Mac dictation commands: the full list, and what they cannot do
The short answer
Mac dictation commands are plain names you say in the middle of a sentence: "comma", "period", "question mark", "new line", "new paragraph", "all caps", "numeral". They are always available while Dictation is listening, with nothing extra to turn on. They insert characters and formatting only; selecting, deleting and replacing text by voice needs Voice Control. Flit, a local dictation app for Mac, punctuates and formats what you say without commands, and has more than 60 spoken commands of its own for when you want a mark exactly there.
How to use a dictation command
- Turn on Dictation in System Settings → Keyboard, if it is not on already.
- Click where you want the text and start Dictation with the Microphone key, the Dictation shortcut, or Edit → Start Dictation.
- Speak, and say the command where the mark belongs, without a pause before it: "dear Sam comma new paragraph thanks for the notes period".
- For capitals, say "all caps" before one word, or "all caps on" and "all caps off" around a phrase.
- For digits, say "numeral" before the number.
- Press Escape to stop. Line breaks you asked for appear now.
Use Apple’s wording. The list says "open parenthesis" and "end quote", and other phrasings may be typed as words.
Apple publishes the list in the Mac User Guide, under "Commands for dictating text on Mac". The table has the ones most people need. The sections below have the rest, grouped the way Apple groups them.
The commands you will use most
| Say this | You get | Note |
|---|---|---|
| "comma" | , | Added for you when Auto-punctuation is on |
| "period", "point", "dot" or "full stop" | . | Added for you when Auto-punctuation is on |
| "question mark" | ? | Added for you when Auto-punctuation is on |
| "exclamation mark" | ! | Always spoken |
| "colon", "semicolon" | : ; | Always spoken |
| "quote" … "end quote" | “ ” | Say both |
| "open parenthesis" … "close parenthesis" | ( ) | Say both |
| "new line" | One Return | Appears when you finish dictating |
| "new paragraph" | Two Returns | Appears when you finish dictating |
| "all caps" | The next word in capitals | "all caps on" and "all caps off" for a phrase |
| "caps on" … "caps off" | A phrase in title case | Stays on until you say "caps off" |
| "numeral" | The next phrase as a number | "roman numeral" for Roman numerals |
Punctuation and symbols
Each command is the name of the mark. This is the list on Apple’s commands page.
- Sentence marks: comma, period, question mark, exclamation mark, colon, semicolon, ellipsis.
- Quotes and joins: quote and end quote, begin single quote and end single quote, apostrophe, hyphen, dash.
- Pairs: open and close parenthesis, open and close square bracket, open and close brace, open and close angle bracket.
- Symbols: ampersand, asterisk, at sign, backslash, forward slash, caret, underscore, vertical bar, percent sign, degree sign, and hashtag or pound sign.
- Math and currency: equal sign, plus sign, minus sign, multiplication sign, greater than sign, less than sign, dollar sign, cent sign, euro sign, yen sign, pound sterling sign.
- Other: copyright sign, registered sign, trademark sign, and emoticons such as smiley face, frowny face and winky face.
Line breaks, spacing, capitals and numbers
These change how the next word or phrase is written. The commands ending in "on" stay active until you say the matching "off".
- "New line" is one press of Return. "New paragraph" is two.
- "Tab key" moves to the next tab stop.
- "No space on" writes the next phrase without spaces. "No space off" goes back to normal.
- "Caps on" writes the next phrase in title case. "Caps off" goes back to normal.
- "All caps" puts the next word in capitals. "All caps on" and "all caps off" do it for a phrase.
- "Numeral" writes the next phrase as a number. "Roman numeral" writes it as a Roman numeral.
Emoji by name
In some languages you can say the name of an emoji followed by the word "emoji": "heart emoji", "car emoji". Apple lists the languages on its macOS Feature Availability page, under Dictation. If nothing appears, your dictation language is not one of them; Fn-E opens the picker instead.
When a command is typed as a word
If Dictation writes "comma" instead of the mark, or ignores a command, check these.
- The wording. Use the phrase on Apple’s list.
- The language. The language and region you speak have to be ticked under Keyboard → Dictation → Languages.
- Line breaks. A new line or new paragraph appears only when you finish dictating, so it can look as if it was ignored.
- Voice Control. If it is on, you are not using standard Dictation at all, and the commands are Voice Control’s.
- The room. Apple suggests speaking at a normal volume, cutting background noise, and trying a headset microphone.
What dictation commands cannot do
Every command on Apple’s list inserts something. None of them selects a word, deletes a sentence, moves the cursor or clicks a button. To fix a mistake you type, or click a word underlined in blue.
Editing by voice is Voice Control, which has commands such as "Replace cat with dog". It is a different feature with a different purpose, and turning it on turns standard Dictation off. Voice Control vs Dictation explains the choice.
Finished text without saying the marks
Flit works out the punctuation, paragraphs, lists and numbers from what you said, on the Mac, so most dictation needs no commands. When you want a mark in an exact place, you say it.
- Punctuation and paragraphs are added for you, and hesitations and false starts are taken out.
- More than 60 spoken commands for punctuation, symbols, casing and structure.
- The whole text, line breaks included, lands in one piece when you release the key.
- Everything runs on the Mac, and nothing you say is sent anywhere.
- Flit is free for 7 days with every feature on, then $19 once, with no account and no subscription.
Good to know
- Flit does not control your Mac by voice, and it does not select or delete text on command. It types what you say.
- Apple’s Dictation is free and already on your Mac. If it does what you need, you do not need Flit.
- Flit runs on a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later, and its voice model is a download of about 0.5 to 2.3 GB that you choose once.
- Flit’s spoken commands, such as "new paragraph", are in English today.
Questions people ask
What are the dictation commands on a Mac?
They are the words you say during Dictation to insert punctuation, symbols and formatting, such as "comma", "new paragraph", "all caps" and "numeral". Apple lists them in the Mac User Guide under "Commands for dictating text on Mac".
How do I start a new paragraph when dictating on a Mac?
Say "new paragraph". Say "new line" for a single line break. Both appear when you finish dictating.
How do I dictate punctuation on a Mac?
Say the name of the mark, such as "comma", "period" or "question mark". In supported languages, Auto-punctuation adds those three for you.
How do I delete a word with Mac dictation?
You cannot with standard Dictation, whose commands only insert characters and formatting. Type the correction, or use Voice Control, which has editing commands.
How do I dictate in capital letters on a Mac?
Say "all caps" before one word. For a phrase, say "all caps on", speak it, then say "all caps off".
Is there a dictation app that adds punctuation without commands?
Yes. Flit is a local dictation app for Mac that punctuates and formats what you say on the Mac itself, and keeps spoken commands for when you want a mark exactly there. Flit is free for 7 days with every feature on, then $19 once, with no account and no subscription.