Live Translation for Chinese Churches in Mandarin, Cantonese and English

Mandarin speakers, Cantonese speakers, Fuzhounese-speaking elders and English-speaking youth can all follow the same sermon. Sermon Translate listens in Mandarin, Cantonese or English and captions in the language each person reads best.

English to Chinese translation

English sermon translated live into Chinese

A real English sermon becomes Traditional Chinese while John 3:16 is recognized and shown in the bilingual Bible panel.

Screen recording from the real app, with captions and a written description.

  1. Live mode is recording, with English as the spoken language and Traditional Chinese as the translation.
  2. The pastor says, "Good morning, church. Open your Bibles with me, to John chapter 3, verse 16." The English caption follows about half a second behind him.
  3. A Traditional Chinese translation follows a couple of seconds later, under the English.
  4. The pastor quotes John 3:16 in full, and the finished Chinese translation of the verse appears beneath it.
  5. John 3:16 is detected and the bilingual Bible panel opens with the chapter in English and Traditional Chinese.

Mandarin or Cantonese from the pulpit

Choose Chinese (Mandarin) or Cantonese as the speaker language. Recognized speech is written in Traditional characters, and spoken Bible references are tidied before translation, so 馬太福音五章十三到十六節 becomes the reference 馬太福音第5章第13-16節 instead of garbled numbers.

  • Mandarin (中文) and Cantonese (粵語) as speaker languages
  • Chinese numerals in references turned into chapter and verse numbers
  • Verse popups when the preacher names a passage with its Chinese book name, in Traditional or Simplified form

Bilingual English and Chinese services

When the preacher speaks English, Chinese readers get Traditional Chinese captions with Bible names in 和合本 form, such as 挪亞 and 以撒, church terms such as 禱告 and 洗禮 kept consistent, and titles like Pastor Wu written as 吳傳道. When the preacher speaks Chinese, English readers follow along. The subtitle screen can show English and Chinese lines together for the whole room.

English captions for the second generation and visitors

Youth, spouses and guests who read English best can follow a Chinese sermon in English. A built-in list of common sermon phrases keeps their English wording consistent, and verse popups show the English version your church picks: BSB, WEB or KJV.

Fuzhounese for elders who hear 福州話

No standard machine translation engine supports Fuzhounese, so Sermon Translate writes it with an AI model instructed to use colloquial Fuzhou wording in Traditional Chinese characters, not Mandarin. Fuzhounese is a reading language only: the preacher speaks Mandarin, Cantonese or English, and Fuzhounese readers follow on screen. Verse popups use the Chinese Bible text.

Traditional and Simplified readers in one congregation

Live captions are shown in Traditional characters. Members who grew up reading Simplified characters can switch the app to Simplified, and verse popups then show 和合本 (CUV) in Simplified characters.

Your church's Chinese names, defined once

Add the Chinese names of members, ministries and your congregation's location to the church glossary, and every caption uses the same characters every week instead of a new guess each service.

Can the preacher speak Cantonese?

Yes. Cantonese (粵語) is a speaker language, and Cantonese is also available as a caption language written in Traditional Chinese characters.

Are the captions in Traditional or Simplified Chinese?

Live captions are in Traditional Chinese. Bible verse popups use 和合本 (CUV), in Traditional or Simplified characters to match the device.

Can Fuzhounese be the preacher's language?

Not today. Fuzhounese is available as a caption language only. The preacher speaks Mandarin, Cantonese, English or another supported speaker language.

How does the Bible verse detection work?

An AI listener scans the sermon transcript in real time. When the speaker clearly names a chapter-and-verse reference like 'John 3:16,' or quotes a passage that matches a known verse, the app surfaces the full text in the listener's chosen language and Bible version. It does not fabricate references from unrelated speech.

Does it work for paraphrased or partial references?

Clear quotes that match known Bible text can surface the matching verse. Obscure paraphrases, partial allusions or unrelated speech will not trigger a popup, because the system is intentionally conservative to avoid showing random verses.

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