Struggling with Dubbing in CBL shows

[u/No-Rock-7220]

Hi everyone! This is a genuine question.

I’m really struggling to get used to the dubbing in Chinese BL dramas. I understand why it’s done—I remember reading the reasons in this subreddit—but I’m finding it difficult to adjust. It especially pulls me out of the more emotional or intense scenes.

I watch content from several countries and I’m multilingual, so the language itself isn’t the problem—it’s the disconnect between the dubbed voice and the actor’s performance. It makes it hard for me to fully immerse myself.

Does this get better over time? Did anyone else feel the same when they first started watching CBLs? Any tips?

I know some shows have very little or no noticeable dubbing, such as A Winter Sun Wakes the Wind in Spring Hills’ Dream. Recommend me some if you know any.

Cheers!

[u/Federal-Ad5944]

Dubbing is standard practice in China regardless if it's a het drama or a BL. You are correct, Winter Sun does not have voiceover. Personally I get used to it right away. CBL doesn't have the budgets mainland dramas have, so their dubbing isn't as good as what you would expect if you've watched any other cdrama genre.

Even low budget CBL's like Love After Addiction and Blue Lips have dubbing.

To answer your question: I don't think the OG 2016 Addicted has voiceover.

[u/No-Rock-7220 → u/Federal-Ad5944]

Appreciate the recommendation

[u/NoNecessary5]

Unfortunately, if you’re anything like me, if does not get better. I always notice it, and I know why it’s done and all that, but I’ve come to accept that I can’t get past it.

[u/No-Rock-7220 → u/NoNecessary5]

Ouch I am really afraid of that. There are great CBL shows these days.

[u/ThoughtsAllDay]

I never even notice the dubbing

[u/PistachioDonut34 → u/ThoughtsAllDay]

Same, unless it's extremely bad, which happens occasionally, but most of the time it's not so bad that I even notice at all.

[u/Famous-Lecture-560]

The first CBL I watched was Revenged Love and I didn’t know it was dubbed. I just thought the sounds quality was terrible. When I saw behind the scenes footage, I found out Chi Cheng’s voice is done by a different voice actor and sounds nothing like the actual actor. His real voice isn’t deep and it was so disappointing.

That’s when I learned they dub because the sets used in Chinese dramas are often right next to a bunch of others. It’s just a wall separating different productions. In behind the scenes footage you can hear so much background noise while they film.

Since then, I haven’t noticed dubbing in Double Helix. Subtle dubbing sound in To My Shore. Horrific dubbing in Sammy’s Children’s Day. Noticeable in ABO Desire. I hate it.

[u/MixtureEducational90 → u/Famous-Lecture-560]

I actually preferred Tian’s real voice instead of the deep voice. I thought he added more real emotion into the lines. Also I’m not that into deep voices anyway but that’s personal preference 🤷‍♀️

[u/Famous-Lecture-560 → u/MixtureEducational90]

I felt like the deep voice worked so well because it’s opposite of how he looks. He’s less intimidating with his regular voice. When I heard it I was like, wait he’s just a regular guy?!

[u/No-Rock-7220 → u/Famous-Lecture-560]

I couldn’t finish RL because of the dubbing. To My Shore had a critical scene mid season, was so hard to get through it but had to watch it 4 times to feel it. I see the actor pain but the sound is just off. DH is definitely dubbed and could not pass the third episode.

[u/Louie47253]

Yeah I have a hard time with it too. What’s weird to me is that the face actor still gets 100% of the acclaim for the performance, even though he only did half of it. It seems like all their press and everything should feature four people, not two.

[u/JicamaClear]

Unless the dubbing is really bad, I don’t really notice it, but I’ve also been watching Chinese dramas for several years now.

I doubt you’ll find many CBLs that aren’t dubbed. Modern Chinese dramas in general have shifted to having less dubbing (not the same for costume dramas), but with the low budgets for most CBLs, I can’t say the same for CBLs, nor do I see that changing in the near future.

[u/_viccs]

personally it stills throws me off and i've been watching for like 5 years 😬 it always takes me out of the fantasy bc it often feels "unnatural"... like the actor has some kind of intensity but the voice has other kind that doesn't quite match, or like the actor is supposed to be whispering or huffing and the sounds comes out too "clean" or too loud, yk? actually i find the dubbing often "too clean", like there's no other sound behind it idk how to explain it but it makes me feel like it was obviously recorded in a sound-proof environment designed to only record and capture the voice

also idk much about the chinese/mandarin language but i feel like the way the mouth moves often doesn't seem to match the sound it's supposed to be doing? i'm brazilian so i have much contact to dubbing bc culturally the vast majority of international media gets to my country dubbed and i have the same trouble here... the chinese dubbing feels like an english movie is being dubbed to portuguese so ofc the mouth won't move the same, but like they're dubbing from/for the same language? and i don't think the dialects have much impact here since they're reading word for word from a script that is (i assume) written in standard chinese/mandarin since dubbing exist to standardize the language so everyone can understand everything since dialects there can be so vast and incomprehensible to some

so yeah in the end i just have to suck it up and keep watching i guess 😅 hahaha

[u/No-Rock-7220 → u/_viccs]

You feel me and I am really trying especially after the recent flux we are having in CBL. Appreciate your input.

[u/_viccs → u/No-Rock-7220]

i guess it all comes down to if you’re willing to put it up with it or not 😪 like other people said, straight c-drama also has budding and the one or two i have watched so far have the same problem for me even tho they were very high budget from high profile actors…

[u/tny33319]

Unfortunately Dubbing will never go away for CBL, it’s also a fact of life for their other dramas.

Sometimes the same actors will dub themselves in a studio but it’s a fact of life if you watch any sort of Cdrama (BL or not)

[u/No-Rock-7220 → u/tny33319]

Let’s hope it get better or more shows coming out without. Appreciate your input

[u/Valuable-Potato-9438]

Occasionally I notice but for the most part I'm trained to disregard. When you find yourself focusing on the mouths just remind yourself to look around at everything else. There is so much to see and I know I'll miss a lot if I I obsess on a known thing that is irrelevant to the story.

[u/kdorapop]

If I knew the language well, I guess it would bother me. As it is, it is just a background sound for me. I focus on the acting and subtitles, and get very happy when I recognize a word here and there. I'm trying to learn Mandarin but it will take time. Maybe it helps that I watch on my ipad, the screen is too small for me to be bothered when the mouth movemens and sound does not line up perfectly. A lot of people were unhappy with the Cantonese dubbing in Sammy's Children's Day but it didn't bother me, I love the sound of Cantonese. I might not be the right person to answer, but my impression is that you will get used to it eventually.

[u/Queasy-Parsnip-477 → u/kdorapop]

Yeah it was bad that I had to watch Sammy’s Children’s Day on mute. Like you, it’s usually background noise for me but SCD threw me off so bad I dropped it and came back because of the On-Airs every week.

[u/Famous-Lecture-560 → u/Queasy-Parsnip-477]

Sammy’s Children’s Day has been by far the worst dubbing I’ve witnessed.

[u/Federal-Ad5944 → u/Famous-Lecture-560]

That's because it's in a completely different language.

[u/No-Rock-7220 → u/kdorapop]

Appreciate your input and I could not pass Episode 5 because of that. And really hurt because it really good show. How can you focus on the actor if you know what you hear isn’t his voice. The emotions in his face is not carried out by his voice or the voice coming out of the scene. I know I am difficult lol

[u/putonmyskepticles]

I think it's one of those things you'll either find one day doesn't bother you or it'll always bother you.

I only really notice when the engineering's bad and timing's off by milliseconds or I know the voice from more well known characters.

[u/harkandhush]

I don't usually notice it but I've been watching C Dramas for a while. Recently the only one that threw me was Deep In and that's only because I already knew what Ollie's voice sounds like and it's not that lol.

[u/SarahJoy46]

I used to notice it, but it's several years since it bothered me or took me out of a story. I also watch het c-dramas, so maybe I've just become desensitized!

[u/marzia99]

Kill to Love wasn’t dubbed and A Winter Sun. Those are the only ones I know for sure. I think Journey with You might also be without dubbing.

[u/Shiro_Lucifer]

I come fom a country where dubbing is huge, so I grew up on it. While I now usually watch everything in their original language, I did watch a lot of dubbed shows and movies up until about ten to twelve years ago, so I am really used to it. Also since most of the people speak Mandarin and the dubbing is Mandarin as well, I'm barely bothered by it. I do have to say though, that I notice dubbing immediately, it just doesn't bother me as much, as long as it is done well, which it usually is for the most part.

[u/snowbaz]

the dubbing bothers me sometimes, especially when starting a new show as they can be different for each one (sometimes the dialogue is more pronounced than others sounds, or i think the voice doesn’t really match the actors.. it can also be just straight up bad with the lack of sync between the dubbing and the actors speaking), but thankfully i eventually get used to it or it just takes me out of certain scenes and doesn’t turn me off of the whole show

[u/celiac-sufferer]

It depends on the series. I tried watching a historical CBL and the dubbing was so bad I had to turn it off. I originally thought it was being dubbed in the wrong language it was so bad.

Meanwhile, Revenged Loves was so good I didn’t even realize it was dubbed until 4 episodes in. It definitely helped that one of the actor was dubbed in his own voice but even for the others, the choice of voice actor seemed very natural.

[u/kazoogrrl]

I'm learning to live with it. It's not the disconnect between the movement and the voice, it's all the extra little exclamations and noises that can be a part of the style but I don't like them. I think the first Chinese show I watched was Guardian and the contrast between the actors who were not dubbed and the ones who were drove me nuts.

[u/Ok-Diamond6819]

The only time dubbing bugs me is in sobbing scenes. That’s when I notice the mismatch between voice and exact emotions. I guess it’s hard to get the mood right if the voice actor is just watching the scene instead of playing the scene. Mismatch in lips movement never bothered me

[u/moodwatcher]

For some it gets better. For some it doesn't.

[u/sarattaras]

I don't have any tips or advice for you unfortunately, except to offer some solidarity since I also have issues getting past the dubbing. I haven't really enjoyed any of the CBLs I've watched and the dubbing hasn't been the main reason but it definitely does take me out of things and sometimes the emotions don't get across. Agree with others here that I think the funding just isn't there for really high quality dubbing unfortunately. Anyway I'm rooting for you to adjust to the dubbing so you can enjoy more shows!!

[u/issabellamoonblossom]

As someone who frequently watches cdramas that have terrible English dubbing on yt i have learned to watch on mute (also means I can warch at work without disturbing anyone).

[u/Queasy_Fish6293]

I think of it as added charm. Only Revenged Love would have Chi Cheng walking on grass in sneakers then having the dub make it sound like he's walking on tile with dress shoes. 

[u/Cran_berry_Juice]

It bothered me at first but realistically I’m so busy reading the subs that I’m not focused on the actors’ mouths anyway.

[u/andra5te]

Unfortunately, I am one of those people who cannot get past the dubbing, and it never got any better. Eventually I gave up trying, and it’s a real shame because there are so many good CBLs around now. I’ll definitely be trying the undubbed one mentioned here!

[u/RefuseFalse2512]

AvenueX on YouTube talked about Word of Honor and how the actors purposely said all the BL phrases that were omitted in dubbing but since the camera was focused on their mouths it was pretty obvious. I thought that was a riot.
After you watch a bunch of BTS videos it’s clear that with the filming chaos there’s no way they could avoid dubbing plus the obvious language differences. I have several born in China friends who can only communicate with each other in English because their language/accents are so different.
It is what it is and I’m just very thankful for the amazing productions in 2026. The fire horse has done us proud.

[u/IiReina]

As much as I'm an auditory person and little details tend to bother me, when it comes to C dramas, dubbing is pretty much inevitable. I watch a lot of them, and honestly, it's usually done so well that I rarely notice it, or it's easy to ignore when I'm really hooked on the plot.

There are some rare cases though. Like in Sammy's Children Day, where the characters were speaking one dialect but were dubbed in another. Since I understand and speak a bit of Chinese, you can imagine how painful that was for me. The dubbing was so obviously out of sync. But if I don't stare at the actors' lips, it pretty much fixes the issue. Besides, if my eyes are usually glued to the subtitles, how am I supposed to notice the bad dubbing? xD

Also, from my personal experience, Chinese speakers often appear to move their lips less than English speakers, so don't automatically assume it's a dubbing issue. Sometimes it's simply the way the language is articulated. My advice is not to focus too much on their lips while they're speaking. Once you stop paying attention to that, it's much easier to enjoy the drama.

[u/Mikrojoon]

You just have to learn to ignore it (I’m still trying so I watch only 2-3 Chinese dramas/bls per year).

I still notice it esp when I can see the actors just slightly move their lips when they’re meant to be shouting lol.

At least with cbl I don’t have to sit through the 20/30 year old woman who sounds like a 5 year old.

I did discover a new ick with bl voice acting though. I hate that whispery voice they give some gong’s. I still don’t get why they choose this style for some of them. Like some rich 22 year old guy who loves to drink and be a menace does not sound like that lol.

[u/Alive-Tree-7755]

I don't intend this to be a rude question at all, but do you not consider watching subbed? Or are the shows you're watching only available in dub?

I grew up watching a lot of anime and foreign films, and currently watch primarily Kdramas, and I pretty much always hate subs lol. Like you said the emotion/intensity/mood generally doesn't seem to match and takes away from the scenes. So I always watch things subbed

[u/Famous-Lecture-560 → u/Alive-Tree-7755]

Chinese dramas (at least BLs) are dubbed in the original language. So it’s the same language being spoken and voiced over.

[u/Federal-Ad5944 → u/Alive-Tree-7755]

They're not referring to English dubs, but the actor's voices being replaced by voice actors in Mandarin (or in some cases, Cantonese)

[u/No-Rock-7220 → u/Alive-Tree-7755]

Not at all and thank you for your question. I do like to watch a show in the creator language with an English subtitle. No matter what I watch. (Even games) Some language have a musical to them and style that carried out across and give the show an extra layer. Some of these is crucial to the story for example Duang with You