Convert Japanese audio to text
文字起こし without the manual labor — kanji, kana and natural segmentation from any recording, with English translation on Pro.
By Anubhav Jain, Trustample founder · Updated July 2026 · Claims verified against the live product
Free: 60 min per 30 days, files up to 30 min / 50 MB · Paid plans: 10 to 100 hrs, files up to 2 GB. Big video? Upload just its audio track — same transcript, much faster upload.
Encrypted in transit · audio & video auto-delete in 30 days · never used to train AI
Optional settings
Set this for the most accurate result on quiet or mixed audio.
Get a second copy translated into another language (Pro).
Uncommon words the AI might misspell — list them so they come out right.
Japanese transcription (文字起こし) by hand is notoriously slow — the writing system alone makes typing from audio a specialist's job. Trustample is a Japanese audio-to-text converter that outputs real Japanese text with kanji, hiragana and katakana as appropriate, from meetings, interviews, lectures and video. Set the spoken language to Japanese before uploading; auto-detect works, but naming the language up front is more reliable on quiet or casual recordings.
Two directions, one upload. The transcript comes back in native Japanese by default. If you actually want Japanese audio to English text — the most common cross-border need — turn on translation (Pro): tick "Translate transcript to English" and the finished job holds the Japanese transcript and its English version side by side, so you can check one against the other rather than trusting a black box.
You can start free: 60 minutes of Japanese transcription a month, no credit card, exportable as TXT. That's enough to convert a lecture or a batch of voice memos at no cost. Paid plans add DOCX/PDF/SRT/VTT exports, longer files, and the built-in English translation — the reasons people upgrade once transcription becomes part of their week.
How it works
- 1Set 'Spoken language' to Japanese under the upload box.
- 2Upload the recording — meetings, interviews, videos, voice memos.
- 3Edit inline, export, or read the English translation (Pro).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Does it output kanji or just kana?
Standard mixed Japanese text — kanji where a writer would use kanji, kana elsewhere. Proper nouns are the most error-prone; the inline editor makes correction one click.
Can it convert Japanese audio to English text?
Yes, in two steps that happen in one upload on Pro: it transcribes the Japanese speech to Japanese text, then translates that text to English. Keeping both visible is deliberate — a misheard word becomes a catchable Japanese error instead of an invisible English one. For a full walkthrough (video included), see our Japanese video to English guide.
Is there a free Japanese audio-to-text option?
Yes — 60 minutes a month, files up to 30 minutes each, TXT export, no card. Built-in English translation and the other export formats are paid. The honest free route to English: export the Japanese TXT and paste it into any free text translator.
Can it output romaji instead of Japanese script?
No — output is native kana/kanji, because that's what the audio actually is; romaji is a separate transliteration step. If you need romaji, run the exported Japanese text through a dedicated kana-to-romaji converter. We'd rather give you accurate Japanese than a lossy romanization.
How does it handle keigo and casual speech?
Both transcribe faithfully — the model writes what was said. Very fast casual speech with heavy contractions is harder than clear business Japanese.
Can it transcribe Japanese YouTube videos or anime?
It transcribes files you own and upload — your videos, your recordings. Scripted media with music and effects underneath dialog is harder than clean speech; expect more corrections there.
Do Japanese transcripts export properly?
TXT, DOCX, SRT and VTT carry Japanese perfectly. (The built-in PDF export uses a Latin font, so export DOCX and print from Word for Japanese PDFs.)
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