How to Type in Chinese
Many foreigners are often confused about how Chinese people type Chinese characters on their cellphones or computers. Chinese, after all, is not composed of letters like the English or Spanish alphabet; it is constructed of pictographs made up of many strokes. Do the Chinese people even use the same keyboard as in other countries? Or do Chinese keyboards look different like this?
Definitely not! We Chinese use the same keyboards as other countries. But how can we type out so many characters with just the regular 26 letters? That`s what I`d like to share with you: how to type in Chinese.
Methods of Typing Chinese Characters
1. Pinyin Input Method
As you can see from the following image, Chinese characters are constructed with various strokes, which are relatively independent of the phonetic system. It`s impossible to list all the characters on the keyboard since there are about 80,000 characters in total. Each character has its own pronunciation, though many of them share the same phonetic syllables, known as Pinyin. Thus, we can get a list of the characters by typing the phonetic syllables.
The phonetic syllables are constructed from three parts: the initial, the final, and the tone. The initial and final are composed of the 26 English alphabet letters, the same as those on your keyboard. You may wonder, then, how about the tones? Well, tones are often the most challenging part of Chinese pronunciation for many foreigners. Fortunately, it`s not necessary to type out each tone. All you need to type are the letters. This typing method also makes many Chinese learners feel comfortable since they don`t need to memorize the exact tone of each character. When you input the letters of the initial and final, all the corresponding characters with 5 different tones will be shown. You just need to choose the one you want and ignore the others.
2. The Five-stroke Input Method（五笔输入法）
Chinese characters have many small components that need to be put together in a specific order. Each component is made of smaller strokes.The modern modular strokes are based on the “扎”字法, which are regulated into five types: “一”（横）、“丨”（竖）、 “丿”（撇）、“丶”（点）and“乛” （折）. This system is the foundation for Chinese people to learn how to write characters.
五笔输入法（The five-stroke input）was very popular for a period because it is based on the stroke construction of each character. As you can see from the following image, each letter on your keyboard represents several Chinese strokes. What you need to do is break down the character into its different stroke components, find the corresponding alphabet letter that represents each stroke, and then you can form the character you want.
The advantage of this method is that even if you don`t know the pronunciation of a character, you can easily type it out. With the Pinyin input method, it`s hard to type a character if you do not know or are unsure about its pronunciation. This five-stroke input method has a lower error rate.
However, more and more Chinese people are taught to learn pronunciation and characters using Pinyin in primary schools. As a result, many people feel more familiar with Pinyin, leading to fewer people choosing to use the five-stroke input method. Additionally, it`s really not easy to memorize all the small components.
3. The Handwriting Input Method（手写输入法）
This is the easiest method to understand. Unlike the Pinyin Input Method, you don`t need to know the exact pronunciation of each character; you can input by hand. Unlike the Five-Stroke Input Method, you also do not need to memorize the strokes on your keyboard. You can simply write the characters on the screen.
The drawbacks of this method are that you need to use a touchscreen (which may not be easy), or you may find it hard to write characters accurately. And if you do not write neatly and properly, the input software may not recognize what you have written. The common characters listed by the Radicals and How to Memorize Chinese Characters Guide could help better improve your handwriting.
Tool Recommendation
The three input methods mentioned above are very popular. You can easily acquire the input method tool of your choice on your smartphone or computer. Below is a list of some commonly used tools
Pinyin input method applications:
Five-stroke input method applications:
Notes
Even if you are comfortable typing with the pinyin input method, don`t forget to practice your tones while speaking. People cannot distinguish words without tones when talking with each other.If you have mastered typing Chinese characters with pinyin, sometimes handwriting may seem unnecessary. However, handwriting can help Chinese learners remember the characters more accurately and systematically. With actual writing, your muscle memory will help you remember and master these characters because they are easier to recall this way. Additionally, writing by hand is also a part of understanding Chinese culture. Therefore, I highly recommend you continue to practice handwriting.
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