Official documentation
Dictate your documents in Word
Microsoft, 2026
Read the originalRead on October 16, 2026
- What it is
- Microsoft's support article for Dictate in Microsoft 365 apps, including the table of spoken punctuation for each supported language and the Auto Punctuation setting.
- How much weight it carries
- Official Microsoft documentation, read on 2026-10-16. The command table is shown for English and is different for other languages, so check the table for your language.
Facts taken from this source
- Microsoft's Dictate in Word article lists Word 2024 for Mac and Word 2021 for Mac, as well as Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac, under the versions it applies to.
“Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac Word 2024 Word 2024 for Mac Word 2021 Word 2021 for Mac” (Applies To list at the top of the article)
- In Microsoft 365 Dictation, the Auto Punctuation setting can be turned on or off, but only where it is available for the language you chose.
“Auto Punctuation: Toggle the checkmark on or off, if it's available for the language chosen” (Settings list)
- In Microsoft 365 Dictation, the formatting commands include 'capitalize' followed by a word or phrase, 'capitalize from' a point to another point, and 'capitalize last' a number of characters, words, sentences or paragraphs.
“capitalize [word or phrase] capitalize from [x] to [y] capitalize last/previous [1-100] characters/words/sentences/paragraphs capitalize that” (Formatting commands table)
- In Microsoft 365 Dictation, saying 'delete' by itself removes the last word or punctuation mark before the cursor.
“Saying “ delete ” by itself removes the last word or punctuation before the cursor.” (Tips for using Dictation)
- Microsoft's troubleshooting says that if you cannot see the Dictate button, you should make sure you are signed in with an active Microsoft 365 subscription.
“Make sure you're signed in with an active Microsoft 365 subscription” (Troubleshooting, Can't find the dictate button)
- Microsoft says Dictation in Word lets you use speech-to-text in Microsoft 365 with a microphone and a reliable internet connection, and that the feature is for Microsoft 365 subscribers.
“Dictation lets you use speech-to-text to author content in Microsoft 365 with a microphone and reliable internet connection.” (Introduction and How to use dictation)
- Microsoft's troubleshooting for the Dictate microphone-access message says to make sure no other application or webpage is using the microphone, then try again.
“Make sure no other application or webpage is using the microphone and try again” (Troubleshooting, Microphone doesn't have access)
- Microsoft says Dictation in Word works in Microsoft 365 and needs a reliable internet connection.
“Dictation lets you use speech-to-text to author content in Microsoft 365 with a microphone and reliable internet connection.” (Overview paragraph of the Dictate your documents in Word article)
- Microsoft says the dictation feature in Word is only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers.
“The dictation feature is only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers” (Can't find the Dictate button? (paragraph under the steps))
- Microsoft's English command table for Dictate in Word lists 'pause dictation', 'stop dictation' and 'exit/close dictation' as dictation commands.
“pause dictation stop dictation exit/close dictation” (Dictation commands table, English)
- Microsoft's troubleshooting says that if the Dictate button is grayed out, you should make sure the document is not in a read-only state.
“If you see the dictate button is grayed out Make sure the note is not in a Read-Only state.” (Troubleshooting, Dictate button is grayed out)
- Microsoft's list of dictation commands for Word includes Hebrew (Israel).
“Hebrew (Israel) Punctuation Phrase(s) Output” (Available languages list, Preview languages)
- Microsoft says Dictation in Microsoft 365 uses speech-to-text with a microphone and a reliable internet connection.
“Dictation lets you use speech-to-text to author content in Microsoft 365 with a microphone and reliable internet connection.” (Dictate your documents in Word)
- Microsoft's English command table for Dictate in Word lists period, comma, question mark, exclamation mark and new line as spoken punctuation or formatting.
“period, full stop . comma , question mark ? exclamation mark/point ! new line” (Punctuation table (English))
- In Word's dictation settings, the Filter sensitive phrases option masks potentially sensitive phrases with asterisks, and it can be switched off.
“Filter sensitive phrases: Mask potentially sensitive phrases with ***” (Dictation settings section)
- Microsoft's steps for dictating in Word say to open a new or existing document and go to Home > Dictate while signed into Microsoft 365 on a mic-enabled device.
“Open a new or existing document and go to Home > Dictate while signed into Microsoft 365 on a mic-enabled device.” (How to use dictation)
- Microsoft's Dictate article gives Option + F1 as a keyboard shortcut for starting dictation in Word.
“You can also start dictation with the keyboard shortcut: ⌥ (Option) + F1.” (How to use dictation, tip)
- Microsoft's English command list for Dictate in Word includes 'dollar sign' for the $ symbol and 'number/pound sign' for the # symbol.
“Mathematics Phrase(s) Output percent sign % number/pound sign # plus sign + minus sign - multiplication sign x plus or minus sign ± division sign ÷ equal sign = less than sign, left angle bracket greater than sign, right angle bracket < > Currency Phrase(s) Output dollar sign $” (Dictation commands, English: Currency and Mathematics tables)
- Microsoft's Dictate in Word command table has a Mathematics group that maps spoken phrases such as plus sign, minus sign, multiplication sign, division sign and equal sign to their symbols.
“plus sign + minus sign - multiplication sign x plus or minus sign ± division sign ÷ equal sign =” (Mathematics table of spoken phrases and outputs)
- Microsoft's Word dictation page warns that its Preview languages may have lower accuracy or limited punctuation support.
“Preview Languages may have lower accuracy or limited punctuation support.” (Note under the Preview languages list)
- Microsoft's troubleshooting for Word says that if you see a message about microphone access, you should refresh the page, click Dictate and give the browser permission to use the microphone.
“Refresh, click on Dictate, and give permission for the browser to access the microphone” (Troubleshooting, Microphone doesn't have access)
- Microsoft's Arabic tables for Dictate in Word map the spoken phrase فاصلة (comma) to the Arabic comma (،) and علامة استفهام (question mark) to the Arabic question mark (؟).
“فاصلة ، فاصلة منقوطة ؛ علامة استفهام ؟” (Arabic punctuation tables (Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia))
- Microsoft's French table for Dictate in Word maps the spoken phrase 'deux points' to a colon and 'guillemet gauche, guillemet ouvrant' to a left guillemet (« ).
“deux points : point-virgule ; guillemet gauche, guillemet ouvrant” (French punctuation table)
- Microsoft's German table for Dictate in Word maps the spoken phrase for the opening quotation mark to « » (guillemets), not to the low German mark „.
“öffnendes anführungszeichen, beginn zitatschließendes anführungszeichen, ende zitat « »” (German punctuation table)
- Microsoft's Hindi table for Dictate in Word maps the spoken phrase पूर्ण विराम (full stop) to the danda (।), the Devanagari sentence-ending mark.
“पूर्ण विराम । पूर्ण विराम चिन्ह ।” (Hindi punctuation table)
- Microsoft's list of languages for Dictate in Word has 15 entries before its preview group, from Chinese (China) to Spanish (Mexico).
“Chinese (China) English (Australia) English (Canada) English (India) English (United Kingdom) English (United States) French (Canada) French (France) German (Germany) Hindi Italian (Italy) Japanese Portuguese (Brazil) Spanish (Spain) Spanish (Mexico)” (Dictation settings, Languages list above Preview languages)
- Microsoft's Dictate in Word article lists 15 main supported languages and locales, from Chinese (China) to Spanish (Mexico), with a separate list of preview languages.
“Supported Languages Chinese (China) English (Australia) English (Canada) English (India) English (United Kingdom) English (United States) French (Canada) French (France) German (Germany) Hindi Italian (Italy) Japanese Portuguese (Brazil) Spanish (Spain) Spanish (Mexico)” (Spoken languages supported section, main list)
- For Dictate in Word, Microsoft's accuracy checklist says to use a fast and reliable internet connection, reduce background noise, speak more deliberately and check whether the microphone needs an upgrade when many words are wrong or missing.
“Make sure you're on a fast and reliable internet connection” (Troubleshooting, Accuracy issues or missed words)
- Microsoft's Dictate in Word article lists Word 2019 and Word 2016 in its Applies To list, although its troubleshooting says Dictate is not available in Office 2016 or 2019 for Windows without Microsoft 365.
“Word 2024 Word 2024 for Mac Word 2021 Word 2021 for Mac Word 2019 Word 2016” (Applies To list at the top of the article, and troubleshooting)
- Microsoft's Dictate in Word article lists Word 2024 and Word 2021 for Windows in its Applies To list, next to Word for Microsoft 365, although its text says the feature is only for Microsoft 365 subscribers.
“Word 2024 Word 2024 for Mac Word 2021 Word 2021 for Mac Word 2019 Word 2016” (Applies To list at the top of the article)
- Microsoft says Microsoft 365 Dictate does not store your audio or transcribed text, but your speech is sent to Microsoft to produce the text.
“This service does not store your audio data or transcribed text. Your speech utterances will be sent to Microsoft and used only to provide you with text results.” (Privacy)
- Microsoft says that when you use Dictate in Word, your speech utterances are sent to Microsoft and used only to provide text results.
“Your speech utterances will be sent to Microsoft and used only to provide you with text results.” (Privacy)
- Microsoft's troubleshooting for Dictate in Word says that if Dictation cannot hear you, or nothing appears as you dictate, you should make sure your microphone is not muted and adjust its input level.
“Make sure your microphone is not muted Adjust the input level of your microphone” (Troubleshooting, Dictation can't hear you)
- Microsoft's English command table for Dictate in Word includes formatting commands such as 'bold last [1-100] words' and 'bold last [1-100] sentences', and the same pattern for italicize, underline and other styles.
“bold last/previous [1-100] words/sentences” (Formatting commands table, English)
- Microsoft's English punctuation table for Dictate in Word lists spoken commands for apostrophe-s, colon, semicolon, open and close quotes, hyphen and ellipsis, in addition to period, comma, question mark, exclamation mark and new line.
“apostrophe-s 's colon : semicolon ; open quotesclose quotes” (Punctuation table, English)
- Microsoft's English command table for Dictate in Word includes list commands such as 'create bullet list', 'create number list' and 'next bullet or next item'.
“create bullet list create list create number list create numbered list” (Creating lists commands table, English)
- Microsoft's English command table for Dictate in Word includes delete commands for a range, such as 'delete from [x] to [y]', and for a count, such as 'delete last [1-100] words'.
“delete from [x] to [y] delete last/previous [1-100] characters/words/sentences/paragraphs” (Editing commands table, English)
- Microsoft's English command table for Dictate in Word lists 'delete or scratch or erase', 'delete that or scratch that' and 'undo' as commands.
“delete or scratch or erase delete that or scratch that delete word/sentence insert space undo” (Editing commands table, English)
- Microsoft says Dictate in Microsoft 365 is set to the language of your document by default, so you change the language only when you need another one.
“By default, Dictation is set to your document language in Microsoft 365.” (Spoken languages supported, above the language list)
- In Dictate in Word, saying 'delete that' removes the last spoken utterance, while saying 'delete' by itself removes only the last word or punctuation mark.
“removes the last spoken utterance. You can bold, italicize, underline, or strikethrough a word or phrase.” (Tips for using Dictation)
- Microsoft says that in Word for Mac you can start dictation with the keyboard shortcut Option + F1.
“You can also start dictation with the keyboard shortcut: ⌥ (Option) + F1.” (How to use dictation)
- When Microsoft's Dictate troubleshooting reports that it cannot detect your microphone, it says to make sure the microphone is plugged in and to test it.
“Make sure the microphone is plugged in Test the microphone to make sure it's working” (Troubleshooting, Microphone isn't working)
- Microsoft says the Dictate feature in the Word desktop app is only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers.
“Can't find the Dictate button? The dictation feature is only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers” (Dictate your documents in Word, Windows tab)
- Dictate in Word marks some words that it may have misheard, and you can select Ignore on the marking if the word is already correct.
“Markings may appear under words with alternates we may have misheard.” (Tips for using Dictation)
- Microsoft says Dictation in Microsoft 365 uses speech-to-text with a microphone and a reliable internet connection.
“Dictation lets you use speech-to-text to author content in Microsoft 365 with a microphone and reliable internet connection.” (Introduction)
- Microsoft's Dictate in Word requires a Microsoft 365 subscription, a microphone and a reliable internet connection.
“Dictation lets you use speech-to-text to author content in Microsoft 365 with a microphone and reliable internet connection.” (Introduction and 'Can't find the Dictate button?')
- Microsoft's troubleshooting for a missing Dictate button says to make sure you have Windows 10 or later.
“Make sure you have Windows 10 or above” (Troubleshooting, Can't find the dictate button)
- Microsoft says Dictate is not available in Office 2016 or 2019 for Windows unless you have a Microsoft 365 subscription.
“Dictate is not available in Office 2016 or 2019 for Windows without Microsoft 365” (Troubleshooting, Can't find the dictate button)
- Microsoft says the dictation feature in Word is only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers.
“The dictation feature is only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers” (Dictate your documents in Word)
- Microsoft says the preview languages in Dictate for Word may have lower accuracy and limited punctuation support than the main languages.
“Preview Languages may have lower accuracy or limited punctuation support.” (Spoken languages supported section, footnote to the preview list)
- Microsoft says you resume Dictate in Word by pressing Alt+` or the Mic icon in the floating dictation menu.
“To resume dictation, please use the keyboard shortcut ALT + ` or press the Mic icon in the floating dictation menu.” (Tips for using Dictation, last tip)
- Microsoft's symbol table for Dictate in Word pairs the spoken phrase "section sign" with the § character, and "paragraph sign/mark" with ¶.
“paragraph sign/mark ¶ section sign §” (Symbols table, English commands)
- In Microsoft's Dictate settings, you click the gear icon to see the available settings, and Spoken Language is where you view and change the dictation language, in a drop-down.
“Click on the gear icon to see the available settings. Spoken Language: View and change languages in the drop-down” (Dictation settings, near the end of the article)
- Microsoft's list of Dictation languages in Word includes three Arabic variants, Bahrain, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, in the Preview languages group.
“Arabic (Bahrain) Arabic (Egypt) Arabic (Saudi Arabia) Bulgarian” (Supported Languages)
- Microsoft says languages in the Word dictation preview group may have lower accuracy or limited punctuation support.
“Languages may have lower accuracy or limited punctuation support.” (Supported Languages, footnote)
- In Word for Mac, Microsoft's Dictate starts from Home > Dictate or with the shortcut Option + F1.
“Tip You can also start dictation with the keyboard shortcut: ⌥ (Option) + F1.” (How to use dictation (Mac tab))
- In Word on a Mac, you open a new or existing document and go to Home, then Dictate, while signed into Microsoft 365 on a device with a microphone.
“Open a new or existing document and go to Home > Dictate while signed into Microsoft 365 on a mic-enabled device.” (Dictate your documents in Word, Windows and Mac steps)
- Microsoft's Dictate in Word lists spoken Spanish commands for the opening question mark and the closing question mark.
“signo de apertura de interrogación ¿ signo de interrogación ? signo de apertura de exclamación ¡ signo de exclamación !” (Punctuation table, Spanish)
Pages that rest on this source
- How to Dictate Into Any App: Built-in vs System-WideGuide
- How do you dictate in Word on a Mac?Question
- What is the best dictation software for Microsoft Word?Question
- What is the Dictate shortcut in Word on a Mac?Question
- Which versions of Word have Dictate?Question
- Why is Dictate greyed out in Word on a Mac?Question
- Dictate (Microsoft 365)Glossary
- Dictation Languages, Accents and Voice TranslationTopic
- Dictate in Word: Voice Typing on Web, Windows and MacGuide
- Dictation Punctuation: How to Say Commas, Periods and MoreGuide
- Dictation in Windows Apps: Word, Outlook, BrowsersGuide
- How do you change the dictation language in Word?Question
- How do you turn off AI rewriting in a dictation app?Question
- What are the dictation commands in Word?Question
- Dictation on Windows: Voice Typing, Voice Access, AppsTopic
- How do you capitalize a word when dictating?Question
- iPhone Dictation Commands: Punctuation, Emoji, EditingGuide
- How do you delete a word by voice?Question
- How do you delete a word with Mac dictation?Question
- How do you delete the last word with iPhone dictation?Question
- Spoken punctuationGlossary
- Voice commandGlossary
- What is the keyboard shortcut for Dictate in Word on Windows?Question
- Where is the Dictate button in Word?Question