Dictation Languages on iPhone and Android

On an iPhone, a dictation language comes with a keyboard. Add a keyboard for a language and Dictation can use that language, and the Globe key moves you between your keyboards. On Android, the languages live inside the voice keyboard itself: Gboard, and Samsung Keyboard on Samsung Galaxy phones. Which languages you can dictate in depends on the keyboard and the phone, so check the list on your own device. This guide gives the steps for both systems, the coverage each company reports, and what to expect when one sentence uses two languages. Language support changes over time, so the date on each figure matters. For the basic setup, see how to use dictation on iPhone and voice typing on Android.

On iPhone, adding a keyboard adds its dictation language

Apple says you can add keyboards on iPhone "for writing or using Dictation in different languages" ¹. Apple also says that when you use a keyboard for another language, you can use Dictation in that language as well ². Four steps cover it:

1. Turn on dictation once. Open Settings, tap General, then tap Keyboard, and turn on Enable Dictation ³.
2. In the same Keyboard screen, tap Keyboards, then tap Add New Keyboard ⁴.
3. Choose the keyboard for the language you want to dictate in.
4. Check Preferred Languages. Adding a keyboard for a different language also adds that language to the Preferred Languages list ⁵.

If the language still does not appear in Dictation after these steps, the cause is usually the language itself. The guide to a missing dictation language on iPhone walks through the checks in order.

The Globe key switches the dictation language on iPhone

Touching and holding the Globe key shows all of your enabled keyboards ⁶. The key appears only when you have more than one keyboard enabled ⁷. These sentences come from Apple's help page for an iPod touch, which describes an older iOS version, so the exact screens on your iPhone may differ.

Removing a keyboard is how you take its language off the Dictation list, because Dictation works in the languages of the keyboards you use ².

Apple's Dictation list is long, and it is organized by language and region

Apple's iOS and iPadOS feature page lists Dictation by language and region, so one language can appear several times. English is listed for Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Ireland and many other places ⁹. Apple also warns that Dictation may not be available in all languages or in all countries or regions, and that features vary ¹⁰.

The table shows how a set of common languages appears on that list, as fetched on 2026-10-17 ⁹:

The "not listed" rows come from reading the whole Dictation section of that page ⁹. Those languages can appear elsewhere on Apple's pages, such as the Dictionary section, but the Dictation section does not include them. Apple's list also changes with each iOS release ⁹, so treat this table as a dated check and read the current page before you rely on it.

Android voice typing languages are set in Gboard or Samsung Keyboard

Android uses one keyboard at a time. Android's developer documentation says only one input method can be enabled at a time, and that you use it across the whole system ¹¹.

Use the table to find your voice tool. The keyboard you type with decides which tool you get, so check the keyboard first.

For Gboard, Google's help says to switch languages during voice typing by tapping the abbreviation for your default language at the bottom left of the toolbar, then selecting a language ¹⁵.

Google has reported language counts for its speech recognition, but they describe different things at different times. In August 2017, Google said its speech recognition supported 119 language varieties in Gboard on Android ¹⁶. A variety can be a language in a particular region, so the count is not a list of separate languages. For the steps to follow on a Galaxy phone, see talk to text on Samsung Galaxy.

Hindi and other Indian languages have a different history on each platform

Hindi is the clearest case. In August 2017, Google said voice input was already available for Hindi, and it then extended voice input to eight more Indian languages ^{17 18}. Those eight were Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu ¹⁸. Google said speakers could use their voice to dictate in Search through the Google App ¹⁹.

On iPhone, the situation is different. Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil and Bangla are not in the Dictation section of Apple's list ⁹. Those Indian languages can still be on your phone for other purposes, so a keyboard for them does not guarantee that Dictation works ¹⁰. The full answer on Hindi and Indian languages on iPhone covers the checks.

The table sets the nine languages named in Google's 2017 posts against Apple's Dictation list. Google named Hindi as already available, and eight more as added in 2017 ^{17 18}. None of the nine appears in the Dictation section of Apple's list.

So the Android side has a long-standing Indian-language history, while the iPhone side has none on the Dictation list. The gap is easiest to see in the table, where every row has an entry in the Android column and none in the iPhone column. A sentence in Hindi on an iPhone therefore needs another route, and the answer depends on what your iOS version lists.

The Google figures in this section are from 2017. Gboard's current Indian-language list may be wider, so open the language settings on your phone to see what is installed.

Some languages run on the phone, and others need a connection

Apple says Dictation on iPhone is processed on the device in many languages, and that no internet connection is required ²⁰. The sentence says "many languages", not all of them, and it does not name the languages. Check your language on your own phone before you depend on dictation with no signal, because a plane, a basement or a rural area can all mean no connection.

Gboard's offline path is older and easier to measure. In 2019, Google said its production server models used a search graph of almost 2 GB, too large to host on a phone, so the method needed a connection ²¹. Google's on-device Gboard model is 80 MB after compression ²². The server search graph was about 25 times the size of that model ²³. The chart compares sizes only, and it says nothing about accuracy.

Samsung's offline path is a language pack you install. Samsung says to select a language in the Offline voice input section, or tap Install offline language pack to download a new one ¹⁴.

In February 2025, 9to5Google reported that Gboard for Android features offline voice typing on all devices ²⁴. The Gboard app on iPhone is a different case: its App Store listing says that if you use its microphone, voice input is sent to Google for transcription ²⁵. For offline use on both systems, see offline voice typing on iPhone and Android.

Two languages in one sentence works only in some setups

Apple's keyboard can type two languages without switching, but only for some supported languages. Apple says that for some supported languages, you can type in two languages without having to switch between keyboards, and that the keyboard switches automatically between the two you use most often ²⁶. That is a typing feature. Apple's Dictation pages tie the dictation language to the keyboard ², and they do not say that Dictation can mix two languages inside one sentence.

On Android, the answer depends on the phone. In October 2023, 9to5Google reported that on Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, voice typing in Gboard could recognize multiple languages and switch between them on the fly ²⁷. The same report said multilingual voice typing would come to the Pixel 7 series later ²⁸. That is a feature of newer Pixel phones, and the sources do not show that other Android phones mix languages inside a sentence.

For a sentence that uses two languages, the practical method is the same on both systems:

1. Switch to the first language before you speak that part, using the Globe key on iPhone or the language toolbar in Gboard.
2. Dictate the sentence in that language, then switch and continue.
3. Read the text afterwards, and fix any word that came out in the wrong language.

Check which languages your phone can dictate in before you rely on them

Write down the languages you need before you check anything, then compare them one at a time. Three checks cover most cases. On iPhone, add a keyboard for the language, because Apple says you can add keyboards for using Dictation in different languages ¹. Then check that language against Apple's Dictation list, which the table above only samples ⁹. On a Samsung Galaxy phone, open the Offline voice input section to manage the offline language packs ¹⁴. On a phone that uses Gboard, check the language settings before you rely on the toolbar switch ¹⁵.

If a language is missing from every check, the cause is more likely the language list than the microphone. The guide to voice typing not working on Android and the guide to iPhone dictation not working walk through the other common causes in order.

Punctuation and formatting commands depend on the language

Gboard's help says punctuation might not be available in all languages ²⁹. Apple has a similar limit for formatting: the "No space" command, which removes the space between two words, is not available for all languages ³⁰. If a spoken mark does nothing in your language, type it yourself and continue. The commands for each platform are in iPhone dictation commands.

The two systems differ most in where the language setting lives

The table puts iPhone and Android side by side. Each cell repeats a point made above, with its source.

The main difference is where the setting lives. On iPhone it lives in the keyboard list and in Apple's Dictation list. On Android it lives in the voice keyboard, and the voice tool you see depends on which keyboard is active.

Where to go next

The questions below answer the most common searches on this subject in short form:

• Why a dictation language is not showing on iPhone
• Whether iPhone dictation can use two languages at once
• Why iPhone dictation types in the wrong language
• Hindi and other Indian languages on iPhone
• Gboard voice typing on iPhone and Samsung voice input compared with Google voice typing

For more on the phone side, read Talk to text on Samsung Galaxy, voice typing not working on Android, iPhone dictation not working and dictation on iPad. The full overview is in dictation and voice to text on iPhone and Android. For Mac language settings, see dictation languages on Mac, and for the broader subject, see languages and dictation.

If your language is missing from the list on your phone, compare the options in the guide to dictation apps for iPhone and Android. Yap, which we make, is one of those options, and it is an on-device dictation app for Mac and Windows as well as phones. The steps in this guide apply to the built-in keyboards whichever app you choose.