If Mac dictation keeps misspelling a colleague's name or a project term, first check which dictation tool you are using. Voice Control has a custom vocabulary list; other dictation apps may have their own dictionaries. Those settings are separate from standard Apple Dictation and macOS Text Replacements.
Start with a few words you regularly correct. Save their intended spellings where your dictation app supports them, then check the results in sentences from your normal work.
Find the vocabulary feature for your dictation tool
First, identify what is listening. Apple's standard Dictation is configured in System Settings → Keyboard. Voice Control is a separate workflow in Accessibility. Apple explains that when Voice Control is on, it handles dictation and standard Dictation is unavailable. See Apple's Dictation guide.
Apple documents a custom vocabulary under Accessibility → Voice Control → Vocabulary, with availability depending on the selected language. Those instructions are specifically for Voice Control. Follow the Voice Control vocabulary guide if that is the feature you use.
If you dictate through another app, start with that app's dictionary or vocabulary settings. Look at what the editor asks you to save. A field for a preferred term and a pair of fields for an original phrase and its replacement serve different purposes.
For general microphone and shortcut setup, use the Mac dictation guide. The steps here are for speech that already becomes text but needs repeated spelling corrections.
Build your list from real corrections
Keep a small note beside your next few writing tasks. For each recurring problem, record the spelling you wanted, the text you actually received, and the sentence around it. Do not fill in imagined errors in advance.
Start with three to five recurring terms so you can check each change.
Scroll sideways to read the full table →
| What to collect | What to save | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| A person's name | Their confirmed spelling, including accents where used | The name inside a normal message |
| A project or product name | The spelling your team uses in its documents | Spaces, capitals, and any ordinary words it resembles |
| A specialist term | The term you actually use at work | The surrounding phrase as well as the term |
| An acronym | Your preferred written form | Whether you say the letters or pronounce it as a word |
Copy the spelling from a reliable place: a colleague's email signature, an approved document, or the product itself. A dictionary entry is only useful if the saved spelling is right.
Keep sentences and writing instructions out of a field intended for vocabulary. “Riverbend” is a project name; “make every update sound more professional” is an editing instruction. Mixing the two makes the entry harder to inspect and maintain.
Add a term or a replacement deliberately
For Voice Control, open its Vocabulary settings and add the word or phrase with the spelling you want. If your Mac offers pronunciation recording, you can record how you say it or choose Save Without Recording. Apple notes that recording requires Dictation to be enabled. If Vocabulary is dimmed, check the selected language against Apple's vocabulary instructions.
In a dictation app, use a preferred-term entry when you want to supply a spelling. Use a replacement entry only when you have a recurring output you want changed and understand how that app applies the rule. Do not assume every feature called “dictionary” works the same way.
Openbroca has a personal dictionary for names, terms, preferred spellings, and replacements. When automatic learning is enabled, it can also learn from corrections made shortly after dictation. Dictionary entries provide spelling guidance; they do not guarantee a substitution in every sentence. Start with one term and inspect the next result before adding more. Optional Screen Context uses visible names and terms as spelling hints; it is another source of context, not a promise that every name will be correct.
Use ordinary, non-sensitive examples when experimenting. Openbroca processes dictation in the cloud and handles dictionary data and optional Screen Context as described in its Privacy Policy.
Check changes with seven short sentences
The following is an illustrative exercise, not a test result. Replace the names and acronym with ones from your own writing. Speak naturally, including your usual pronunciation of names.
- “Please send the draft to Niamh.”
- “Niamh will review the introduction tomorrow.”
- “I am waiting for Niamh's comments.”
- “The Riverbend project needs a new launch date.”
- “Please update the Riverbend planning document.”
- “The SLA needs a response-time target.”
- “The path turns at the river bend.”
The last sentence describes a river bend, not the Riverbend project. Check that it does not acquire the project's spelling and capitalization. If your own troublesome name sounds like a common word, add a sentence using that common word normally. A change that fixes a name but introduces that name into unrelated sentences may create more editing work.
Run the exercise once before changing the dictionary and again afterward. Keep the microphone, writing app, dictation mode, and other settings the same. When checking one dictionary entry, leave optional context settings unchanged so you can tell which change you are examining.
Record the actual output beside each sentence. Check:
- Did the intended term appear with the right spelling and capitalization?
- Did the surrounding meaning stay intact?
- Did the ordinary-word sentence remain ordinary?
- How much editing was needed before the sentence was ready to use?
If a result varies, repeat the sentence and save both outputs. One successful attempt is useful feedback, but it does not establish reliable accuracy. For a broader comparison across your own writing tasks, use the dictation benchmark method.
Treat text replacement as a separate option
macOS also provides System Settings → Keyboard → Text Replacements. Apple describes this as replacing specified text with other text or symbols, with support varying by app. See Apple's text-replacement guide.
In a compatible app, check Edit → Substitutions → Text Replacement if a saved shortcut does not expand.
A typed shortcut can be a convenient way to insert a difficult spelling. For example, you might choose an unusual abbreviation for a project name, then test it in the editor you use. Treat it as a typing shortcut until you have checked how it behaves with your dictation workflow. A successful typed substitution does not show that the speech recognizer has learned the word.
Be cautious with broad replacements such as changing every occurrence of “mark” into someone's name. Before saving a rule, ask whether the original word could be correct in another sentence. If so, prefer a more specific phrase where supported, a vocabulary hint, or a manual correction.
If a new rule causes unwanted changes, remove or revise that rule and repeat the ordinary-word check. Keep the original output in your notes so you can judge whether the change helped overall.
Keep only the terms that help your writing
Return to the list when a recurring error appears or your work changes. Remove obsolete project names and accidental entries. Review learned corrections if the app exposes them, especially after a correction that changed more than spelling.
Keep the process small: one troublesome term, one deliberate change, and a few sentences from the work you actually do.
If you want a personal dictionary alongside writing in your Mac apps, see how Openbroca compares with Apple Dictation. Bring a few names and terms from your own work when you try it.