English to Chinese Live Sermon Translation
Translate sermons from English into Chinese (中文) live, with low-latency captions and automatic Bible verse popups. Traditional Chinese captions, Chinese Union Version Bible names, and Cantonese or Fuzhounese captions for Chinese-speaking members of English-language churches.
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.
- Live mode is recording, with English as the spoken language and Traditional Chinese as the translation.
- 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.
- A Traditional Chinese translation follows a couple of seconds later, under the English.
- The pastor quotes John 3:16 in full, and the finished Chinese translation of the verse appears beneath it.
- John 3:16 is detected and the bilingual Bible panel opens with the chapter in English and Traditional Chinese.
Why English → Chinese congregations choose Sermon Translate
Most translation apps were built for tourism, not preaching. Sermon Translate is tuned on church vocabulary, hymn titles, and proper nouns, so theological terms render correctly in 中文.
- Low-latency captions from speaker to 中文
- Bible verse popup in 中文 when the pastor references it
- Runs in the browser on phones, tablets and laptops, with no app install required
- Custom glossary so English names and church-specific terms stay consistent
Chinese Union Version names and church terms from an English sermon
When English is preached into Chinese, Bible names are matched to the Chinese Union Version (和合本) forms a Chinese congregation already reads, so Noah is 挪亞 and Isaac is 以撒, not a phonetic guess. Church terms stay consistent too: God is written 神, prayer is 禱告 and baptism is 洗禮, and a title with a surname comes out in Chinese order, so Pastor Wu reads 吳傳道.
- 和合本 spellings for people and places in the Bible
- Consistent wording for God, prayer and baptism
- Your own glossary for member names, ministries and church locations in Chinese
Mandarin, Cantonese and Fuzhounese readers in one room
One English sermon can serve three groups of Chinese speakers. Mandarin readers follow Traditional Chinese captions, Cantonese readers can choose Cantonese captions written in Traditional characters, and Fuzhounese-speaking elders can choose Fuzhounese (福州話). The subtitle screen can show English and Chinese lines together for bilingual services.
Chinese captions in Traditional characters
Chinese captions are written in Traditional characters (繁體字). If a translation engine slips in a Simplified character, it is converted before the line reaches the screen, so nobody reads a mixed script. Members who grew up with Simplified characters can switch the app to Simplified, and verse popups then show the same 和合本 text in Simplified characters.
- Verse popups from 和合本 (CUV), in Traditional or Simplified characters
- Cantonese readers can choose Cantonese (粵語) captions, also written in Traditional characters
- Chinese names for members and ministries fixed once in your church glossary
You choose the speaker language and the translation language
Nothing is locked to one language or direction. Before the service, choose the language being spoken and the language, or languages, the congregation reads. English, Traditional Chinese, Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Vietnamese and 53 more can be set as the source, and English, Traditional Chinese, Cantonese, Fuzhounese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and 115 more are available as targets.
- Speaker language picker: choose whatever the pulpit is preaching in
- Translation language picker: choose the reading language for the screen, and members using the app on their own phone pick their own
- 61 languages can be spoken from the pulpit, and all 123 can be read as captions
- The full list, and which ones have built-in Bible book names, is on the languages page
How to start English → Chinese translation this Sunday
Open Sermon Translate on the speaker's laptop, pick English as the speaker language and Chinese as the translation language, and put the captions on the projector with the Subtitles screen. The congregation reads along in 中文 from their seat, and members who want captions in their hand can use Sermon Translate on their own phone with their own account.
Is the Chinese translation in Traditional or Simplified characters?
Live captions are written in Traditional Chinese characters. Verse popups use 和合本 (CUV), and a device set to Simplified shows the same text in Simplified characters.
Can an English sermon be translated into Cantonese?
Yes. Cantonese (粵語) is a caption language, written in Traditional Chinese characters. Cantonese can also be chosen as the speaker language when the sermon is preached in Cantonese.
How do churches translate sermons live with this app?
The speaker opens Sermon Translate on a phone, tablet or laptop, selects the spoken language and the translation language, and starts listening. Transcripts and translations appear on that device, and the whole room can read them as captions on a projector or livestream. No headsets, no interpreter booth, no extra hardware.
Which languages are supported?
Sermon Translate supports 123 languages. 61 of them can be spoken from the pulpit, including English, Traditional Chinese, Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Vietnamese and 53 more, and all 123 can be read as captions. Every listener can pick their own reading language. The full list is on the languages page.
How is this different from Google Translate or generic AI translation apps?
Google Translate is a powerful general-purpose translator. Sermon Translate is designed around the workflow of a Christian service: church vocabulary, hymn titles, proper names, Bible book names, and verse-reference popups that appear when the speaker clearly references a passage.
Do we need to install anything?
No. It runs in a modern browser on iPhone, Android and desktop. The speaker opens it on one device, and the congregation reads the captions on the projector or livestream. Anyone who wants captions on their own phone opens Sermon Translate there and signs in; each listener needs their own account or trial after the free period.
Can it replace a human interpreter?
Sermon Translate works as a sermon interpreter app for live services and handles common preaching vocabulary well. A church can use it as the main translation for weekly services, or alongside a human interpreter for rare languages or high-stakes events. It is a tool, not a person.