How can I write with Pinyin on my Computer/Smartphone?

I have a Mac and an iPhone and I just started learning Chinese. Could you tell me how I can use pinyin on my keyboard to write Chinese characters?

Good question.

If you’ve just begun learning Chinese, it’s a good idea to set up a Chinese keyboard on your device. You can then start writing Chinese characters with pinyin, and instant messaging your friends, or typing in Chinese on this forum!

On Mac

• Open System Preferences and Click Keyboard
• Choose the Input Sources from the top menu and click the + button.
• Add Chinese Pinyin (simplified or traditional or both)
• You can customize the pinyin here. (I like to have a horizontal box and larger font since it helps with learning.

To switch input methods, either click the toolbar, or set up a keyboard shortcut (see final picture for how to do this).

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Hello, this (very nicely) explains how to type in characters, not how to type in pinyin. Do you have instructions for how to type in pinyin? Thanks.

I’m not sure of a keyboard that would allow you to type just in pinyin. The easiest thing would be to copy/paste Chinese characters into something like Google Translate and copy the pinyin from there.

Alternatively, use a website like this and copy/paste： http://www.pin1yin1.com/#中文播客超棒

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On our lesson comments, you can also write pinyin with tone numbers, then click the convert tones button to add tone markers.

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For windows users see Pinyin Joe’s website

For typing Pinyin on Windows, I highly recommend https://www.pinyinput.net/ . It’s super easy to use, is supported based on a donation model.

How can I configure Pinyin on my Windows computer?

Hi Philips,

Please follow these steps to set up Pinyin in Windows 10:

1. Open Settings .
2. Select Time & Language .
3. Under Region & languag e, click Add a language .
4. Add C hinese (Simplified) or Chinese (Traditional) .
5. Click on it and select Options .
6. Under keyboards, add Microsoft Pinyin.

If you need further assistance, feel free to get back to us.

Betty