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How to teach Siri how to pronounce words and names properly

Siri’s pretty talented – it can write email, order an Uber, set reminders so you don’t forget birthdays. But, just like Santa Claus, its reach also spans the world and from time-to-time, Siri can get certain words wrong.

This applies to names in particular. Whether you’ve got an unusual name or an unfamiliar pronunciation that Siri simply can’t get right, or if you’re entering a contact and Siri gets confused by the name’s pronunciation, you can teach the personal assistant to say it correctly. Here’s how.

Hey Siri, you’re saying it wrong!

1. Ask Siri to call a contact, or say or name, or through general use, if Siri pronounces something in an odd way, simply respond with “that’s not how to pronounce that.”

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2. Siri will respond, and ask you to tell it how to pronounce the name properly. It’ll first ask how to pronounce the first name, then the second. As prompted, pronounce these names while Siri’s listening.

3. Siri will then provide you with a number of interpretations of the way you said the name. You can hear these by tapping on the ‘play’ icon. Select the one you think is accurate, or tap ‘Tell Siri again’ to see if Siri does a better job second time around.

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4. Once you’re happy and select an option for each name, Siri will thank you for correcting it and now remember and pronounce these names as selected.

Why so serious?

Did you know you can also tell Siri to purposefully mispronounce names? Simply follow the method above and you could have Siri say you name as anything – it’s very odd to tell Siri not to pronounce your the Andy in the traditional way, but instead to pronounce it ‘Pineapple.’ There’s not a lot of use for it, but it’s fun and works with any word Siri can say.

Or, try changing Siri’s voice

It’s also possible to change Siri’s voice to match the accent of the country you’re from. This might also solve a few pronunciation issues, or simply provide a different experience. Here’s how to change Siri’s voice.

1. Open the Settings on your device.

2. Scroll down and tap Siri.

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3. We imagine it will be, but if not, ensure Siri is enabled by toggling on the button next to ‘Siri.’

4. Tap Siri Voice, then select the Accent or Gender you’d like. Currently there’s only a choice of British, American and Australian for English languages, but if you want to change the language, go back one screen, select Language, then select your multi-lingual Siri.

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Not all voices or accents will be downloaded, depending on your region. To download a new accent, tap it. If you’re not on Wi-Fi the device will prompt you to connect before downloading. It takes a few minutes to download a new voice.