To test a free Indonesian transcription tool, send one casual clip and one formal clip and compare how each reads. For Potok, published tests of the earlier large-v2 model give a word error rate of 7.1 for Indonesian; no large-v3 figure was found.
Transcribe a recording
Send your voice message, audio or video to @potok_now_bot on Telegram and the text comes back in the chat.
Open @potok_now_bot in Telegram
Files up to 2 GB · export to TXT, MD, DOCX, PDF, SRT and VTT · speaker labels and timestamps · about 30 languages
Key facts
- The 7.1 is a word error rate from a published test of large-v2, not our measurement.
- No large-v3 figure was found, and a third party published a turbo average of 6.98.
- Casual speech and formal speech can differ a lot, so one clip tells only half the story.
- The transcript stays in Indonesian and is not translated.
What a transcript looks like
[00:00] Speaker 1: Mari kita mulai rapat. Pertama, kita tinjau hasil minggu lalu, lalu kita rencanakan langkah berikutnya.Meaning in English: Let's start the meeting. First, we'll review last week's results, then plan the next steps.
Written by us to show the script and the layout of a transcript. It is not the output of the recognition engine.
Published quality
| Language | Verdict | Published result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) | Recommended | word error rate 7.1% (large-v2, FLEURS) Whisper paper, TheWhisper benchmark | Published tests show a low error rate for this language. No large-v3 figure was found; the figure is from the earlier large-v2 model, and a third party published a turbo average of 6.98. |
These numbers come from published tests by other people, not from tests by Potok. Your own audio, with its noise, accents and microphone, will differ.
How to do it
- Make a casual clip. Record an informal chat with slang and shortened words.
- Make a formal clip. Add a presentation or a news-style passage for contrast.
- Open the bot. Open @potok_now_bot in Telegram and send both clips as voice messages or audio files.
- Compare the pair. See which clip needed more fixes. The gap shows where the tool is weaker, and it tells you which kind of audio to double-check later.
- Scale up. Up to 2 GB is accepted, with Upload in the mini app for large files. Export TXT, DOCX or SRT, and keep both sample results for later comparison.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Where it works | Telegram bot @potok_now_bot; large files go through the bot's mini app |
| File size | Up to 2 GB |
| Export | TXT, MD, DOCX, PDF, SRT, VTT |
| Speakers and time | Speaker labels and timestamps can be switched on |
| Languages | About 30 languages with good published results; a few more with warnings |
| Translation | The transcript is not translated into another language |
| Dictation | A separate Potok desktop app lets you dictate text into any program; it recognises Russian speech |
Common mistakes
| Mistake | What happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Testing only formal speech | Casual talk may behave differently. | Always include informal audio. |
| Quoting 7.1 as a large-v3 result | It comes from the earlier model. | Name the model. |
| Ignoring borrowed words | English and local terms are common in speech. | Check how they are written. |
| Judging from one speaker | Voices vary. | Try two speakers. |
More
See the full list of languages, the tools and the glossary.
Frequently asked questions
How does Indonesian score?
Published tests of large-v2 give a word error rate of 7.1, a good result.
Is there a large-v3 number?
None was found. A third party published a turbo average of 6.98.
Can I send a video?
Yes, along with audio, voice messages and YouTube links.
How do I check doubtful lines?
Switch timestamps on and jump to the moment in the audio.
Can the text come out in English?
No. The transcript stays in the language of the recording.
How long should each clip be?
Half a minute each is enough. Keep the two clips similar in length so the comparison between casual and formal speech stays fair.
Sources
Each source was opened by hand on the date shown. Pages change, so open the source if a detail matters to you.
- Word error rate (Wikipedia), Wikipedia · checked
- FLEURS speech dataset (Google, Hugging Face), Hugging Face · checked
- Whisper paper, Table 13 (large-v2 on FLEURS) · checked
- TheWhisper benchmark (turbo, average over FLEURS, MLS, Common Voice) · checked
Try it on your own recording
Send your voice message, audio or video to @potok_now_bot on Telegram and the text comes back in the chat.
Open @potok_now_bot in Telegram