How do you add a dictation language on iPhone?

On an iPhone you add a dictation language by adding a keyboard for it. Apple says you can add keyboards on your iPhone "for writing or using Dictation in different languages" ¹. The steps below use the menus Apple describes, and they start with Enable Dictation, because Apple's dictation steps begin there.

Turn on Dictation, then add a keyboard for your language

Do these steps in order. Apple's menu names are in bold.

1. Open Settings, tap General, then tap Keyboard, and turn on Enable Dictation. If a prompt appears, tap Enable Dictation to confirm ².
2. On the same Keyboard screen, tap Keyboards, then tap Add New Keyboard, and choose a keyboard from the list ³.
3. Choose the keyboard for the language you want to dictate in. To add another language, repeat steps 2 and 3 for each language you need.

Apple's steps are on its help page for adding and changing keyboards, and its page on dictating text gives the Dictation side.

Dictation uses the language of the keyboard you are using

You do not choose a Dictation language separately. Apple says that when you use a keyboard for another language, you can use Dictation in that language as well ⁴. So the keyboard you have open is the language Dictation uses.

To switch to a second language, touch and hold the Globe key, and the keyboards you have enabled appear ⁵. Apple's help for this step comes from an iPod touch, an older device, so the screens on your iPhone may look different.

Adding the keyboard is not always enough

Some languages will not dictate even after you add their keyboard. Apple says Dictation on iPhone may not be available in all languages or in all countries or regions, and that features may vary ⁶.

Apple's iOS and iPadOS 27 feature availability page has a general Dictation section, and that section lists Hindi (India) ⁷. The same page has a separate On-Device and Modeless Dictation section, and Hindi is not in that section. So a language can be on one Dictation list and missing from another. The full counts are in how many languages iPhone dictation supports.

If your language is on the list and still does not show up, why a dictation language is not showing on iPhone walks through those checks in order.

A bilingual keyboard covers only some language pairs

Apple offers a shortcut for some languages. For a bilingual keyboard, such as English (U.S.) with Spanish (Latin America), you tap Add New Keyboard, then tap Add to [language] Keyboard for the language you want to pair. Apple says this is available "for select language pairs" ⁸, so the option may not appear for your pair.

A bilingual keyboard is a typing feature. Apple's dictation pages tie Dictation to the keyboard you use, and they do not describe Dictation mixing two languages in one sentence. For a sentence in two languages, read whether iPhone dictation can use two languages at once.

What to do after you add the language

1. Dictate one test sentence in the new language, in a notes app, to see whether the words come out right.
2. If the wrong language appears, check which keyboard is showing, then switch with the Globe key.
3. If the language is missing from Dictation, compare it against Apple's list for your iOS version. If the words still come out in another language, read why iPhone dictation types in the wrong language.

For the Android side, which sets its language inside the voice keyboard, see the guide to dictation languages on iPhone and Android. For the basic setup of Dictation on iPhone, see how to use dictation on iPhone.