Dictation commands punctuation Mac: Apple's built-in list explained for 2026

On a Mac, you add punctuation by speaking it. Say "comma", "question mark" or "new paragraph" while Dictation is on, and your Mac types the mark or the line break instead of the word.

Apple publishes the full list on its Mac Help site. The commands fall into four groups: punctuation, symbols, formatting and capitalization. You do not need to memorize all of them. Learn the handful you say every day, then add the rest when a document needs them. This guide covers each group, shows where Dictation trips up, and ends with a short practice plan you can follow for a week.

Punctuation commands for Dictation on Mac

These names come from Apple's US commands page. Most people land on that page when they search for the list, so it is the reference to use. The table covers the marks you type most often.

The full punctuation group is longer. Apple also lists ellipsis, exclamation mark, dash, hyphen, semicolon, begin single quote, end single quote, open brace and open angle bracket. Test the ones you need in a scratch document before you rely on them.

Speak each mark right after the word it belongs to. Say "Thanks comma Sam period" and you should get "Thanks, Sam." Pause for a split second before each command. That pause helps Dictation hear the command as its own word.

Symbols, formatting and capitalization commands

Symbols come next. Apple's list includes ampersand, asterisk, at sign, backslash, forward slash, caret, center dot, degree sign, hashtag, pound sign, percent sign and vertical bar. These cover email addresses, hashtags and short bits of code.

For an email address, say the parts in order. "Sam at sign example dot com" should come out as sam@example.com. Check the result before you send it, because one stray space breaks an address.

Formatting commands control the layout. These are the ones you will use most.

New line and new paragraph do most of the layout work. Apple states that new line equals one Return and new paragraph equals two. Learn those two first.

Capitalization commands work in a run. Say "caps on", dictate the words you want in capitals, then say "caps off". Use this for short codes or labels. For a whole paragraph, it is faster to fix the capitals by hand once you are done.

Worked examples you can copy

Examples help more than lists. Try these in Notes before you need them in a real email.

Your results can differ a little. Auto-punctuation and the on-device model (covered below) can change spacing and capitals. Run the same phrase twice, with and without auto-punctuation, to see the difference.

US and UK command names differ

Apple publishes a UK version of the commands page. It uses different names in a few places. The UK page says "open bracket" for the round bracket and "open curly bracket" for the brace. It also uses "centre dot" and "per cent sign".

If you dictate in British English, try the UK names first. If you switch between the two, learn both sets. Test each one before you need it.

What auto-punctuation adds without a command

Dictation adds some punctuation by itself. Apple says Dictation automatically inserts commas, periods and question marks as you dictate. In simple sentences, you may not need to say those marks at all.

You can switch this off. Go to System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation, then turn off Auto-punctuation. Turn it off when you need exact control. Lists of codes, names or short labels often come out cleaner without it.

Apple's Dictation page does not list which languages get auto-punctuation. It links to a separate availability page instead. Check that page before you depend on auto-punctuation in a language other than English.

The on-device model in macOS 27

macOS 27 adds an on-device model with Apple Intelligence. Apple says it improves spelling, punctuation and capitalization. The model works in English only. Apple requires a Mac with an M3 chip or later and at least 12GB of unified memory.

To check your Mac, choose Apple menu > About This Mac. The window shows the chip and the memory. If your Mac falls short, the commands and auto-punctuation are still there. Apple's pages tie the model to those requirements. They do not say the spoken commands depend on it.

Step by step: run a short punctuation test

Run this before you trust Dictation with an important email. It takes a few minutes.

1. Open System Settings, then go to Keyboard > Dictation. Turn Dictation on if it is off.
2. In the same pane, check the Dictation shortcut. Pick one you can press without looking at the keyboard.
3. Open Notes or TextEdit and click on a blank line.
4. Start Dictation with your shortcut, the Microphone key, or Edit > Start Dictation.
5. Say a short test line with three commands, for example: hello comma new paragraph is this working question mark.
6. Stop, then read the result. Look for missing marks, extra marks and stray spaces.
7. If auto-punctuation adds marks that clash with your commands, turn it off in Keyboard > Dictation and run the test again.

A clean result looks like this: "hello," then a new paragraph that ends with a question mark. If a comma or question mark lands in the wrong place, check the spoken order first. The command goes after the word, not before it.

Mistakes people make with dictation commands

Saying a command word you meant literally. Dictation reads "period" as a mark, even when you mean a span of time. "Let's review the trial period" can come out as "Let's review the trial." Read each paragraph before you send it.

Expecting a line break in the middle of a sentence. Apple says the line break appears when you finish dictating. A new paragraph can seem missing while you talk. Check it after you stop.

Pausing for too long. Dictation stops after 30 seconds without speech. Apple also says you can dictate text of any length without a timeout. So the limit applies to silence, not to the total length of your text. Start again with the shortcut after a long pause.

Leaving Voice Control on. When Voice Control is on, it replaces standard Dictation. If your commands seem to do nothing, check Voice Control in System Settings and turn it off. Then try again.

Stacking marks. If you say a mark after auto-punctuation has already added one, you may get two. Read the text for doubles. If it happens often, turn off auto-punctuation until you know how the two behave together.

Ignoring your error rate. Dictation makes errors even when your commands work. If you want a rough sense of how often words come out wrong, try the dictation accuracy checker at /tools/dictation-accuracy-checker.

When a command does nothing

Most failures come from four causes. Check them in this order.

First, confirm Dictation is on. Open System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation and look at the setting. If it is off, the shortcut does nothing useful.

Second, check Voice Control. Apple says Voice Control replaces standard Dictation while it is on. Turn it off, then test again.

Third, check the name. A UK name on a US setup, or the other way round, may not do what you expect. Use the name from the guide that matches your region, and test it once in Notes.

Fourth, check your pace. Say each command as one phrase at a normal speed. Long gaps inside a command make it harder for Dictation to catch.

If the shortcut itself is the problem, the guide at /for/developers/problems/mac-dictation-start-stop-change-shortcut covers changing it.

Edit after you dictate, not while you talk

Dictation is fastest when you speak in one pass and fix the text later. Stopping mid-sentence to correct one mark costs time. Finish the thought, then edit.

These keys cover most cleanup. They work in Notes, TextEdit and most text fields on the Mac.

• ⌥← and ⌥→ move the cursor one word at a time.
• ⇧⌥← and ⇧⌥→ select one word at a time.
• ⌥⌫ deletes the word before the cursor.
• ⌘Z undoes the last change, including a dictation pass you did not want.
• ⌘A selects all, so you can read the full text in one view.

Read the text aloud once after a long pass. Your ear catches a wrong comma faster than your eye does.

Dictating code, lists and emails

Commands work well in prose. They work less well for code, because spacing and capitals matter more. Symbol commands give you the characters, but you still need to check the result. Say "config forward slash app dot json" and you should get config/app.json. Compare that against the real file path before you save.

Lists need two changes. Say new line between items. Then turn off auto-punctuation, so short labels do not pick up commas or periods they do not need.

Emails need full sentences and clear breaks. Use new paragraph between the greeting, the body and the sign-off. Names and addresses need a human read before you send. Speech tools can get a name wrong, and a wrong address goes to the wrong person.

A one-week practice plan

Spread the list over a week. Each day adds a small set.

• Day 1: comma, period and question mark. Dictate one short paragraph in Notes.
• Day 2: new line and new paragraph. Dictate a three-item list, then a two-paragraph note.
• Day 3: symbols. Practice an email address and a file path with forward slash.
• Day 4: caps on, caps off and numeral. Dictate a short list of order numbers.
• Day 5: write a real email by voice. Proof it with the editing keys above before you send.

By the end of the week, the commands should feel routine. Keep the list open in a second window until then.

Why learning the commands saves time

A 2017 study by Ruan and colleagues found that English speech entry ran at 153 words per minute. The phone keyboard in the same study ran at 52. Those figures come from a secondary summary by Laxis, so read the original paper before you quote them. Participants copied short phrases with no punctuation, which is a narrow task. Speech still came out well ahead on speed.

The same summary has a catch. Speech left more errors in the final text. English speech left 0.55% of characters wrong, against 0.35% for the keyboard. Only 39% of speech entry time went to speaking. About 31.5% went to hesitation, and about 23% went to recognizer processing.

Hesitation is the part you can reduce. A command you know by heart costs less thought than a hunt for a symbol. That is the practical case for learning this list before you need it. To compare your own speaking and typing speed, try the speaking vs typing test at /tools/speaking-vs-typing-test.

Where Lazur fits

Apple's built-in Dictation is one option. Lazur is a separate voice assistant for the Mac that lives in the notch. Its dictation works on a different key. Hold fn and speak, and Lazur types clean, formatted text at your cursor in any app. It also keeps snippets, a personal dictionary and clipboard slots.

Apple's command list does not describe Lazur. Test the marks you use most in a scratch document before you switch. Check how each one comes out in your own words.

If you get stuck in the Dictation settings, ask Lazur to walk you through it. It guides you one click at a time and waits for each click. For a side-by-side view of Apple's Dictation and Lazur, read the comparison at /compare/lazur-vs-apple-dictation. You can get the app at /download.

Start with five commands

Pick five commands: comma, period, question mark, new line and new paragraph. Use them in Notes for a day. Add the rest when a document needs them.