Dictate in Vietnamese on a Mac: setup, commands and tone marks

To dictate in Vietnamese on a Mac, open System Settings → Keyboard, go to Dictation (Đọc chính tả on a Vietnamese-language Mac), click Edit next to Languages, and select Vietnamese (Vietnam). Start Dictation and pick Vietnamese from the language shown next to the cursor. Apple lists Vietnamese for on-device dictation but not for automatic punctuation, so you say "dấu chấm" and "dấu phẩy" yourself. To fix a tone mark by hand, add a Vietnamese input source such as Telex or VNI.

The steps come from Apple's Dictate messages and documents on Mac for macOS 27 Golden Gate, and its Vietnamese edition, Đọc chính tả tin nhắn và tài liệu trên máy Mac. If your screen differs, search System Settings for "Dictation" or "Đọc chính tả".

How do you turn on Vietnamese dictation?

1. Choose Apple menu → System Settings, then click Keyboard (Bàn phím) in the sidebar.
2. Go to Dictation (Đọc chính tả) and turn it on.
3. Click Edit (Sửa) next to Languages (Ngôn ngữ) and select Vietnamese (Vietnam).
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, and check that the language next to the cursor is Vietnamese.

If you also write in English, select it too. Switch by clicking the language next to the cursor, or press the Globe key (phím Địa cầu) and choose. Apple's guide describes switching by hand, not automatic detection of a language change.

Which Vietnamese dictation features does Apple list?

From Apple's macOS feature availability page for macOS Golden Gate, checked on 2 October 2026:

Apple lists one Vietnamese variant, Vietnam. "Not listed" means absent from that feature's list on the day we checked.

• Say every punctuation mark. Apple's guide says automatic commas, periods and question marks work "in supported languages". Vietnamese is not on that list.
• Use the emoji picker. Vietnamese is not on the emoji dictation list.
• On-device is listed. Apple's guide says the text below the Dictation switch in Keyboard settings confirms whether general dictation is processed on your Mac. Is Mac Dictation private? explains that note.

How do you say punctuation in Vietnamese?

Apple's Vietnamese command list, Lệnh để đọc chính tả văn bản trên máy Mac, is translated. The entries you will use most:

Three details from that page:

• "Dấu hỏi" is the question mark here. In Vietnamese, the same words also name the hook-above tone. On Apple's list, saying "dấu hỏi" gives "?", so do not use it to describe a tone.
• No đồng sign. The currency section lists the dollar, cent, pound, euro and yen signs but not ₫. Type it yourself, or check how your Mac writes amounts you dictate.
• Both quotation commands show ” as the result. Check which marks your Mac inserts.

The list also has "bật không có khoảng trống" and "tắt không có khoảng trống" (next phrase without spaces, then back to normal). Apple does not say how Dictation decides spacing between Vietnamese syllables; check it in your test.

Vietnamese input sources and tone marks

Dictation language and input source are separate settings. Apple's feature page lists five Vietnamese input sources: Vietnamese, Vietnamese – Simple Telex, Vietnamese – Telex, Vietnamese – VIQR and Vietnamese – VNI.

Apple's Write in another language on Mac has you add one under Keyboard → Text Input → Edit, says its language also joins "your list of Dictation languages (if available)", and says Control-Space selects the last input source you used. Apple's Input Sources settings page adds an option to "Automatically switch to a document's input source", which helps if you keep Vietnamese and English documents open at once.

Apple's Dictation guide does not say you need a Vietnamese input source active to dictate Vietnamese, and it does not describe how Dictation places tone marks. A wrong tone changes the word, so read every line you dictate. If Dictation underlines a word in blue, Apple says you can click it and choose an alternative. Otherwise, select the word and retype it with Telex or VNI.

What about other dictation apps?

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

SuprFlow's requirements page lists 19 languages, including Vietnamese, and its setup asks you to choose a speech-recognition language. We have not tested accuracy per language and make no accuracy claim for Vietnamese, including tone marks. How to test SuprFlow with another language gives a short test. SuprFlow costs $125 once and has no free tier.

A 10-minute test for your Vietnamese

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. Include words that differ only by tone, such as "ma", "má" and "mà". For example: "Cuộc họp với Jordan Chen vào ngày 14 tháng 5. Số tiền là 2.750.000 đồng, không phải 2.570.000."
2. Dictate them into Notes with Vietnamese active, saying "dấu chấm" and "dấu phẩy".
3. Check every tone mark, the name, the figures and "không".
4. Fix one wrong tone with Telex or VNI.

Questions people ask

How do I use Vietnamese voice typing on a Mac?

Add Vietnamese (Vietnam) under System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation → Languages → Edit, start Dictation, and choose Vietnamese from the language shown next to the cursor.

Why does Mac dictation not add punctuation in Vietnamese?

Apple does not list Vietnamese for auto-punctuation. Say "dấu chấm", "dấu phẩy" or "dấu hỏi" from Apple's Vietnamese command list.

Which Vietnamese keyboard should I use on a Mac?

Apple lists Vietnamese, Simple Telex, Telex, VIQR and VNI input sources. Pick the typing method you already know. Apple's Dictation guide does not say Dictation depends on which one is active.

Does Vietnamese dictation work offline on a Mac?

Apple lists Vietnamese (Vietnam) 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

• How to use voice to text on a Mac
• Dictate in Mandarin or Cantonese on a Mac
• Mac dictation commands and punctuation
• How to test SuprFlow with another language
• Is Mac Dictation private?
• Mac Dictation not working? Causes and fixes

Sources

• Apple — Dictate messages and documents on Mac
• Apple — Đọc chính tả tin nhắn và tài liệu trên máy Mac
• Apple — Lệnh để đọc chính tả văn bản trên máy Mac
• Apple — macOS feature availability
• Apple — Write in another language on Mac
• Apple — Change Input Sources settings on Mac
• SuprFlow — System requirements