How to Type Chinese on a Computer and Phone

Writing Chinese characters is one of the most important parts of learning Chinese. However, thanks to technology, you will probably find yourself needing to type Chinese on computers, tablets, or smartphones more often than actually handwrite Chinese characters.

Once you have a Chinese keyboard and know how to type Chinese on your computer and phone, you will be able to chat with native speakers on Wechat, send emails in Chinese, look up Chinese words online...anything you can think of!

Below you will find an overview of the different kinds of Chinese input methods as well as step-by-step instructions on how to type Chinese on a Mac, PC, and phones, including iPhones and Androids with the pinyin method.

Table of Contents
Chinese Input Methods
Chinese input method #1：WUBI
Chinese input method #2：PINYIN
How to Type Chinese on a Computer Using Pinyin?
How to Type Chinese on a Mac Using Pinyin?
How to Type Chinese on Windows 10 (and above) Using Pinyin?
How to Type Chinese on a Phone Using Pinyin?
Frequently Asked Questions

If you want to know how to handwrite Chinese characters, check out this beginner's guide to writing Chinese characters.

Chinese Input Methods

There are a few ways to type Chinese on a computer or a phone. Indeed, most digital devices will offer users several Chinese input options because no one "standard" method can be used to illustrate all the complexities of the Chinese language.

These Chinese input methods inlcude pinyin, Wubi, Cangjie, Bihua, or Bopomofo/Zhuyin. They can be divided into two categories:

• phonetic methods, based on various different romanization systems: pinyin, Zhuyin, Jyutping
• shape-based methods, based on the Chinese character stroke and/or radicals: Wubi, Bihua, Cangjie.

The pinyin and Wubi methods are preferred in mainland China, and therefore will be explained below.

Chinese input method #1：WUBI

The 5 regions of a Wubi keyboard are:

Each letter on the keyboard is associated with various root characters. For example, Q is associated with 金, 钅, 勹, and 儿 among others. Users can type several keystrokes in the proper order to build the desired character, jigsaw-puzzle style.

As complex as it is, many native Chinese speakers prefer using the Wubi method to type Chinese as it is far less time-consuming than pinyin.

However, since Wubi requires prior knowledge of Chinese characters, it is more difficult to learn and less ideal for Chinese learners.

Chinese input method #2：PINYIN

In order to use the pinyin input method, you are ONLY required to have basic Chinese pronunciation knowledge and be able to read Chinese characters. You do not necessarily need to about Chinese characters strokes, radicals, or how to write Chinese characters following proper stroke order.

All you need to do is to type in pinyin and then select your desired character from the list of homophonic character possibilities suggested by the program.

Picking the right character may come as a challenge for new learners if you cannot read Chinese characters yet, but luckily, the character suggestions are listed from the most commonly used to the least commonly used.

What’s more, you can activate the fuzzy pinyin or fuzzy input (模糊音 móhú yīn) feature which tells the system to consider similar-sounding vowels or consonants as if they were the same.

This feature adjusts for regional differences, where some vowels and consonants like c- and ch-, s- and sh-, or z- and zh- often get mixed up. If you ever wondered how Chinese dialects are typed using pinyin when the pronunciation is different from that of Mandarin, this is how it’s done.

That means that if you type cifan with the fuzzy pinyin feature activated, the program will still be able to guess that you probably meant chīfàn 吃饭 (to eat).

The pinyin input method is generally slower than that of shape-based input methods because you must input individual letters. Still, it is equally popular among native Chinese speakers and Chinese learners because not only is it often taught in Chinese schools, but it is also the most widely used romanization system of the Chinese language.

That said, be careful not to overuse the pinyin method, as it may cause you to forget or neglect to learn to write Chinese characters.

Now that you know how the pinyin input method works, it's time for practice!

How to Type Chinese on a Computer Using Pinyin

How to Type Chinese on a Mac Using Pinyin?

In order to type Chinese on your Mac, you first need to add Chinese to your keyboard. Here's how:

1. Go to System Preferences
2. Choose Keyboard
3. Choose Input Sources
4. Click +
5. Select Chinese (Simplified) - Pinyin - Simplified then click Add
6. Make sure "Show Input menu in menu bar" is checked.
7. Use the language icon in the menu bar at the top to switch modes.

Once you've successfully added Chinese to your keyboard, select 'Chinese' from the Language Bar and then type pinyin using your keyboard. You'll be presented with a number of different characters. Select the number of the character(s) you want. E.g. To type 'hello' in Chinese (see below), type 'nihao' and either the number '1' or the space bar on the keyboard and the characters '你好' will then appear where you're typing. If you can't see the character you want, press the arrow down key to see more options.

How to Type Chinese on Windows 10 (and above) Using Pinyin?

Before you can type Chinese on Windows 10, you need to add Chinese to your keyboard first.

1. In the search bar, search for and select 'Language Settings'.
2. Scroll to 'Preferred Languages'.
3. Click '+ (Add a Language)'.
4. Search for or scroll to select Chinese (Simplified, China) and select it.
5. Click 'Next'.
6. Click 'Install'.
7. You can now change to Chinese pinyin entry using the Language Bar in the lower right corner of your screen.

To start typing in Chinese, select 'Chinese' from the Language Bar and then type pinyin using your keyboard. Just like on a Mac, the screen will display different characters from which you can choose. Select the number of the character(s) you want. If the list doesn't show the character you want, press the arrow down key for more options.

How to Type Chinese on a Phone Using Pinyin

The process for adding a Chinese keyboard to cellphones is slightly different for each brand. Here is how to add a Chinese keyboard for the major phone brands.

iPhone

1. Go to "Settings".
2. Click on "General".
3. Select "Keyboard".
4. Tap "Keyboards".
5. Click "Add New Keyboard".
6. Select "Simplified Chinese"

Samsung

1. Go to "Settings"
2. Go to "Language and Input" settings
3. Click on "Language"
4. Select "+ (Add Language)"
5. Select "简体中文 (中国)" (Simplified Chinese [China])

Xiaomi

1. Tap on "Settings".
2. Tap on "Additional settings".
3. Tap on "Languages & input".
4. Tap on "Manage keyboards".
5. Tap on "Settings".
6. Tap on "Languages".
7. Tap on "Add keyboard".
8. Choose "Chinese".

Oppo

1. Go to "Settings".
2. Tap "Additional settings".
3. Tap "Keyboard & input method".
4. Tap "Gboard".
5. Tap "Language".
6. Tap "Add Keyboard".
7. Choose "Chinese".

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I translate pinyin to Chinese characters?

You can translate Chinese characters to pinyin by using online dictionaries like Google Translate or Purple Culture Chinese to pinyin converter.

How can I display both the pinyin and the character when typing Chinese characters?

If working in MS Word, you can simply select the Chinese characters with your mouse, then click on the phonetic guide icon in the Home tab, then hit the “ok” button.

A simpler alternative that can be used anywhere is to skip the diacritics and type out the pinyin with the tone numbers after each syllable of the Chinese characters instead.

For example: 北京 bei3jing1

If you want to write just the pinyin and tones without the corresponding Chinese characters, this is the easiest way to do it.