Speak the language you are thinking in
Typing in a second language is slow. Typing in your first language on a keyboard that does not suit it can be slower still. Speaking skips both problems.
Click into a text box in any app, press Ctrl + Space on Windows, ⌥ Option + Space on a Mac, and speak. Press it again to stop. Your words appear at the cursor, punctuated, in the language you spoke. Spanish in, Spanish out. Talkativ does not translate what you dictate.
A day in more than one language
Say you write to a client in English in the morning, reply to a colleague in German after lunch, and message your family in Hindi in the evening. With auto-detect on, which is the default, you do the same thing each time: press the shortcut, speak, press again. Each dictation comes out in the language you used.
The shortcut, the mic dot and its colours stay the same in every language, so there is nothing new to learn. If auto-detect picks the wrong language for a short message, choose your language in Settings for a while, then switch back to auto-detect.
Who this suits
- International students writing essays in English and messages home in their first language.
- People who work across countries and write to colleagues in different languages.
- Families who message relatives in their first language.
- Anyone who finds their keyboard layout awkward for one of their languages.
If you write for work all day, voice to text for work covers the routine. If you study abroad, see speech to text for students.
Check your languages first
Talkativ works in 100 languages and is highly accurate in 56. “Highly accurate” comes from our own tests, in which each of those languages was right at least 9 times in 10. The others may work, but are less reliable or not tested yet, so treat them as a trial. The languages page lists all 100 in their three groups and explains how we tested them. Check both, or all, of the languages you use.
Names and local words
Names of people, places and companies can come out wrong, whatever the language. Add them to Vocabulary and Talkativ listens out for them. Every plan has it. It is a word list, not voice training.
Advanced formatting
Punctuation and capital letters come by default. With Advanced formatting on, Talkativ also writes lists, amounts, email addresses and times in the usual form. It keeps the language you spoke and does not translate. It is off by default, so switch it on in Settings.
Asking Genius Mode for a translation
On the Max plan, you can highlight text, press Ctrl + D on Windows, ⌥ Option + D on a Mac, and say what you want, such as “translate this into Spanish”. The result replaces your selection. We have not tested translation in every language, so treat it as a first pass, particularly for anything important. You are the one who knows what the text should say.
Honest limits
- One language per dictation. Mixing languages inside a sentence has not been tested.
- Languages outside the 56 are less reliable. Check them with your own sentences.
- Accents can make a difference, and we have not tested for them.
- Very short or noisy recordings give worse results in any language.
- It needs an internet connection and does not work offline.
Pricing and platforms
Every language is on the Free plan, which is 2,200 words a week, reset every 7 days, with no card. Pro is unlimited for $7 a month or $56 a year. Max, with Genius Mode and Smart Edits, is $11 a month or $88 a year. Talkativ runs on Windows. It runs on a Mac too. Read about Talkativ for Mac and the free plan.
Download Talkativ and try a few sentences in each of your languages.