iOS 7's Siri Can Learn How to Pronounce Names - MacRumors
Skip to Content

iOS 7's Siri Can Learn How to Pronounce Names

by

Shortly before today's iOS 7 Beta 2 was released, one of 9to5Mac's readers found that iOS 7's Siri has the ability to correct pronunciations for names.

siripronunciationImage via 9to5Mac

Previously, getting Siri to properly pronounce names required a user to edit the "phonetic name" for a contact and manually adjust the spelling until Siri pronounced the name the correct way. Now, as 9to5Mac notes, a user can simply say "pronounce [insert name here]" to put Siri through a simpler name pronunciation learning process.

Within that process, Siri will ask the user to pronounce the name and then present a couple of pronunciations based on how it heard the user. The user is then prompted to select a pronunciation, which Siri will from then on attempt to use when saying the name in question.

While the feature was in iOS 7 Beta 1, it's unknown at this point whether there have been improvements in the recently released Beta 2.

Related Forum: iOS 7

Top Rated Comments

BillyBobBongo Avatar
168 months ago
Previously, getting Siri to properly pronounce names required a user to edit the "phonetic name" for a contact and manually adjust the spelling until Siri pronounced the name the correct way. Now, as 9to5Mac notes, a user can simply say "pronounce [insert name here]" to put Siri through a simpler name pronunciation learning process.
You can do this in IOS6 too...
Sometimes it helps to read the article.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gasu E. Avatar
168 months ago
Yes..

Siri has been learning a lot lately.. but she tends to mumble and sometimes she says off the wall things that don't make since.

Image (https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/995045_4324477810309_2011489989_n.jpg)

Oh, the irony!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
caligomez Avatar
168 months ago
What Siri desperately needs is a way to differentiate one language from another without having to strictly accept one at a time. There are many bilingual countries (and users) that have have to constantly use different language words in the same sentence.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
168 months ago
Siri totally fails at Asian names. This is going to be real useful when I go handsfree.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alia Avatar
168 months ago
This is great news! One reason Siri irks me is that she can't pronounce my name at all, and it grates.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Drunken Master Avatar
168 months ago
Right...

I live in Taiwan, trust me, 王 is 王.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

11 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 18 Pro

Monday May 11, 2026 9:01 am PDT by
We're only four months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a sea change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year, adopting a...
iOS 26

iOS 26.5 Features: Everything New in iOS 26.5

Monday May 11, 2026 5:09 pm PDT by
Apple released iOS 26.5 after a few months of beta testing, and while it doesn't have the Siri features we were hoping for since those are being held until iOS 27, there are a handful of useful changes worth knowing about. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. End-to-End Encryption for RCS Support for end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages between iPhone and...
General Apps Reddit Feature

Reddit Starts Blocking Mobile Website, Pushing Users to App Instead

Monday May 11, 2026 6:10 am PDT by
Social network Reddit recently began blocking mobile visitors to its website while pushing them to download the official Reddit app, and it's fair to say that the move is not going down well with users. If you visit reddit.com on your iPhone today, you may see a new popup that can't be dismissed, asking you to "get the app to keep using Reddit." A Reddit spokesperson told Ars Technica...