What are the dictation commands in Word?

Microsoft publishes the commands for Dictate in Word as a table for each language. The examples below use the English table, which lists the phrases below as punctuation commands ¹.

Punctuation commands turn spoken words into marks

The commands you will use most are the punctuation ones. Say the name of the mark, and Word types it.

The English table also includes colon, semicolon, quotes, hyphen and ellipsis ². If you want a question mark in particular, how to say a question mark when dictating covers the phrasing and the common mistakes.

Auto Punctuation can add marks without a spoken command

Dictate also has an Auto Punctuation checkbox in its settings. Microsoft says it can be turned on or off, but only where it is available for the language you chose ³. If your language has no Auto Punctuation option, you speak every mark. If you turn it on and still get marks you did not want, switch it off and speak the marks yourself.

Delete commands remove the last word, the last phrase or a range

Editing commands work at three levels.

• Delete by itself removes the last word or punctuation mark before the cursor ⁴.
• Delete that removes the last spoken utterance ⁵.
• Counted and range deletes use a pattern. The English table lists delete from [x] to [y] and delete last [1-100] words, where you say the number or words in place of the brackets ⁶. For example, you can say "delete last 3 words".

Microsoft's English list also includes "delete or scratch or erase", "delete that or scratch that", and "undo" ⁷, so a misheard word can be removed without touching the keyboard.

Formatting and list commands use the same pattern

Formatting commands work on the words you have just dictated. The English table lists bold last [1-100] words and bold last [1-100] sentences, along with the same pattern for italics, underline and other styles ⁸. For example, you can say "bold last 3 words".

List commands follow the same approach. The English table includes create bullet list and create number list ⁹.

Your language decides which commands work

Microsoft sets Dictate to your document's language by default, so the command table you need is the one for that language ¹⁰. Change the language in the Spoken Language list only when you need a different one. Microsoft's tables are per language, so a command that works in English may not work in another language.

Check the result after each command. A misheard phrase can add a word where you wanted a mark, or a mark where you wanted nothing. Correct it straight away, because the commands are easier to fix one at a time.

Commands for other systems are listed on their own pages

Other dictation tools use their own command names, so do not assume a Word command works elsewhere. For new lines and paragraphs on a Mac, see new line in Mac dictation. For the commands in Windows 10 voice typing, see Windows 10 dictation commands.

For the words used for these commands in general, see spoken punctuation and voice command. For the set-up steps, the language choice and the other settings, read our guide to Dictate in Word. That guide sits in the overview of dictation in your apps, which compares how each app handles these commands.