
- Check the preview: the tool detects the original encoding and shows the first few lines. If the Chinese text looks right, it worked.
- Download: the file keeps its original name, so just replace the old one and your player will pick it up.
Why do Chinese subtitles turn into gibberish?
Computers store text as numbers, and the rule that maps characters to numbers is called an encoding. Chinese text has used several incompatible encodings over the years:
- GBK / GB2312 / GB18030 — common in mainland China; most Simplified Chinese subtitles from older sources use it.
- Big5 — common in Taiwan and Hong Kong; many older Traditional Chinese subtitles use it.
- UTF-8 — the modern international standard that covers every language.
When a subtitle saved in GBK is read as UTF-8 or Windows-1252, the same numbers are interpreted as completely different characters. The subtitle itself is not damaged — it just needs to be read with the right encoding and saved as UTF-8.
What garbled Chinese looks like
Here is how the phrase 你好，字幕 ("hello, subtitles") appears when read the wrong way:
| What you see | Cause |
|---|---|
| ÄãºÃ£¬×ÖÄ» | GBK file read as Western (Windows-1252) — common on English-language players and TVs |
| 斕疑ㄛ趼躉 | GBK (Simplified) file read as Big5 (Traditional) — looks like Chinese but makes no sense |
| 浣犲ソ锛屽瓧骞� | UTF-8 file read as GBK — common on Chinese-language Windows |
| □□□□ | The encoding is right, but the player's font has no Chinese characters |
Fixing it in your player instead
VLC
Go to Tools → Preferences, set "Show settings" to All, then open Input / Codecs → Subtitle codecs → Subtitles. Set "Subtitle text encoding" to Universal, Chinese (GB18030) for Simplified Chinese or Traditional Chinese (Big5) for older Traditional Chinese files, save, and reopen the video. Menu names can vary slightly between versions.
If you see empty squares instead, open Tools → Preferences → Subtitles / OSD and choose a font that supports Chinese, such as Microsoft YaHei on Windows or PingFang on macOS.
Smart TVs, streaming boxes and phones
These devices usually have no encoding setting and only read UTF-8 — some need the BOM marker too. Converting the file with this tool, with "Add BOM" enabled, is the most reliable fix.
FAQ
Are my subtitle files uploaded to a server?
No. Everything runs inside your browser. Your files never leave your computer or phone.
Will the file name change?
No. The fixed file keeps its original name, so your player still matches it to the video automatically.
What is BOM and should I keep it?
A BOM is a small marker at the start of a file that tells software the file is UTF-8. Some older players and smart TVs need it to display Chinese correctly, so we recommend keeping it on.
It is still garbled after fixing. What now?
Pick another encoding from the dropdown under the file — the preview updates instantly. If no encoding looks right, the file may have been converted incorrectly before, or your player is using a font without Chinese characters.
Does it work for Japanese or Korean subtitles?
Automatic detection is tuned for Chinese. For Japanese or Korean files, choose Shift-JIS or EUC-KR from the dropdown and check the preview.