How to Teach Siri to Say a Name by Adding Phonetic Spelling to the Contacts App

By Leanne Hays Updated 09/16/2019

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With the iPhones' Contacts app, you can include the phonetic spelling of names to teach Siri how to pronounce the names of your contacts. In Contacts, you'll need to tap Edit on a contact's card and select Add Field to enter a name phonetically. Let's get started learning how to add the phonetic pronunciation of names to your iPhone's Contacts list!

How to Add Phonetic Spelling to iPhone Contacts:

Open your Contacts either in the Phone app or the Contacts app.
Find the contact Siri is having trouble pronouncing and tap on their name.
Once the person's contact card is open, tap Edit in the upper right corner.
Now, scroll down and select add field.
You can pick from Phoenetic First, Middle, or Last Name.
Enter the phonetic pronunciation, then tap Done in the upper right corner.
Now the phonetic pronunciation of the name is included in the contact card.

I hope this tip helps you to create easy references for both you and Siri so that you don't have any more trouble with mispronunciations!

Top image credit: leungchopan / Shutterstock.com

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Author Details

Leanne Hays

Leanne Hays is a Feature Writer at iPhone Life, and has written hundreds of in-depth how-to and troubleshooting articles. She's a former Associate Editor for iPhone Life magazine, and has written for the Iowa Source, as well as web content for education marketing. Leanne has an associate's degree in education, with a focus on curriculum development, as well as a bachelor's degree in science. She has over nine years of experience with SEO, social media management, and web development and writing. Despite years of web work, Leanne is by no means an early adapter; she's only owned a smartphone for five years, which makes her highly sympathetic to the learning curve of new iPhone owners. She enjoys making reader's lives easier and putting her education experience to work by walking them through the most practical ways to use Apple devices, step-by-step.

In off-work hours, Leanne is a mother of two, homesteader, audiobook fanatic, musician, and learning enthusiast.

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