Mac dictation commands
Say the name of the punctuation mark ("period", "comma", "question mark") and Mac Dictation types it. Say "new line" or "new paragraph" for breaks. Standard Dictation has no voice editing commands. For those, turn on Voice Control.
These are Apple's documented commands for macOS Tahoe 26 and later. Some commands depend on the language you're dictating in.
Punctuation
| Say | You get |
|---|---|
| "period", "point", "dot" or "full stop" | . |
| "comma" | , |
| "question mark" | ? |
| "exclamation mark" | ! |
| "colon" / "semicolon" | : / ; |
| "apostrophe" | ' |
| "hyphen" / "dash" | - / – |
| "ellipsis" | … |
| "quote" … "end quote" | " … " |
| "begin single quote" … "end single quote" | ' … ' |
| "open parenthesis" / "close parenthesis" | ( ) |
| "open square bracket" / "close square bracket" | [ ] |
| "open brace" / "close brace" | { } |
Symbols
| Say | You get |
|---|---|
| "ampersand", "asterisk", "at sign" | & * @ |
| "backslash", "forward slash", "vertical bar" | \ / | |
| "caret", "underscore" | ^ _ |
| "hashtag" or "pound sign", "percent sign", "degree sign" | # % ° |
| "dollar sign", "cent sign", "pound sterling sign", "euro sign", "yen sign" | $ ¢ £ € ¥ |
| "equal sign", "plus sign", "minus sign", "multiplication sign" | = + - x |
| "greater than sign", "less than sign" | > < |
| "copyright sign", "registered sign", "trademark sign" | © ® ™ |
| "smiley face", "frowny face", "winky face" | :-) :-( ;-) |
In some languages you can also say an emoji's name, such as "heart emoji".
Line breaks and spacing
| Say | Does |
|---|---|
| "new line" | Presses Return once |
| "new paragraph" | Presses Return twice |
| "tab key" | Moves to the next tab stop |
| "no space on" … "no space off" | Runs the words in between together |
Capitals and numbers
| Say | Does |
|---|---|
| "caps on" … "caps off" | Capitalises Each Word In Between |
| "all caps" | Puts the next word in CAPITALS |
| "all caps on" … "all caps off" | Puts everything in between in CAPITALS |
| "numeral" + number | Types the number as digits |
| "roman numeral" + number | Types it in Roman numerals |
Editing: use Voice Control
Standard Dictation doesn't have commands like "delete that". To fix a word, click the blue-underlined word and pick an alternative, or type the fix.
For full voice editing, turn on Voice Control in System Settings → Accessibility → Voice Control. It replaces standard Dictation and adds commands such as:
- "replace [cat] with [dog]"
- "dictation mode", "spelling mode" and "command mode"
- "show numbers" and "show grid", to click anything on screen by voice
- "stop listening" and "start listening"
- "show commands", which lists everything you can say
The full list is in System Settings → Accessibility → Voice Control → Commands.