Mac dictation languages: what Apple supports in each one

Mac Dictation works in dozens of languages, but not every language gets the same features. Apple's general Dictation list for macOS 27 names 34 languages (counting Mandarin, Cantonese and Shanghainese separately), most with several regions. The shorter lists are the ones that matter day to day: which languages Apple lists for on-device dictation, automatic punctuation and emoji. The table below collects what each of our 25 language guides found on Apple's macOS feature availability page, as of 1 October 2026, and links to the guide with the setup steps and spoken commands for that language.

Publisher note: SuprFlow publishes this guide and is one of the products discussed. Competitor details come from each company's own pages, checked on 1 October 2026. Prices and features change; confirm before you buy.

Which features does Apple list for each language?

"Not listed" means the language or region was absent from Apple's list for that feature on the day each guide checked it. It does not prove the feature can never work; it means Apple does not list it.

Three patterns stand out. Hindi, Polish, Indonesian, Catalan, Czech, Greek and Ukrainian have basic Dictation only, with Danish, Hebrew and Norwegian (Bokmål) adding on-device recognition but no auto-punctuation or emoji. Russian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Arabic and Portuguese need spoken punctuation. And the English variants of some countries get more than the local language: our Hindi guide notes that English (India) is listed for every Dictation feature, and our Indonesian guide notes the same for English (Indonesia).

What do the three columns mean for you?

On-device dictation. Apple says the text below the Dictation switch in System Settings → Keyboard tells you whether general dictation is processed on your Mac. Apple's feature page adds that on-device dictation "Requires download of speech models", so stay online while a new language sets up. If your language is not listed, read that text before dictating anything confidential. Is Mac Dictation private? explains Apple's wording.

Auto-punctuation. Where it is listed, Dictation adds commas, periods and question marks itself. Where it is not, you say each mark in the language you are dictating, such as "virgule" in French or "Komma" in German. Each language guide has a table of Apple's spoken commands, and Mac dictation commands and punctuation has the full English list.

Dictate emoji. Where listed, you can say an emoji's name. Where not, type it.

Is Apple's newer Dictation available in other languages?

Not yet. Apple's feature page lists "More advanced Dictation", which sits under Apple Intelligence, for English regions only. None of our language guides that checked that row found another language listed. Apple's newsroom post of 14 September 2026 describes it as available on a Mac with M3 or later and at least 12GB of unified memory, on macOS 27. Outside English, Dictation works the standard way described in each guide. Apple Intelligence dictation on Mac covers which Macs and English regions qualify.

How do you add and switch between multiple dictation languages?

Apple's Dictation guide for macOS 27 describes the same steps for every language:

1. Choose Apple menu → System Settings → Keyboard, then go to Dictation.
2. Click Edit next to Languages and select each language and region you speak.
3. Start Dictation. The current language appears next to the cursor as an abbreviation or character.
4. Click it, or press the Globe key, and choose another language.

Apple describes switching by hand. Our Spanish guide found no mention of Dictation detecting a language change on its own, so switch before you speak the second language. If your Globe key is set to open emoji, the language menu may not appear; the Mac dictation shortcut guide explains that setting.

Which language guides cover special cases?

• Japanese and Korean: Dictation is separate from your Kana, Romaji or 2-Set Korean input source, which you still use to fix words.
• Chinese: which Mandarin and Cantonese variants run on-device, and how to convert between simplified and traditional characters.
• Arabic: using the Writing Direction commands when right-to-left Arabic and English share a paragraph.
• Hindi: what Apple says, and does not say, about mixing Hindi and English.
• Vietnamese: fixing tone marks with a Telex, VNI or VIQR input source.
• Turkish: checking how ı, İ, ğ and ş come out before you rely on it.
• Thai: checking word spacing, because Thai does not put spaces between words.
• Portuguese, German and Dutch: choosing between regions that Apple treats differently.

What about dictation apps other than Apple's?

Third-party apps usually have you pick a language and a speech model that supports it. Many are built on OpenAI's Whisper, whose README, quoted in our Spanish guide, says performance "varies widely depending on the language". SuprFlow's requirements page lists 19 languages, and its setup asks you to choose a speech-recognition language. We make no accuracy claim for any language and have not run a controlled benchmark. Our multilingual test guide gives a short script-based test; run Apple's free Dictation through it first.

A 10-minute test for any language

1. Write four made-up sentences in your language: two ordinary ones, one with a foreign name, and one with a date, an amount and a negation.
2. Dictate them into Notes with that language active.
3. Check accents or characters, the name, the numbers and the negation.
4. If auto-punctuation is listed for your language, dictate once with it on and once saying the commands, then compare.
5. Switch to a second language from the cursor menu, dictate one sentence, and switch back.

Questions people ask

How many languages does Mac dictation support?

Apple's general Dictation list for macOS 27 names 34 languages, most with several regions. Fewer of them are listed for on-device dictation, auto-punctuation and emoji, and the newer Apple Intelligence Dictation is listed for English only. Apple's lists change between releases, so check the current feature page.

Can a Mac dictate in two languages at once?

You can set up several languages and switch between them while dictating, from the language shown next to the cursor or with the Globe key. Apple's guide describes switching by hand, not automatic detection within a sentence.

Why does my language need an internet connection?

Either the language is not on Apple's on-device list, so dictation is processed on Apple's servers, or the speech model has not finished downloading. The text below the Dictation switch in Keyboard settings tells you which applies.

My language is not in this table. Can I still dictate in it?

Possibly. Apple's general list includes languages we have not written guides for. Check the Dictate messages and documents steps and Apple's feature page for your region.

Related guides

• How to use voice to text on a Mac
• Mac dictation complete guide
• Apple Intelligence dictation on Mac
• Is Mac Dictation private?
• Mac Dictation not working? Causes and fixes
• Test a dictation app with another language

Sources

• Apple — macOS feature availability: Dictation
• Apple — Dictate messages and documents on Mac
• Apple Newsroom — Siri AI, a profoundly more capable and personal assistant, is here
• OpenAI — whisper GitHub repository and README
• SuprFlow — Requirements