What is the Dictate shortcut in Word on a Mac?

In Word for Mac, the Dictate shortcut is Option + F1. Microsoft gives it as the keyboard shortcut for starting dictation in Word for Mac ¹. The same steps also start Dictate from Home > Dictate ². Dictate in Word is only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers ³, so without a subscription the feature is not there to start.

On a laptop or condensed keyboard that has an fn key, the shortcut needs the fn key as well: fn + Option + F1. If Option + F1 opens System Settings instead, that keyboard type is a likely cause, as a Microsoft Q&A answer describes. The fixes are below, after the steps.

This answer is part of our guide to the Mac dictation shortcut, which covers every way to start Dictation on a Mac, including the built-in Dictation feature that Word does not use for Dictate. For the wider subject, see dictation on Mac.

Option + F1 starts Dictate in Word for Mac

Microsoft's article on dictation in Word shows the Home > Dictate steps first, then gives the shortcut as a tip under them ¹. So the shortcut is a faster route to the same feature, not a different one. Once Dictate is on, you speak, and the text appears at the insertion point.

Microsoft's article lists Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac, Word 2024 for Mac and Word 2021 for Mac among the versions it applies to ⁴. The article gives one set of steps for all of them, so if you use Word 2021 or Word 2024, check Option + F1 in your own copy before you rely on it.

On a keyboard with an fn key, Option + F1 needs fn too

The reason is the top row of keys. A Microsoft Q&A answer explains that a keyboard with an fn key is a laptop or condensed keyboard, and that Apple uses the F keys on those keyboards for system functions ⁵. The answer's fix is fn + Option + F1 on that keyboard type.

Apple's own rule explains why. Holding the fn key while you press a top-row key performs the action assigned to the F key, instead of the symbol's feature ⁶. Option + F1 with fn therefore sends the F1 key to Word, not the brightness control.

The fn key is the usual fix, but Apple also lets you change the top row. On macOS Ventura or later, you can make the F keys work as standard function keys without pressing fn ⁷. Then Option + F1 works on its own. The trade-off is reversed for the other top-row symbols: Mission Control and similar controls then need fn, as Apple's F3 example shows ⁶.

The fn key twice starts Apple's Dictation, not Word's Dictate

On a Mac, a double press of the fn key can start Dictation when the Keyboard setting for that key is set to Start Dictation ⁸. That starts Apple's Dictation. It is a separate feature from Word's Dictate, which Microsoft provides through a Microsoft 365 subscription, so a double fn press does not start the Dictate button in Word.

This is an easy mix-up to make. Pressing fn twice is not the Dictate shortcut in Word, and it does not use the Microsoft 365 steps. If you want Word's own feature, use Option + F1 or Home > Dictate. If you want Apple's, use the fn key setting or the Dictation shortcut in Keyboard settings.

What to do if the Word shortcut does nothing

1. Open a document in Word for Mac and sign in to a Microsoft 365 account ³.
2. Click where you want the dictated text to go.
3. Press Option + F1. On a laptop or condensed keyboard with an fn key, press fn + Option + F1 instead.
4. Wait for the Dictate button to turn on, then speak.
5. If the shortcut opens System Settings, either use Home > Dictate, or turn on the setting for the F keys as standard function keys, then try Option + F1 again ⁷.

In the same Microsoft Q&A thread, the question's author reported that Option + F1 brought up System Settings, and a reply says the fn fix works, so check the top-row keys first ( the thread on Microsoft's site).

If the Dictate button is missing or grayed out, the cause is the account or the document, not the shortcut. Our answers on how to dictate in Word on a Mac, where the Dictate button is in Word and why Dictate is greyed out in Word on a Mac cover those cases. If a shortcut does nothing in another app, the cause is often a clash with another command, and why the Mac dictation shortcut is not working lists the fixes. To find the Microphone key or the fn key on your keyboard, see where the dictation key is on a Mac.

For the terms used here, see the entries for Dictate in Microsoft 365, Apple Dictation and the Globe key, which Apple also calls the fn key on some keyboards.