Spoken Punctuation & Symbols
Say a punctuation mark or symbol by name while you dictate, and Voibe types the symbol instead of the words. It happens on your Mac the instant you speak. Just say "comma" for , or "open paren" for (.
hi team comma new paragraph the designs are ready full stop please reply by friday full stop new paragraph thanks comma new line priya
Hi team,
The designs are ready. Please reply by Friday.
Thanks,
Priya
On this page
- New lines & paragraphs
- Bullet & numbered lists
- Punctuation & dashes
- Brackets & quotes
- Symbols & math
- Money
- Email & web addresses
- Good to know
- What's not supported
Tip: tap any section heading below to collapse it.
📋 New lines & paragraphs
| You say | Voibe does |
|---|---|
| "new line" | Starts a new line |
| "new paragraph" | Leaves a blank line, then continues |
See the example at the top of this page for new lines and paragraphs in a real message.
• Bullet & numbered lists, step by step
Voibe builds the list as you talk. Open a list, speak each item, and the bullets or numbers and the line breaks are added for you. You don't have to phrase it the same way every time. Many natural wordings work, so say whatever feels natural.
Step 1 · Open a list
| You say (any of these) | Voibe starts |
|---|---|
| "start list", "begin list", "open list", "start bullet list", "bullet point", "first bullet" | A bullet list (•) |
| "numbered list", "ordered list", "start numbered list", "begin ordered list", "first point" | A numbered list (1.) |
Step 2 · Add the next item
These count as commands only while a list is open. Said in ordinary writing, they stay as text.
| You say (any of these) | Voibe does |
|---|---|
| "next item", "next bullet", "next point", "new item", "add item", "another item", "another point" | Starts the next bullet, or the next number, on a new line |
Numbered lists count for you
| You say | Voibe types |
|---|---|
| just keep saying "next item" | 1. then 2. then 3. automatically |
| "number 5", "item 3", "point two" | Jumps to that number, then keeps counting from there |
Spoken numbers are understood from "one" to "twenty". Beyond that, say the digits, for example "number 25".
Step 3 · Close the list
| You say (any of these) | Voibe does |
|---|---|
| "end list", "stop list", "finish list", "close list", "no more items", "that's the list", "end of list", "done with the list" | Ends the list; what you say next is ordinary text again |
Example · a bullet list
groceries colon bullet point milk new item eggs another item bread that's the list
Groceries:
• Milk
• Eggs
• Bread
Example · a numbered list
let me give you the steps colon start numbered list back up the database next item run the migration next item deploy to production end list
Let me give you the steps:
1. Back up the database
2. Run the migration
3. Deploy to production
🗣️ Punctuation & dashes
| You say | Voibe types |
|---|---|
| "comma" | , |
| "full stop" | . |
| "question mark" | ? |
| "exclamation mark" | ! |
| "colon" | : |
| "semicolon" | ; |
| "hyphen" or "minus sign" | - |
| "em dash" | — |
| "en dash" | – |
are you free tomorrow question mark let me know exclamation mark
Are you free tomorrow? Let me know!
❝ Brackets & quotes
Say "open …" and "close …" around your text. Word order is flexible, so "open paren" and "paren open" both work.
| You say | Voibe types |
|---|---|
| "open paren" … "close paren" | ( ) |
| "open square bracket" … "close" | [ ] |
| "open curly bracket" … "close" | |
| "open angle bracket" … "close" | < > |
| "open quote" … "close quote" | " " |
| "open single quote" … "close" | ' ' |
she said open quote let's ship the update open paren version two close paren close quote
She said "let's ship the update (version two)"
🔣 Symbols & math
Math operators need the word "sign" so everyday words like "plus" and "times" are never changed.
| You say | Voibe types |
|---|---|
| "at the rate" (or "at symbol") | @ |
| "ampersand" | & |
| "percent sign" | % |
| "hash sign" or "number sign" | # |
| "forward slash" | / |
| "underscore sign" | _ |
| "tilde" | ~ |
| "caret" | ^ |
| "degree sign" | ° |
| "section sign" | § |
| "copyright / registered / trademark sign" | © ® ™ |
| "plus sign" / "equals sign" | + = |
| "multiplication sign" / "division sign" | × ÷ |
| "asterisk" | * |
our costs fell 15 percent sign and profit rose 8 percent sign this quarter
Our costs fell 15% and profit rose 8% this quarter
the area is 5 multiplication sign 3 and the total is 10 plus sign 2
The area is 5 × 3 and the total is 10 + 2
💱 Money
Say the amount as a number, then the currency. Voibe places the symbol for you. Dollars, euros, pounds, and rupees are supported.
| You say | Voibe types |
|---|---|
| "20 dollars" (or "20 bucks") | $20 |
| "30 euros" | €30 |
| "20 pounds sterling" (or "20 GBP") | £20 |
| "500 rupees" | ₹500 |
it was 20 bucks comma about 30 euros comma and 40 GBP
It was $20, about €30, and £40
Plain "pounds" with no qualifier stays as a word, so "5 pounds of sugar" is left alone. Say the amount as digits: "20 dollars", not "twenty dollars".
📧 Email & web addresses
Say "at" and "dot" the natural way. Voibe joins it into an address only when it sees the email shape, so an ordinary "at" in a sentence is left alone.
| You say | Voibe types |
|---|---|
| "john at gmail dot com" | john@gmail.com |
| "john dot smith at gmail dot com" | john.smith@gmail.com |
| "first dot last at company dot co dot uk" | first.last@company.co.uk |
| "example dot com" | example.com |
send it to first dot last at company dot co dot uk before noon
Send it to first.last@company.co.uk before noon
💡 Good to know
A few marks need the exact wording:
- • Say "full stop" for a period. "period", "point", and "dot" are not used for it.
- • Say "exclamation mark" (or "exclamation point"), not just "exclamation".
- • Math operators need the word "sign": say "plus sign", not "plus".
- • Say money as digits: "20 dollars", not "twenty dollars".
- • Say "forward slash" for /, for example in a file path or web address.
- • Say "underscore sign" for _. A plain "underscore" on its own stays as the word, since it is also an everyday verb.
- • For @, say the email the natural way ("name at gmail dot com") or say "at the rate". A plain "at sign" inside a sentence is left as words.
🚫 What's not supported
Some punctuation names are also ordinary words. To keep your normal dictation from being garbled, Voibe converts only when it is confident you meant the symbol, and you use a clearer form to force the symbol (for example "underscore sign" rather than a bare "underscore"). These are the things Voibe deliberately leaves alone:
- • Symbol names used as everyday words: a plain "underscore" ("results underscore the point") and "at sign" in a sentence ("we looked at sign language") stay as text. Use the clearer forms above ("underscore sign", or say the email naturally) when you want the symbol.
- • Uncommon symbols: pipe (|), backslash (\), backtick (`), and ellipsis (…).
- • Emoji and emoticons: spoken names like "smiley face" stay as text.
- • Other currencies: only dollar, euro, pound, and rupee are converted. Yen and the rest stay as words.
- • Non-English punctuation: spoken punctuation works in English only, so marks like the Spanish ¿ and ¡ aren't recognised.
- • Editing and styling: this feature inserts marks and symbols. It does not act on spoken edits ("delete that", "select this") or styling ("all caps", "bold").