Lipsmatch Which languages first
Updated
Which languages do you dub your YouTube videos into first?
A simple method, with the numbers for India and the largest YouTube markets.
The short answer
Start with the language of your current viewers. YouTube Studio shows it in 2 reports: top countries by watch time, and the subtitle languages your viewers use. For viewers in India, Hindi is the strong first pick. Then add a language where your topic has demand and your dubbed videos have little to compete with.
Odia, with the mouth matched
Odia is the first language of 82% of people in Odisha. The 50-50 Golmaal campaign aired in Odia. Tap Original to hear the client's Odia dub on the footage as shot in Hindi. Tap Lipsmatch to see the mouth speak Odia too.
Start with the viewers you already have
Pick a first language for the people who already watch you.
Some of these viewers watch your channel in a language that is not their home language. Your topic already interests them. A version in their own language makes each video easier to follow.
YouTube Studio has 2 reports that show who they are. The Top geographies report shows which countries give your channel the most watch time. The Top subtitle and CC languages report shows your audience by the subtitle language they use.
Read the 2 reports together, and skip the language you already publish in. Viewers who turn on subtitles make an effort to follow you. If many of them pick one language, put it near the top of your list.
12 languages for Indian viewers, by the numbers
Lipsmatch shipped these 12 languages on aired campaigns. Speaker counts come from the 2011 Census of India. The first column counts people who grew up with the language. The second adds people who speak it as a second or third language.
| Language | First language | All speakers | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hindi | 528.3 million | 691.6 million | 54% preferred Hindi videos in 2020 |
| Bengali | 97.2 million | 107.5 million | 3% preferred Bengali videos. Also the official language of Bangladesh. |
| Marathi | 83.0 million | 99.1 million | The official language of Maharashtra |
| Telugu | 81.1 million | 94.5 million | 7% preferred Telugu videos, third after Hindi and English |
| Tamil | 69.0 million | 76.6 million | 5% preferred Tamil videos. Official in Sri Lanka and Singapore too. |
| Gujarati | 55.5 million | 60.3 million | Over 200,000 speakers in the UK |
| Kannada | 43.7 million | 58.8 million | 6% preferred Kannada videos in 2020 |
| Odia | 37.5 million | 42.6 million | The first language of 82% of people in Odisha |
| Malayalam | 34.8 million | 35.6 million | Many speakers live in the Gulf countries |
| Punjabi | 33.1 million | 36.1 million | About 670,000 first-language speakers in Canada |
| Assamese | 15.3 million | 23.6 million | A common language across parts of Northeast India |
| English | 0.26 million | 128.5 million | 16% preferred English videos in 2020 |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
What the India numbers tell you
Hindi reaches the most people by a wide margin. So it is the natural first language for an audience across India.
In the 2020 Google report, 54% of Indian online video viewers preferred Hindi videos. English came next at 16%.
The south is different. Telugu came third in that report at 7%, then Kannada at 6% and Tamil at 5%. If your topic belongs to one state, such as its food, films or local news, that state's language can matter more than Hindi.
English works as a bridge. Only 0.26 million people in India gave English as their first language in 2011. Yet 128.5 million speak it. The same English version also reaches viewers outside India.
Indian cinema shows the same pattern. Many Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam films are dubbed into Hindi for the north. Hindi films dubbed for the south draw few viewers there. So for viewers in the south, plan a version in their own language.
The largest YouTube markets and their languages
If your topic has an audience outside India, start with size. These were the 10 largest YouTube markets by ad reach in January 2025. Ad reach is an advertising count. It can include duplicate accounts, so read it as a guide to size. Some lines also say how TV in that country usually shows foreign programmes.
- India, 491 million. Hindi, English and the regional languages in the table above.
- United States, 253 million. English, with a large Spanish-speaking population.
- Brazil, 144 million. Brazilian Portuguese. Free-to-air channels there dub their foreign shows, so viewers are used to listening.
- Indonesia, 143 million. Indonesian.
- Mexico, 83.6 million. Spanish. One Spanish version can serve Mexico and Spanish speakers in the United States.
- Japan, 78.7 million. Japanese. Foreign shows on Japanese TV are dubbed as standard.
- Germany, 65.5 million. German. In Germany, dubbing is the most popular way to watch foreign film and TV.
- Vietnam, 62.3 million. Vietnamese. Foreign films on Vietnamese TV are often subtitled or voiced over.
- Philippines, 57.7 million. Filipino and English, the 2 official languages.
- Turkey, 57.5 million. Turkish.
Follow the people who speak your language abroad
Many Indian languages have large communities abroad. If your viewers belong to one, count those viewers too.
The United States is home to more than 400,000 Telugu Americans. In the UK, over 200,000 people speak Gujarati. Gujarati communities also live in New Jersey, New York City and Toronto.
Canada's 2021 census counted about 670,000 people with Punjabi as their first language. Many Malayalam speakers live in the Gulf, in cities such as Dubai, Kuwait and Doha. Tamil is an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore.
Ask which language the younger viewers in these families prefer. Many grew up abroad, and some follow English more easily than the home language.
Pick a language where your dubbed videos stand out
You already have the videos. The question is which language to dub them into first. Pick a language where many people watch your topic and few good videos exist.
Search your main topic on YouTube in each language on your list. Look at the top results. If they are old or poorly made, your dubbed videos have little to compete with in that language.
Also search in the smaller Indian languages. 235.1 million people in India speak Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Odia or Assamese as their first language.
Your dubbed videos then reach those viewers in your own voice, and your mouth matches every word. Lipsmatch delivered ad campaigns that aired on TV in all 5 of these languages.
4 steps to choose your first languages
Keep YouTube Studio open while you work through them. Write each finding next to the language it supports.
The method
Read your reports
List the top countries by watch time and the subtitle languages your viewers use. These viewers are already yours.
Add markets for your topic
Add the large markets and the communities abroad that care about your subject. Note the language each one speaks.
Search each language
Search your topic in every language on the list. Fewer recent, well-made videos means more room for your dubbed versions.
Start with 1 or 2
Publish dubbed versions of your videos regularly in your first languages. Compare the watch time for each language. Keep what grows, then add the next.
When another method fits better
A lip-matched version is worth it when a face speaks on screen. Some videos need less.
Screen recordings, slides and voice-over videos show no speaking mouth. Subtitles or a plain dub can serve them well. Our guide to subtitles, voice-over and dubbing compares all 3.
Videos where you talk to camera are different. In a small 2025 study with 18 students, students and teachers found a mouth that did not match the sound annoying. For these videos, a version with your mouth matched is worth the extra step.
Start with a version of one of your videos in your first language. You see the result on your own footage. Its watch time then tells you if the language is worth regular uploads.
How each new language reaches viewers
Each lip-matched language is a separate video file, so you publish it as a separate upload.
Put it on a channel for that language, in a language playlist on your main channel, in Shorts or Reels, or on your website. Link each version and the original in their descriptions. Then viewers can pick the one they want.
YouTube's guide to global audiences says separate channels help most for languages with different alphabets or search terms. Many Indian languages have their own alphabets, so this advice often fits them.
For one channel, the same guide suggests sections and playlists for each language. Our guide to YouTube in more languages covers both routes.
Where Lipsmatch fits
Once you know your first languages, Lipsmatch makes each version look and sound as if you made it in that language.
We shipped all 12 languages in the table above on aired campaigns. We also work in 90+ languages and accents, such as Portuguese, Spanish and Japanese.
There are 2 ways to work with us. If you already have a dub, bring it. We match the mouth to every word, frame by frame. Or let us make the dub. We translate your script into each language you picked and check it. Our technology recreates your own voice with the delivery of the original. Then we match the mouth.
Our team checks every version before delivery. For channels that publish often, a monthly plan sets the hours of finished video and the languages in advance. We deliver in regular batches, with one bill a month.
Choosing languages questions
How many languages do I start with on YouTube?
Start with 1 or 2. Each language needs its own titles, descriptions and steady uploads. So a few languages done well are easier to keep up. Add the next one when the first shows steady watch time. Lipsmatch works in 90+ languages and accents, so your list can grow with your viewers.
Hindi or English: which do I dub my videos into first?
Hindi, if most of the viewers you want live in India. In a 2020 Google report, 54% of Indian online video viewers preferred Hindi videos, against 16% for English. English goes further when you want viewers in several countries at once. It also reaches 128.5 million speakers inside India.
Can YouTube auto dub my videos into Tamil?
From English, yes, as a sound track in a synthetic voice. Lipsmatch makes a Tamil version in your own recreated voice. Your mouth speaks every Tamil word, and our team checks it. The automatic dub leaves your mouth in the original language, because a sound track cannot change the picture. So the Lipsmatch version goes up as its own video, for example on a Tamil channel.
Can I dub my YouTube videos into multiple languages?
Yes. Send the finished video, your dubs if you have them, and the list of languages. You get back a separate file for each language. The 50-50 Golmaal campaign shows the scale: 4 films became 36 broadcast masters, each with the mouth matched to its language. That campaign ran in IPL primetime. Our team checks every version before delivery.
Can I dub my videos into other languages in my own voice?
Yes. We translate what you say in the video into each new language. Our team checks every line. Our technology then recreates your own voice to speak it, with the same delivery as your original take. Last, we change your mouth to match each new word. Viewers then hear and see you in Hindi, Tamil or English. We work only with the approvals you already have for your voice and face.
Do I need to translate my titles and descriptions too?
Yes, for every language you add. YouTube shows translated titles and descriptions to viewers in their language. They can also appear in search results for people who speak it. For a separate upload in Tamil, write its title and description in Tamil from the start. Plan them before the video goes live.
Explore related
Try your first language on one scene
Send one scene and name the language your viewers ask for most. We send it back in that language, with the mouth matched, at no cost and with no commitment. Then plan the next languages.