How to dictate on Mac

Written for macOS 13 Ventura and later, checked against Apple's guide for macOS 27. On macOS 12 Monterey and earlier the same settings live in System Preferences > Keyboard > Dictation.

Turn on Dictation

1. Open Keyboard settings. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar.
2. Switch Dictation on. Scroll to Dictation and turn it on. macOS may ask whether to share audio recordings with Apple to improve Siri and Dictation; you can decline.

Choose your languages and check where they are processed

3. Pick your languages. Next to Languages, click Edit and select every language you dictate in. You can remove a downloaded language there later.
4. Check for on-device processing. Under Dictation, Keyboard settings says whether your voice inputs and transcripts are processed on your device and not sent to Siri servers. On-device languages need their speech model downloaded first.
5. Choose the microphone. Use the microphone source menu to pick a microphone, or leave it on Automatic to let your Mac choose the one you are most likely using.

Pick a shortcut

6. Set the Dictation shortcut. Click the Shortcut menu and choose a preset, or choose Customize and press the keys you want, such as Option-Z. If your keyboard has a Microphone key in the function row, it starts Dictation too.

Dictate

7. Start Dictation. Click where you want the text, then press the Microphone key, your Dictation shortcut, or choose Edit > Start Dictation.
8. Speak. Talk normally. In supported languages Dictation adds commas, periods and question marks for you; you can also say punctuation out loud.
9. Stop. Press Escape, the Microphone key or your shortcut again. Dictation also stops by itself after 30 seconds without speech.

Say the punctuation

Automatic punctuation covers commas, periods and question marks in supported languages. For everything else, say the command. These work in English; Apple's dictation commands list has the rest, including symbols and currency.

If you'd rather punctuate yourself, turn off Auto-punctuation in the same Dictation settings.

Make it work offline

On an Apple silicon Mac, about 40 of Apple's 56 Dictation languages can run on the device after a speech model download. Apple's guide for macOS 15 Sequoia says that on an Intel-based Mac, or in a language without on-device support, your dictation is sent to Apple. To check yours, turn Wi-Fi off and dictate a sentence. What on-device dictation means explains the difference.

If it doesn't start

Try Edit > Start Dictation first; if that works, the problem is your shortcut, and the shortcut guide covers the Fn and Globe key settings. If nothing works, go through the Mac dictation troubleshooting checklist. One common cause: while Voice Control is on, standard Dictation isn't available. Using Word? Its own Dictate button works differently: see dictation in Microsoft Word.

If you want to hold a key instead

Apple Dictation is a mode you start and stop. Dictate, the app we make, works differently. You hold any key you choose, speak, and the text lands at your cursor when you let go. It detects which of its European languages you are speaking, so there is no language setting to switch, and it never sends audio anywhere. See Apple Dictation vs Dictate for an honest comparison, including when Apple's is the better choice.