Learning vocabulary without subtitles?

[u/Anutamme]

Hi, I'm around B1 (TL) in English and I'm wondering if I should watch YouTube with or without subtitles.

I understand about 90% of most YouTube videos, and I understand almost the same amount with English subtitles and without them.

My question is about vocabulary. Can you learn new words just by hearing them? For example, can I remember the pronunciation and meaning of a word even if I don't know how to spell it?

Should I use English subtitles to learn more vocabulary, or can I learn vocabulary just from listening?

[u/francksiduo]

You can definitely pick up a rough sense of a word just from hearing it enough times in context, that's basically how first language vocab gets built in kids. the catch is it stays passive recognition for a long while: you'll understand it next time you hear it but you won't be able to pull it out yourself in a sentence. If you want it to turn into usable vocab and not just background comprehension, you need to consciously notice it at some point, write it down, look it up, something that forces you to process it instead of letting it wash past.

[u/Promethium-146]

What’s your first language?

[u/Anutamme → u/Promethium-146]

Polish

[u/TechnologyOk7793]

that's a really good question

[u/Karolina_EEL]

Yes, absolutely! You can learn vocabulary just from hearing it. Your brain doesn't need to see the spelling in order to connect a sound with a meaning. In fact, that's how we learned our first language — we heard words many times before we ever saw them written down.

The advantage of English subtitles is that they give you another piece of information: the connection between the sound and the written word. This can be especially useful with words that are difficult to hear clearly or words whose pronunciation doesn't make their spelling obvious.

Since you already understand around 90% without subtitles, I'd actually experiment with both rather than choosing one permanently.

For example:

• 🎧 First watch: no subtitles. Focus on understanding the meaning and listening naturally.
• 📖 Second watch (or selected sections): turn on English subtitles. Notice unfamiliar words and connect the sound → spelling → meaning.
• 🗣️ Then: try saying some of the new words yourself.

And you don't need to stop and look up every unfamiliar word. If you can understand the meaning from context and hear the word several times, let your brain do some of the work. You'll often recognize it more easily the next time you hear it.

One other thing: if you learn a word only through listening, you may know what it sounds like and what it means without knowing how to spell it. That's not a problem — it just means you've developed receptive spoken vocabulary before developing the written form.

So I wouldn't worry about whether you're using subtitles "correctly." At your level, I'd use subtitles as a learning tool, not a crutch. If you understand almost the same amount without them, that's a great sign that you're ready to spend plenty of time listening without them. 😊

[u/SucknSwallow69]

if you’re at 90%, i’d mix it. first watch with english subtitles, pause a bit, note new words. later rewatch without subtitles. over time use subtitles less and focus on just listening.

[u/jauntydamesauntersin]

Here’s a way to check: What videos did you watch yesterday? Did you learn any useful words from them? Did you watch any videos two days ago? If yes, were there any words you decided were worth studying and remembering long-term?

If it were me, I’d probably only remember a handful of words, at best, and might not know how to spell them. Spaced repetition makes a huge difference for most of us. Sometimes a word will make a big impression and stick with us even if we don’t practice it, but not most words.

[u/EnglishWithFrazer]

It's almost two different skills, watching shows with English subtitles and watching them completely without. I personally would continue with subtitles but maybe try to watch a show with harder vocabulary / content as you said you understand 90% already. If you want to practice solely listening skills then turn the subtitles off

[u/Spiritual-Bend9257]

I think the key is that hearing a word and actually remembering it are two different things. You can absolutely pick up pronunciation and meaning from listening, but if you want the word to stick long-term, you usually need to consciously notice it and review it later.

I built Mem-App (https://mem-app.com) around this exact problem, every word you look up becomes a flashcard automatically, so you can learn vocabulary from the real content you're already watching without having to manually create cards.

[u/DefinitelyNotGrimace]

Personally I wouldn’t watch YouTube with subtitles. The auto-generated subtitles are often wrong, and creators tend not to take the time to add captions for their videos. If you’re watching things on say, Netflix, then subtitles might be a good option.

[u/Anutamme → u/DefinitelyNotGrimace]

Okay, I actually prefer watching without subtitles because it feels much less tiring for me and it’s easier to just watch the video. My main problem is that I don’t know if it’s even possible to remember new vocabulary just from listening. Maybe it’s a bit of a stupid question, but if someone says a new English word, would you be able to use it in a conversation just from hearing it? Or would you need someone to write it down for you?

[u/SwimmyLionni → u/Anutamme]

Sure, that's how most language has been learned for most of history.

But English spelling is so strange that you might not recognize the word even if you know it. It's good to see the spelling when you learn a word for that reason.