iOS 17.4: How to Enable Siri to Read Texts in More Languages

Apple released iOS 17.4 on March 5, and the update brought a handful of bug fixes and new features, like new emoji and more Stolen Device Protection options, to your iPhone. But one of the latest features could many people around the world as it allows Siri to read texts back to you in languages other than your iPhone’s primary language.

According to a 2008 study published in the Journal of Neurolinguistics, more than half of the world’s population is considered bilingual. And this study also posits that bilingualism will continue to increase as people migrate to other countries each year. This makes Siri’s ability to read multiple languages extremely useful to a growing number of people.

Here’s what to know about the feature and how to enable it.

Which languages Siri can read and how to enable the feature

Apple gave Siri the ability to read messages in 22 different languages and dialects, in addition to English. Here are the languages and dialects you can choose from.

Arabic
Chinese (Cantonese – Hong Kong)
Chinese (Mandarin – China mainland)
Chinese (Mandarin – Taiwan)
Danish
Dutch (Netherlands)
Finnish
French (Canada)
French (France)
German (Germany)
Hebrew
Italian (Italy)
Japanese
Korean
Malay
Norwegian Bokmal
Portuguese (Brazil)
Russian
Spanish (Mexico)
Spanish (Spain)
Thai
Turkish

Here’s how to allow Siri to read messages in more than your phone’s primary language.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Siri & Search.
3. Tap Messaging with Siri.
4. Tap Add Language… under Read Messages.
5. Select the language you want Siri to be able to read messages in.

You’ll be kicked back to the Messaging with Siri menu once you’ve made your selection. Your iPhone will begin downloading the language you selected immediately. If you want Siri to read messages in multiple languages, tap Add Language… again and choose another language. You can pick all 22 languages and dialects as long as you have the memory available on your phone.

It’s important to note that while Siri will read messages in all the above languages and dialects, it will still listen to and respond in your phone’s primary language.

For more on iOS 17, here’s what to know about iOS 17.4.1, what features were included in iOS 17.4 and our iOS 17 cheat sheet.