Mac TTS

Text-to-speech using macOS built-in say command. Use for voice notifications, audio alerts, reading text aloud, or announcing messages through Mac speakers. Supports multiple languages including Chinese (Mandarin), English, Japanese, etc.

Use macOS built-in say command for text-to-speech output through system speakers.

Basic Usage

bash

say "Hello, this is a test"

With Voice Selection

bash

say -v "Meijia" "你好，這是測試"      # 台灣中文 (推薦)
say -v "Tingting" "你好，这是测试"    # 簡體中文
say -v "Samantha" "Hello world"       # 英文

Common Chinese Voices (zh_TW)

Voice	Description
Meijia	美佳 - 自然女聲 (推薦)
Flo	年輕女聲
Eddy	男聲
Reed	男聲
Sandy	女聲
Shelley	女聲

List All Available Voices

bash

say -v "?"                           # 全部語音
say -v "?" | grep zh_TW              # 只列台灣中文

Volume Control

Check/adjust system volume before speaking:

bash

# Check current volume (0-100) and mute status
osascript -e "output volume of (get volume settings)"
osascript -e "output muted of (get volume settings)"

# Unmute
osascript -e "set volume without output muted"

# Set volume (0-100)
osascript -e "set volume output volume 70"

Use Cases

• 通知: say -v "Meijia" "外送到了"
• 提醒: say -v "Meijia" "會議即將開始"
• 警告: say -v "Meijia" "注意，有新的緊急訊息"

Notes

• Runs synchronously (blocks until speech completes)
• Add & for async: say "message" &
• Works only on macOS