Dictate in Norwegian on a Mac: Bokmål setup and commands

To dictate in Norwegian on a Mac, open System Settings → Keyboard, go to Dictation (Diktering on a Norwegian-language Mac), click Edit next to Languages, and select Norwegian Bokmål. Start Dictation and pick Norwegian from the language shown next to the cursor. Apple lists Norwegian Bokmål for on-device dictation, but not for automatic punctuation or emoji, and it does not list Nynorsk for Dictation at all. Apple publishes a fully translated Norwegian command list.

The steps come from Apple's Dictate messages and documents on Mac for macOS 27 Golden Gate, and its Norwegian edition, Dikter meldinger og dokumenter på Mac. If your screen differs, search System Settings for "Dictation" or "Diktering".

How do you turn on Norwegian dictation?

1. Choose Apple menu → System Settings, then click Keyboard (Tastatur) in the sidebar.
2. Go to Dictation (Diktering) and turn it on.
3. Click Edit (Rediger) next to Languages (Språk) and select the Norwegian Bokmål option.
4. Stay online while the Mac sets the language up. Apple's feature page says on-device dictation "Requires download of speech models."
5. In a text field, start Dictation with the Microphone key, your Dictation shortcut, or Edit → Start Dictation (Rediger → Start diktering), and check that the language next to the cursor is Norwegian.

If you also write in English, select it too. To switch while dictating, click the language next to the cursor, or press the Globe key (globustasten) and choose. Apple's guide describes switching by hand and does not describe automatic detection of a language change.

Bokmål or Nynorsk: what does Apple offer?

Apple's macOS feature availability page names the option two ways: Norwegian (Bokmål) in the main Dictation list, and Norwegian Bokmål (Norway) in the on-device list. Nynorsk does not appear anywhere on that page on the day we checked.

So if you write Nynorsk, there is no Nynorsk Dictation option to choose. Apple does not say how Bokmål dictation treats Nynorsk speech or spellings. If you try it, dictate in Bokmål and check every word form in your test before relying on it.

Which Norwegian dictation features does Apple list?

From Apple's feature page for macOS Golden Gate, checked on 3 October 2026:

A row marked Not listed means absent from that feature's list on the day we checked.

Because Bokmål is on the on-device list, your Mac can process it locally once the speech model is downloaded. Apple's guide says the text below the Dictation switch in Keyboard settings tells you whether general dictation is processed on your Mac. Is Mac Dictation private? explains that note.

Apple's guide says Dictation adds "commas, periods, and question marks" in supported languages; the Norwegian edition calls the switch Automatisk tegnsetting. Norwegian is not on that list, so plan to say each mark.

How do you say punctuation in Norwegian?

Apple's Norwegian command list, Kommandoer for å diktere tekst på Mac, is fully translated. The entries you will use most:

Three details from that page:

• Quotation marks look reversed. Apple shows » for sitat and « for avsluttende anførselstegn, the opposite of the usual Norwegian order, where « opens a quotation and » closes it. Check which marks your Mac inserts before you rely on them.
• No krone sign. The currency section lists dollar, cent, pound, euro and yen. Write kr yourself, or check how your Mac writes amounts you dictate.
• Spacing and capitals. ingen mellomrom på and ingen mellomrom av join the next phrase without spaces and then go back to normal; bare store bokstaver writes the next word in capitals.

Norwegian keyboard, æ, ø and å

Dictation language and keyboard layout are separate settings. Apple's Write in another language on Mac has you add keyboards under Keyboard → Text Input → Edit: search for Norwegian and choose a layout. It says an added input source's language also joins "your list of Dictation languages (if available)", and that Control-Space selects the last input source you used.

Apple's Dictation guide does not say you need a Norwegian keyboard to dictate Norwegian, and it does not describe how Dictation handles æ, ø and å. Check them in your test. If a word comes out wrong, Apple says ambiguous text is underlined in blue: click it and pick an alternative. The Norwegian edition's example is getting mel when you meant melk.

What about other dictation apps?

Apple's Dictation is free and runs Bokmål on the device, so test it first.

Google's voice typing help lists Norwegian, with no written standard named, for voice typing in Google Docs, and notes that "Punctuation might not be available in every language". Microsoft's Dictate your documents in Word lists Norwegian (Bokmål) as a preview language, which it says may have lower accuracy or limited punctuation support; it needs a Microsoft 365 subscription.

SuprFlow's requirements page lists 19 languages, and Norwegian is not one of them. Do not buy SuprFlow for Norwegian dictation.

A 10-minute test for your Norwegian

1. Write four made-up sentences: two ordinary, one with an English product or person name, and one with a date, an amount and a negation. For example: Møtet med Jordan Chen er 14. mai. Beløpet er 2 750 kroner, ikke 2 570.
2. Dictate them into Notes with Norwegian active, saying punktum and komma.
3. Check æ, ø and å, compound words, the name, the figures and ikke.
4. Say sitat around a phrase and check which quotation marks appear.

Questions people ask

Can I dictate in Nynorsk on a Mac?

Apple's feature page lists Norwegian Bokmål for Dictation and does not list Nynorsk. Apple does not say how Bokmål dictation handles Nynorsk, so test it with your own text.

Why does Mac dictation not add punctuation in Norwegian?

Apple does not list Norwegian for auto-punctuation. Say each mark, such as punktum, komma and spørsmålstegn, from Apple's Norwegian command list.

How do I start a new paragraph in Norwegian dictation?

Say nytt avsnitt. For a single line break, say ny linje. Apple's guide says the break appears when you finish dictating.

Does Norwegian dictation work offline on a Mac?

Apple lists Norwegian Bokmål (Norway) for on-device dictation, after a speech model download. The text below the Dictation switch in Keyboard settings confirms how your Mac processes it.

Related guides

• Mac dictation languages: what Apple supports in each one
• Dictate in Danish on a Mac
• Dictate in Swedish on a Mac
• Dictate in German on a Mac
• Mac dictation commands and punctuation
• Is Mac Dictation private?

Sources

• Apple — Dictate messages and documents on Mac
• Apple — Dikter meldinger og dokumenter på Mac
• Apple — Kommandoer for å diktere tekst på Mac
• Apple — macOS feature availability
• Apple — Write in another language on Mac
• Google — Type and edit with your voice
• Microsoft — Dictate your documents in Word
• SuprFlow — System requirements