Use Flow with multiple languages

Dictate in any of 99 languages, switch between them across sessions, or use regional variants like British English or Swiss German. Configure your languages once and Flow detects which one you're speaking.

What it is

Flow supports dictation in 99 languages. Select your preferred languages in Settings to optimize accuracy, or enable Auto-detect to let Flow identify the language automatically. Regional variants like British English or Swiss German use region-specific spelling conventions.

When to use it

Use this feature when you want to:

• Dictate in a language other than English

• Switch between two or more languages across sessions

• Use region-specific spelling (e.g., British English or Swiss German)

• Dictate in a code-switched language like Hinglish

How it works in Flow

Overview

Flow detects which language you're speaking at the start of each dictation session and transcribes accordingly. Your selected languages narrow the set Flow chooses from, which improves accuracy.

Key behaviors

• Detection happens per session: Flow detects language at the start of each session, not per word. If you switch languages mid-sentence, Flow may transcribe the entire segment in one language.

• Changes apply instantly: When you update your languages in Settings, they take effect at your next dictation session — no restart needed.

• Code-switching has limits: Flow works best when you speak primarily in one language with occasional words from another, rather than alternating sentence by sentence.

• Mixed-language output: If you speak Chinese and English together, Flow may transcribe English words in Chinese characters, or vice versa.

Best practices

• Select only languages you actually use. Fewer languages means more accurate detection.

• Avoid Auto-detect if you code-switch frequently. Manually selecting 2–3 languages gives better results than letting Flow guess from 99.

• Choose one variant per language. Selecting a variant like English - British automatically deselects English - American.

• Keep at least one language selected. On iOS, removing all languages enables Auto-detect. On desktop, you'll be prompted to select at least one language or enable Auto-detect.

How to set your languages

Switching languages from the Flow Bar

When you have 2 or more languages configured, the language button on the Flow Bar becomes interactive — letting you cycle through languages or open the full language menu. With only one language configured, the button appears but is not interactive.

What the button looks like

• One language active: The button shows a 2-letter code (e.g., "EN" for English, "FR" for French).

• Multiple languages active: The button shows a globe icon.

• On hover: A dark pill expands to the left of the button, revealing a chevron (›) alongside it.

How to use it

• Cycle through languages: Click the main button to step through your configured languages one by one. After cycling through all of them, it returns to "all languages" (globe icon).

• Open the full menu: Click the chevron (›) that appears on hover. This opens the language picker, where you can toggle individual languages on or off, click Enable all to activate every configured language at once, or click Add more to add languages in Settings.

Language variants and orthography

Some languages have regional variants with different spelling conventions. Selecting a variant automatically deselects the base language, and vice versa.

• German - Swiss (🇨🇭): Uses Swiss orthography, replacing ß with "ss" (e.g., "Straße" becomes "Strasse"). During onboarding, users in Switzerland and Liechtenstein have this selected automatically based on system locale.

• English - British (🇬🇧): Uses UK spelling conventions (e.g., "colour", "centre"). During onboarding, users in the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have this selected automatically. On iOS, Text Styles are fully available when English - British is selected, matching the experience for English - American.

• Hinglish (🇮🇳): A code-switched blend of Hindi and English commonly spoken in India. Select this if you naturally mix both languages — Hinglish is fully supported for voice-to-text dictation.

• Chinese - Simplified (简体中文) (🇨🇳): Available as a separate option from Chinese - Traditional.

Examples

Common issues

FAQs

Limitations and notes

• Flow does not support rapid language switching within a single sentence. Some language pairs work better than others — English with Spanish, French, or German generally performs better than English with Chinese or Japanese.

• Non-English transcription is improving but is not yet as reliable as English.

• The Flow Bar language button is available on Mac and Windows only, and only when 2 or more languages are configured. This feature is being rolled out gradually.

• Text Styles require English (American or British) as a selected language on iOS. On desktop and Android, Text Styles are available regardless of language.

• Personalized styles currently only apply when dictating in English.

• Polish and repolish (including Translate to English) are available on Mac and Windows only.

Still need help?

Reach out to support if:

• Flow consistently outputs the wrong language even with only one language selected.

• You see transcription in a language you never added to your settings.

• Language settings don't save after restarting the app.

In the Flow desktop app, click the ? icon, then select Talk to support. Include your platform, your selected languages, and a brief example of what you said versus what Flow transcribed. Messages sent this way include diagnostic information so we can resolve issues faster. Most language issues are resolved in one reply.