How to Use Dictation on Mac

Step by step

1. 20 sec

   Turn Dictation on in System Settings

   Open System Settings and click Keyboard in the sidebar. Scroll to Dictation and turn the switch on. macOS shows a confirmation sheet describing how your audio is handled. Click Enable. The Mac then downloads the language assets if they are not already on disk.

   Note: The download runs once per language. Languages that run on device keep working afterwards with the network unplugged.
2. 20 sec

   Add the languages you actually dictate in

   Click the Language pop-up menu inside the Dictation section. Choose Add Language and select each language you need. macOS lists only the languages it supports for dictation. With more than one language enabled, you can switch between them from the dictation indicator while you speak.

   Note: Adding a language you never use costs disk space and nothing else. Adding one you do use saves you correcting every third word.
3. 20 sec

   Set the shortcut from the dropdown

   Click the Shortcut pop-up menu in the Dictation section. The list includes pressing the Control key twice, pressing a Command key twice, and a Customize option for a combination of your own. Pick one, then read it back from the menu. Whatever the menu shows is what your Mac listens for.

   Note: Do not trust an article that tells you the default. Apple has changed it, and the menu on your own Mac is the only authority.
4. 30 sec

   Dictate into any text field

   Click into any text field and press your dictation shortcut. An indicator appears to show the Mac is listening. Speak normally. Press the shortcut again to stop. Text is inserted at the cursor, so this works in Mail, Notes, Messages, or a plain search box.

   Note: Dictation inserts at the cursor, so it drops text into a rename field or a search box as happily as into a document.
5. 20 sec

   Speak the punctuation you want

   Say the name of the mark and macOS inserts the symbol. Comma, period, question mark, exclamation point, colon, and semicolon all work. Say new line for a single break and new paragraph for a blank line and a break. Say quote and end quote to wrap a phrase.

   Note: The punctuation commands are not optional flourishes. Dictate three sentences without them and you will get one very long sentence.
6. 15 sec

   Check what runs without a network

   On Apple silicon Macs, Apple processes many dictation languages entirely on the device. Those languages keep working with Wi-Fi turned off. Languages that are not supported on device still need a connection, and macOS tells you when dictation is unavailable.

   Note: On device means the audio does not leave the machine. That was a paid third-party product for years before it became a checkbox.