Dictionary

Add custom words and phrases to improve transcription accuracy for technical terms, proper nouns, jargon, and domain-specific language.

Overview

Access the dictionary from Settings → Dictionary.

What is the Dictionary?

The dictionary allows you to teach Vox custom words that might be incorrectly transcribed by default. When Vox recognizes speech that sounds like a dictionary entry, it uses your specified spelling instead.

First-Time Setup

Dictionary requires speech recognition to be configured first. Go to Speech to download a model.

Why Use a Dictionary?

Whisper models are trained on general language and may struggle with:

• Technical terms: API names, frameworks, libraries (e.g., "TypeScript", "Kubernetes", "FastAPI")
• Proper nouns: Names of people, companies, products (e.g., "Doug", "Anthropic", "CloudFlare")
• Industry jargon: Domain-specific terminology (e.g., "devops", "frontend", "microservices")
• Abbreviations: Acronyms and shorthand (e.g., "AWS", "CI/CD", "API")
• Brand names: Company and product names (e.g., "Spotify", "Netflix", "GitHub")
• Code terms: Programming concepts (e.g., "async/await", "useState", "npm")

Adding these to your dictionary ensures consistent, accurate transcription.

Adding Words

Manual Entry

To add a word manually:

1. Navigate to Settings → Dictionary
2. Type the word or phrase in the input box
3. Click Add or press Enter
4. The word appears in your dictionary list

From Transcriptions

When reviewing transcriptions, you can add incorrectly transcribed words:

1. Navigate to Transcriptions
2. Find a transcription with an error
3. Click Add to Dictionary
4. Enter the correct spelling
5. The word is added to your dictionary

See Transcriptions for more details.

Dictionary Examples

The screenshot shows example dictionary entries:

• Airbnb: Travel company name
• AskUserQuestion: Code/function name (camelCase)
• Aws: Amazon Web Services (capitalization)
• Cho: Proper noun or brand name
• devorch: Custom tool or project name
• error handling: Technical term (lowercase)
• etc: Common abbreviation
• fran: Person's name
• Spotify: Music streaming service (proper capitalization)
• HUD: Acronym for Heads-Up Display

Best Practices

What to Add

Good candidates:

• Words Vox consistently gets wrong
• Technical terms you use frequently
• Proper nouns (names, places, brands)
• Industry-specific jargon
• Abbreviations and acronyms
• Code identifiers (camelCase, snake_case)

Not necessary:

• Common English words (already in Whisper's vocabulary)
• Words that are correctly transcribed
• Very rare words you use once

Capitalization

Capitalization matters in dictionary entries:

• AWS → Transcribed as "AWS" (all caps)
• Aws → Transcribed as "Aws" (first letter capitalized)
• aws → Transcribed as "aws" (lowercase)

Add entries with the exact capitalization you want:

• Spotify (not "spotify" or "SPOTIFY")
• TypeScript (not "typescript" or "Typescript")
• iOS (not "ios" or "IOS")

Multi-Word Phrases

You can add multi-word phrases:

• error handling → Ensures this phrase is transcribed correctly
• async await → JavaScript/Python concept
• machine learning → Technical term

Vox will recognize the phrase and use your spelling when you speak it.

Punctuation and Special Characters

Dictionary entries can include:

• Hyphens: ci-cd, front-end
• Slashes: and/or, async/await
• Numbers: web3, i18n
• Underscores: snake_case, user_id

Do not include:

• Periods, commas, or other sentence punctuation
• Quotes or brackets

Searching the Dictionary

Use the search box to find entries:

• Type to filter the list
• Finds partial matches
• Results update in real-time

Example searches:

• Search error → Finds "error handling"
• Search Spot → Finds "Spotify"
• Search Hud → Finds "HUD"

Editing Dictionary Entries

Removing Entries

To remove a word from your dictionary:

1. Find the entry in the list
2. Click the × (remove) button next to it
3. The entry is deleted immediately

Clean Up Regularly

Periodically review your dictionary and remove:

• Words that are no longer relevant
• Duplicate entries
• Test entries

Updating Entries

To change a dictionary entry:

1. Remove the old entry
2. Add the corrected entry
3. No need to restart Vox

Troubleshooting

Dictionary Entry Not Working

Solutions:

1. Check pronunciation: Speak the word clearly and consistently
2. Verify spelling: Ensure the dictionary entry is spelled correctly
3. Try variations: Add multiple capitalizations if unsure
   • Add both aws and AWS
   • Add typescript and TypeScript
4. Test with different models: Try larger speech models
5. Use AI Enhancement: AI Enhancement can help correct words the dictionary misses

Word Still Incorrectly Transcribed

If a dictionary entry isn't working:

1. Speak clearly: Pronounce the word clearly and consistently
2. Try variations: Add different capitalizations (e.g., aws and AWS)
3. Use a larger model: Try Accurate or Best models
4. Enable AI: Use AI Enhancement as an alternative

Too Many Entries

If your dictionary becomes unwieldy:

1. Review regularly: Remove unused entries
2. Focus on frequently used terms: Don't add everything
3. Group by category: Keep a separate note of entries by domain
4. Export for backup: Copy entries to a text file for reference

Entries Disappeared

If dictionary entries were lost:

1. Check for updates: Updates shouldn't affect the dictionary
2. Backup regularly: Export your dictionary periodically

Dictionary Backup

To back up your dictionary:

1. Copy all entries to a text file
2. Save the file in a safe location

To restore entries:

1. Add the words again through the interface
2. You can copy and paste multiple words at once

Future Feature

Automatic export/import functionality may be added in future Vox versions.

Example Dictionary Setups

For Software Developers

TypeScript
JavaScript
Python
FastAPI
Docker
Kubernetes
AWS
PostgreSQL
CI/CD
API
frontend
backend
devops
microservices
async/await
useState
useEffect

For Content Creators

YouTube
Instagram
TikTok
SEO
CMS
WordPress
Shopify
analytics
engagement
monetization

For Medical Professionals

[Add medical terms specific to your specialty]
diagnosis
treatment
medication
patient
symptoms

For Multilingual Users

Spotify
Netflix
GitHub
Doug
Cho
devorch
Anthropic

Next Steps

• Configure speech models for better base accuracy
• Enable AI Enhancement to complement dictionary corrections
• Review transcriptions to find words that need dictionary entries
• Adjust transcription preferences for better formatting