# How to make iPhone dictation more accurate

> Keyspoken. Markdown copy of https://keyspoken.com/improve-iphone-dictation-accuracy. Publisher: Kymata Labs LLC. Last updated: 2026-11-12.

Practical ways to get fewer mistakes from iPhone dictation: say punctuation, spell names, fix words by voice, and teach a dictation app your own vocabulary.

Source: https://keyspoken.com/improve-iphone-dictation-accuracy

### Use the commands Apple gives you

- Spell a name after you say it: "Let's invite Steven S-T-E-P-H-E-N".
- Fix a word by voice: "Change tea to T-E-E".
- Say "select" or "delete" followed by the phrase to change it.
- Say the punctuation you want if automatic punctuation gets it wrong.

### Give it clean sound

- Speak at a normal pace, a little closer to the phone than you would for a call.
- Check that a case is not covering the microphones.
- Move away from loud background noise when you can. Every speech model makes more mistakes in noise.

### Use the right language

Built-in dictation follows the keyboard language. If it hears English while you speak Spanish, switch keyboards with the globe key.

### Teach it your words

Names, product terms and jargon are where dictation fails most. Keyspoken has a custom vocabulary: you list how a word is heard and how it should be written, and your spelling is applied on the device every time.

### What the models can do

Accuracy is measured as word error rate: the share of words a model gets wrong on a test recording. The open models Keyspoken runs score about 6% on NVIDIA's published English tests. The models page has the figures and their sources. Your own results depend on your voice, your microphone and the room.

### Source

Source: Apple, iPhone User Guide, Dictate text on iPhone (https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/dictate-text-iph2c0651d2/ios), read 13 November 2026.

### Questions

**Can I train iPhone dictation to recognize my voice?**
Apple's guide describes no training step. You can correct words by voice, for example "Change tea to T-E-E", and spell names after saying them.

**How do I add words to iPhone dictation?**
Built-in dictation has no word list in Apple's guide. Keyspoken has a custom vocabulary where you set how a name or term should be written.

**Why does dictation get names wrong?**
Speech models are trained on common words, so rare names and jargon are the hardest. Spelling the name after you say it, or using a custom vocabulary, fixes most of it.