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Transcription Settings

This page covers the transcription configuration options available in Knowii Voice AI. These settings allow you to choose the AI model, configure language preferences, and improve transcription accuracy with custom vocabulary.

Model Selection​

Location: Settings > Transcription

Choose which AI model to use for speech recognition:

Available Models​

Knowii Voice AI supports multiple transcription models with different characteristics. Choose based on your language needs, hardware capabilities, and accuracy requirements:

Parakeet Models​

Numbers coming out as words?

If digit sequences appear as words ("one one two two" instead of "1122"), enable Write digit sequences as numbers in Settings > Transcription, or use Parakeet V2 for English dictation.

  • Parakeet V3 (Recommended): NVIDIA's state-of-the-art model

    • Fast and accurate
    • Supports 25 European languages
    • Automatic language detection
    • 785 MB download
    • Excellent balance of speed and accuracy
    • Latest version with improved performance
    • May write numbers as words ("one one two two" instead of "1122") — if you often dictate numbers in English, use Parakeet V2 instead

  • Parakeet V2: NVIDIA's efficient speech recognition model

    • Fast with good accuracy
    • English only
    • 697 MB download
    • Writes numbers, dates, and amounts as digits more consistently than V3 ("1122", "March 25, 2026")
    • The best choice for dictating account numbers, phone numbers, prices, or dates in English

Whisper Models (Multi-Language)​

Support 99 languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, and many more:

  • Tiny: Very fast, basic accuracy (78 MB, ~0.5GB RAM)
  • Small: Fast and quite accurate (488 MB, ~2GB RAM)
  • Medium: Accurate but slower (1520 MB, ~5GB RAM)
  • Large V3 Turbo: Accurate but slow (1620 MB, ~6GB RAM)
  • Large V3: Highest accuracy but slowest (3100 MB, ~10GB RAM)

Whisper Models (English-Only)​

Optimized specifically for English transcription:

  • Tiny (English only): Very fast (78 MB, ~0.5GB RAM)
  • Base (English only): Fast (148 MB, ~1GB RAM)
  • Small (English only): Fast and accurate (488 MB, ~2GB RAM)
  • Medium (English only): Accurate (1520 MB, ~5GB RAM)

Omnilingual Models​

Speak any of 1,600+ languages and the model figures out what you're saying automatically. Learn more about Omnilingual: Blog post | Research paper | GitHub | Demo video

  • Omnilingual 300M: Smaller and faster, ~350 MB download
  • Omnilingual 1B: Larger and more accurate, ~985 MB download

Why choose Omnilingual:

  • Supports over 1,600 languages - more than any other model
  • Automatically detects what language you're speaking
  • Great for multilingual users who switch between languages
  • Perfect for less common languages not supported by other models
  • No need to manually select your language

Note: Still experimental - accuracy may vary depending on language and audio quality.

Moonshine Models​

Lightweight models designed for computers with limited resources (low memory or CPU). Learn more about Moonshine: Research paper | Introduction blog post | GitHub | Hugging Face

  • Moonshine Base (English): Better accuracy, ~239 MB total
  • Moonshine Tiny (English): Fastest, smallest footprint, ~107 MB total
  • Moonshine Tiny (Arabic): Arabic transcription, ~143 MB total
  • Moonshine Tiny (Chinese): Chinese transcription, ~143 MB total
  • Moonshine Tiny (Japanese): Japanese transcription, ~143 MB total
  • Moonshine Tiny (Korean): Korean transcription, ~143 MB total
  • Moonshine Tiny (Ukrainian): Ukrainian transcription, ~143 MB total
  • Moonshine Tiny (Vietnamese): Vietnamese transcription, ~143 MB total

Moonshine characteristics:

  • 5-15x faster than Whisper Tiny/Base/Small/Medium models
  • Ideal for low-end machines with limited RAM or CPU
  • Much smaller memory footprint than other models
  • Less accurate than Parakeet or Whisper (trade-off for speed and size)
  • Each model variant supports only one language
  • Good option when other models won't run on your hardware

Supported languages:

  • English (Base and Tiny variants)
  • Arabic (Tiny variant)
  • Chinese (Tiny variant)
  • Japanese (Tiny variant)
  • Korean (Tiny variant)
  • Ukrainian (Tiny variant)
  • Vietnamese (Tiny variant)

How to Choose a Model​

For most users:

  • Start with Parakeet V3 if you speak European languages (recommended)
  • Use Parakeet V2 if you dictate in English and want numbers written as digits (account numbers, prices, dates)
  • Use Small Whisper model for other languages
  • Upgrade to larger models if accuracy is insufficient

For English-only users:

  • Use Small (English only) for best balance
  • Upgrade to Medium (English only) for higher accuracy

For multilingual use:

  • Parakeet V3 for European languages (automatic detection)
  • Small or Medium Whisper for global language support

Hardware considerations:

  • Very limited RAM (under 2GB free): Use Moonshine Tiny models
  • Limited RAM (2-4GB free): Use Moonshine Base or Whisper Tiny/Small models
  • Moderate RAM (4-8GB): Use Parakeet or Whisper Small/Medium models
  • Powerful system (8GB+): Large models provide best accuracy
  • SSDs recommended for faster model loading

Downloading Models​

Models are downloaded from the Settings > Transcription page:

  1. Scroll to the Available Models section
  2. Click Download on your chosen model
  3. Wait for download and installation to complete
  4. Model automatically becomes available for selection

Note: You can download multiple models and switch between them at any time.

Language​

Location: Settings > Transcription

Select the language for speech recognition:

Auto Detect (Default)​

  • Automatically detects the spoken language
  • Works with multi-language models (Parakeet, Whisper multi-language)
  • Recommended for most users
  • No manual language selection needed

Manual Language Selection​

When using multi-language Whisper models, you can specify the language:

  • Improves accuracy if you always speak the same language
  • Reduces processing time slightly
  • Available languages depend on the selected model
  • Searchable dropdown with 99+ languages - just start typing the language name (for example, type "eng" to jump to English)

Reset Button: Click the reset icon to return to Auto Detect.

Model-Specific Behavior​

English-only models (.en variants):

  • Language automatically set to English
  • Cannot change to other languages
  • Language selector is disabled

Parakeet models:

  • Automatically detect language
  • Language selector is disabled
  • Supports 25 European languages

Omnilingual models:

  • Automatically detect language from 1,600+ languages
  • Language selector is disabled
  • No manual language selection needed

Multi-language Whisper models:

  • Auto Detect by default
  • Can manually specify language for better accuracy
  • Full language selector available

Supported Languages​

The available languages depend on your selected model:

Omnilingual Models (1,600+ languages):

  • Supports virtually every language in the world
  • Includes rare and less common languages not available in other models
  • Automatic language detection - no manual selection needed

Parakeet V3 (25 European languages):

  • Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish

Whisper Models (99 languages):

  • All major world languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, and many more
  • See the full list in the language selector dropdown

Custom Words​

Location: Settings > Transcription

Add specialized vocabulary to improve transcription accuracy:

How It Works​

  • Add words that are frequently misheard or incorrectly transcribed
  • AI model prioritizes these words during transcription
  • Useful for technical terms, names, acronyms, and domain-specific vocabulary

Adding Custom Words​

  1. Type the word in the input field
  2. Press Enter or click Add
  3. Word appears as a tag below the input
  4. Word is immediately active for future transcriptions

Requirements:

  • Single words only (no spaces allowed)
  • Maximum 50 characters per word
  • No special HTML characters (<>"'&)
  • Case-sensitive (add variations if needed)

Removing Custom Words​

Click the X button on any word tag to remove it from your custom vocabulary.

Best Practices​

Good examples of custom words:

  • Technical terms: "Kubernetes", "PostgreSQL", "TypeScript"
  • Company names: "Anthropic", "OpenAI"
  • Product names: "iPhone", "GitHub"
  • Acronyms: "API", "SDK", "CI/CD"
  • Uncommon names: "Knowii", "Docusaurus"
  • Domain jargon: "transcription", "embeddings"

Tips:

  • Add variations if needed: "GitHub" and "Github"
  • Include both singular and plural if frequently used
  • Add words after noticing repeated transcription errors
  • Don't add too many words (20-30 is typically sufficient)
  • Remove words you no longer use frequently

Write Digit Sequences as Numbers​

Location: Settings > Transcription

Some AI models write spoken digits as words: saying "1122" can come out as "one one two two" (Parakeet V3 does this regularly in English). Enable Write digit sequences as numbers to automatically convert those runs into digits after transcription:

  • "one one two two" becomes "1122"
  • "One, one, seven, six, eight, two, one, one" becomes "11768211"

Safe by design:

  • Only runs of 3 or more digits in a row are converted, so normal sentences like "I have one thing" or "give me two minutes" are never changed
  • Numbers are never merged across sentence boundaries
  • Off by default — enable it if you often dictate account numbers, phone numbers, or codes

Tip: For English dictation, Parakeet V2 also writes numbers as digits natively — see Model Selection.

Common Scenarios​

English-Only User​

Recommended settings:

  • Model: Small (English only) or Medium (English only)
  • Language: English (automatically set)
  • Custom Words: Add technical terms from your field

Multilingual European User​

Recommended settings:

  • Model: Parakeet V3 (or V2)
  • Language: Auto Detect (automatically set)
  • Custom Words: Add names and technical terms in your languages

Global Multilingual User​

Recommended settings:

  • Model: Small or Medium Whisper (multi-language)
  • Language: Auto Detect or specify your primary language
  • Custom Words: Add names and terms in your languages

Technical Professional​

Recommended settings:

  • Model: Medium or larger (higher accuracy needed)
  • Language: Auto Detect or your primary language
  • Custom Words: Extensive list of technical terms, APIs, frameworks

Content Creator​

Recommended settings:

  • Model: Large V3 or Large V3 Turbo (best accuracy)
  • Language: Specify language for consistency
  • Custom Words: Brand names, product names, catchphrases

Low-End Hardware / Limited Resources​

Recommended settings:

  • Model: Moonshine Tiny (your language) for minimal resource usage
  • Model: Moonshine Base (your language) for slightly better accuracy
  • Language: Selected automatically based on model variant
  • Custom Words: Keep to a minimum

Why Moonshine for limited hardware:

  • Runs on computers where Parakeet or Whisper models struggle
  • Much lower memory requirements than other models
  • Acceptable accuracy for basic transcription needs
  • Trade-off: Slower processing and lower accuracy than larger models

Available Models Section​

Location: Settings > Transcription > Available Models

This section shows all AI models that can be downloaded:

  • Model name and description: What the model is designed for
  • Download button: Install models you don't have yet
  • Model details: Size, languages supported, accuracy level
  • Status indicators: Downloaded, active, or available for download

Managing Models​

Downloading new models:

  1. Browse the Available Models list
  2. Click Download on the model you want
  3. Wait for download to complete
  4. Model appears in the Model selector dropdown

Switching models:

  1. Select different model from the Model dropdown
  2. Model loads automatically (first use has a delay)
  3. Model stays loaded until timeout (see Advanced Settings)

Removing models:

  • Models can be removed through the application data folder
  • See Application Data for details

Troubleshooting​

Transcription Accuracy Issues​

  1. Try a larger model - More accurate but slower
  2. Add custom words - For frequently misheard terms
  3. Specify language - Instead of Auto Detect
  4. Improve audio quality - Better microphone, reduce background noise
  5. Speak clearly - Moderate pace, clear pronunciation

Wrong Language Detected​

  1. Manually select language - Instead of Auto Detect
  2. Use language-specific model - English-only for English
  3. Speak more before stopping - Model needs enough audio to detect
  4. Check model supports your language - See supported languages list

Model Won't Download​

  1. Check internet connection
  2. Verify sufficient disk space (see model size)
  3. Check firewall isn't blocking download
  4. Try downloading again
  5. Check Application Data folder permissions

Model Loading Slow​

  1. First load is slower - Model needs to load into memory
  2. Adjust unload timeout - See Advanced Settings
  3. Use smaller model - Faster loading time
  4. Upgrade to SSD - Much faster model loading

Custom Words Not Working​

  1. Verify word was added successfully (appears as tag)
  2. Check spelling matches exactly how you pronounce it
  3. Add phonetic variations if needed
  4. Try the word in isolation to test recognition
  5. Use larger model for better custom word recognition

Tips​

  • Start with recommended models and adjust based on your needs
  • Download multiple models for different use cases
  • Use Auto Detect unless you have accuracy issues
  • Add custom words as you encounter transcription errors
  • Larger models require more RAM but provide better accuracy
  • English-only models are faster than multi-language equivalents for English
  • Test different models to find the best fit for your voice and use case
  • Keep your most-used model loaded by adjusting unload timeout

Need Help?​

If you have questions about transcription settings, visit the Support page.