Voice typing on Windows (Win + H): a complete guide

In shortOn Windows, click into a text field and press Win + H to start voice typing. Voice typing uses your active input language, so you switch languages with Win + Spacebar. According to Microsoft's help, you need an internet connection and a working microphone, and Windows 11 supports many more languages than Windows 10.

What is voice typing, and what is it good for?

Voice typing is Windows' built-in dictation: you talk, and your PC types what you say at the cursor. You don't need a separate program, and it isn't tied to one app – it works in email, documents, the browser, chat, anywhere you can click into a text field.

It's most useful when you have a lot to write and your thoughts move faster than your fingers: a longer email, notes after a meeting, the first draft of a document. You dictate the rough text, then tidy it up with the keyboard. We cover when dictating pays off and when typing is better in Dictation vs. typing.

According to Microsoft's help, voice typing needs three things: an internet connection, a working microphone, and the cursor in a text box. Recognition runs online, powered by Azure Speech services. This article uses Windows 11 menu names; the differences in Windows 10 get their own section below.

How do I start it with Win + H?

1. Click where you want to write – the body of an email, a document, or a text field in your browser.
2. Press Win + H (the Windows logo key and H).
3. The small floating voice typing panel with a microphone appears. When the microphone is listening, start talking.
4. To stop, press Win + H again, click the microphone, or say “Stop voice typing”.

On a touchscreen device you can also start it with the microphone key on the touch keyboard. If you dictate often, turn on the Voice typing launcher in the panel's settings: it lets you start dictation quickly whenever you click into a text field.

Which languages does it support?

On Windows 11, a long list. Microsoft's help page lists the languages supported by voice typing in Windows 11, and it covers English as well as many other languages, Hungarian among them. For several languages the page also gives a separate table of spoken punctuation and commands.

On Windows 10, the list is much shorter. The same help page gives a separate language list for Windows 10 dictation, and many languages that Windows 11 supports are missing from it. The help also says Windows 10 dictation commands are available in US English only. If you're on Windows 10 and you dictate in a language other than English, don't take support for granted.

The safest approach is to test it on your own PC, because language support can change with updates:

1. Check your Windows version: Settings › System › About.
2. Make sure your language is among your languages: Settings › Time & language › Language & region. If it isn't, use Add a language under Preferred languages.
3. Switch to that input language (see the next section), click into a text field, and press Win + H.
4. Say a short sentence. If it comes out correctly in that language, your PC supports it.

If the panel doesn't start or doesn't type in your language, your Windows version probably doesn't support voice typing in it. A system update may help, or you'll need a different tool (see the comparison below). For an overview of dictation tools and languages, read our dictation guide.

How do I choose the language?

This is where most people get stuck: voice typing has no language picker of its own. According to Microsoft's help, to change the language you change your input language – voice typing uses whichever language is currently active on your keyboard.

• Click the language switcher in the corner of the taskbar and choose your language.
• Or press Win + Spacebar to cycle to the input language you want.
• On the touch keyboard, use the language switcher in the bottom-right corner.

If the language doesn't appear in the list, add it first under Settings › Time & language › Language & region. According to the help, the dictation language can differ from the Windows display language – so you can dictate in, say, Spanish on an English-language Windows, as long as the Spanish input language is active.

If voice typing produces nonsense words, the cause is almost always that the wrong input language is active, and your PC is trying to understand you in a different language. So glance at the language indicator on the taskbar before you dictate.

If you write mixed-language text – for example an English email with a few foreign terms – recognition tries to understand the foreign words in the active input language too, so they go wrong more often. Dictate the main text, then type the foreign terms afterwards, or switch the input language for a longer passage in the other language.

How do I say punctuation and commands?

Microsoft's help lists spoken commands for each supported language. For punctuation, just say the name of the mark. In English:

Useful editing commands in English:

• “Stop voice typing”, “Stop dictation” or “Pause voice typing” – stops listening.
• “Delete that” or “Scratch that” – deletes the last thing you said.
• “Select that” – selects the last thing you said.
• “Press Enter”, “Press Backspace”, “Insert space” – presses the matching key.

Under the gear icon on the panel you can also turn on Automatic punctuation: voice typing then inserts punctuation based on how you speak. If it doesn't place the marks accurately, turn it off and say them yourself. Command wording differs by language, so check Microsoft's tables for yours.

What if it doesn't work?

If nothing happens when you press Win + H, or the panel appears but doesn't type, work through this list:

1. Are you online? Voice typing uses online recognition and doesn't work without a connection. Open a website, and if you use a VPN, try without it.
2. Is the cursor in a text field? Click into the field so the cursor blinks, and only then start dictation.
3. Is the microphone allowed? Open Settings › Privacy & security › Microphone, turn on Microphone access, and for desktop programs also turn on Let desktop apps access your microphone.
4. Is it listening to the right microphone? Under Settings › System › Sound, in the Input section, choose the microphone you're using. You can also set the Default microphone in the panel's settings.
5. Can it hear you? In the microphone's properties, under Microphone test, select Start test, speak, then select Stop test.
6. Run the troubleshooter: at the bottom of the Sound settings, under Advanced, choose Input devices under Troubleshoot common sound problems.
7. Try it in Notepad. If it works there, your PC is fine, and the problem is the original app or its text field.

If everything checks out and dictation still won't start, restart your PC and install any pending Windows updates. The equivalent troubleshooting list for Mac is in Mac dictation not working – many of the steps are the same.

How do I make recognition more accurate?

The quality of voice typing depends at least as much on the conditions as on the software. A few simple habits mean much less fixing afterwards:

• Use a microphone close to your mouth. A laptop's built-in mic also picks up fan noise and room echo. Even a basic headset makes a big difference.
• Dictate somewhere quiet. Background music, conversation or traffic noticeably hurt recognition.
• Speak at a natural pace, in whole sentences. Text spoken word by word, or syllable by syllable, often comes out worse than continuous speech.
• Dictate in shorter chunks. Stop after a paragraph or two, read it through, and fix it before you move on.
• Check names and jargon. Proper names, abbreviations and rare technical terms are the most common sources of errors.

We explain the terms (speech recognition, noise suppression, automatic punctuation) in the Glossary.

How do Windows 10 and Windows 11 differ?

In Windows 10 the feature is called dictation; in Windows 11 it's voice typing. Both start with Win + H and both need an internet connection, but according to the help there are important differences:

On some Copilot+ PCs, Windows 11 also offers fluid dictation, which uses small on-device language models to polish the text as you speak. According to Microsoft's help, it's available in all English locales; for other languages, check the current help page.

How do I write a longer email or document with it?

Voice typing is fastest when you don't try to speak and edit at the same time. A two-step workflow works best: dictate the rough text first, then tidy it with the keyboard.

1. Think through the outline. Before you start dictating, decide the order you'll say things in: what the goal is, what the main point is, what you're asking the recipient to do.
2. Dictate paragraph by paragraph. Start with Win + H, say the first paragraph, say “new paragraph” at the end, and carry on.
3. Don't fix things as you go. If you fluff a sentence, say the better version again and keep going. Fixing is the job of step two.
4. Stop and read it through. Turn off the microphone and use the keyboard to correct misheard words, names and punctuation.
5. Format at the end. Bold, bullet lists, headings – these are faster with the mouse and keyboard than by voice.

With this method, your thinking and phrasing aren't interrupted every other word, and fixing is quicker too, because you see the whole text at once. For a short message you don't need all these steps: click, dictate, check, send.

One thing to watch: while the panel is listening, it treats every word you say as text. If someone talks to you or you take a call, stop dictation first with Win + H or the “Stop voice typing” command, or the conversation will end up in your document too.

What other options do you have on Windows?

Built-in voice typing is free and works everywhere, but it isn't the only route. The options in brief:

If the word-for-word text from the built-in tool needs too much fixing, a dedicated dictation app that also cleans up what you said can help. Mondi, which dictates in English and Hungarian, is available on Mac today; the Windows version is in the works, and you can sign up on the download page to hear when it's ready.

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