How To Add And Delete Words In Your iPhone Dictionary

The fascinating thing about languages is that they're constantly changing, meaning they're not dead. With time, languages survive because the meaning behind words evolves, and new words are created every day. Due to globalization, words also gain new meanings within cultural exchanges. Through the years, the internet has broken many barriers to interactions that would have never been possible without channels like online publishing or social media. However, it can be annoying when technology lags behind your vocabulary needs, especially those devices you use daily, like the iPhone.

In the past, Apple has introduced features designed to aid communication between people who speak different or multiple languages, such as the built-in translator and multilingual keyboard function, which is available for 31 languages/regions. However, there is still a long way to go before the iPhone can truly be inclusive for multilingual language speakers, especially since many features are still not available for languages spoken by smaller populations.

For example, even the iPhone's text suggestion algorithm can struggle to find the appropriate word all of the time. When you have an expansive vocabulary as a multilingual speaker or polyglot, even the most advanced keyboard or dictionary may be unable to keep up with the pop culture trends or words used for inside jokes in your local community. Thankfully, among the many ways to manage autocorrect on iPhone, you can add words to your iPhone dictionary using the Text Replacement feature.

To add more relevant words and get better suggestions on your iPhone, here is how to add new words to the Text Replacement feature.

1. On your iPhone, launch the Settings app.
2. Tap General > Keyboard > Text Replacement.
3. In the upper-right corner of the screen, tap the plus (+) icon.
4. Next to Phrase, tap the text field.
5. Type the word you want to add to your dictionary.
6. In the upper-right corner, tap Save.

On the other hand, if you want to remove a word, here's how.

1. Return to the Text Replacement screen.
2. Option 1: Next to the word you want to delete, swipe towards the left and tap Delete.
3. Option 2: In the lower-left corner of the screen, tap Edit. Select the red circle icon on the left side of the word you want to delete. Tap Delete > Done.

Aside from adding local vernacular, you can also use the text replacement feature for frequently used acronyms that you're too lazy to spell out. In fact, you can even use it as an official translator for slang so you don't embarrass yourself in front of your Gen Z colleagues. For example, when you type "shady," you can set your text replacement to say "sus" instead. If you're feeling cheeky, you can even use this feature to prank your friends or family members, so whenever they type a word like "OK" on their phone, it will say "Nope." Just make sure to keep it harmless.