Dictate Chinese and English in One Sentence on iPhone

Dropping a few English terms into a Chinese message, or a Chinese name into an English email, is how many bilingual people talk. This guide explains how MurMur handles both languages in one sentence on iPhone and when to pick a different mode.

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Two kinds of modes

MurMur recognizes Chinese and English only. Smart mode runs in the cloud and supports mixing Chinese and English within one sentence. Fast Chinese and Fast English run on the device and lock to one language at a time, so they suit sentences spoken in a single language.

Dictate one mixed sentence in smart mode

Try it in your own note first. You do not need to send anything. Mode names and their location follow what the app currently shows.

  1. Finish keyboard installation and permissions, covered in the iPhone setup guide.
  2. In MurMur's dictation settings, choose smart mode (cloud).
  3. Switch to the MurMur keyboard in a note, tap the voice button and speak one mixed Chinese-English sentence naturally.
  4. When the text appears, check English spellings, names, numbers and dates before you decide to send it.

When to use Fast Chinese or Fast English

Use a Fast mode when a whole sentence is in Chinese or in English. Recognition happens on the device. On the free plan, local recognition on iPhone shares the weekly character allowance with cloud dictation; the exact amount is whatever the app shows. Pro has no dictation character limit. You need to prepare the local model before first use; follow the app's prompts if it is not ready. Fast modes are not designed for a sentence that includes the other language, so use smart mode for mixing.

Personal vocabulary is not translation

Add project names, company names and acronyms you use often to your personal vocabulary as a recognition hint. It does not guarantee a correct result every time. Mixed dictation keeps the Chinese and English you spoke. Voice translation converts content into another language, needs internet access and serves a different purpose.

What to check before sending

Smart mode needs internet access and sends the audio required for recognition; see the privacy policy for details. On the free plan, local and cloud dictation share one weekly character allowance, and the exact amount is whatever the app shows. After the text appears, check proper nouns, numbers, dates and negations.

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