How to Type in Chinese

Before we begin: in order to use all of Tongue of Fire’s resources, it’s important to be able to type in Chinese on whatever device you use. That’s why we’ve provided this guide to Chinese typing on the Windows, Mac, iOS (iPhone), and Android operating systems.

No matter what operating system you use, you will need a new keyboard input, which is a different way of mapping your keys to characters to let you type new characters. We’ll first explain how to download a keyboard input, then how to use it.

Windows

• Make sure your operating system is up to date
• Open the Settings app
• Click Time & Language
• Click Typing
• Click Language & Region
• Click Add a Language
• Find Chinese (Simplified, Mainland China) and click Next
• Click Install and wait for the installation to finish

You now have two keyboard inputs! You can press ⊞ + space or click ENG - US in the bottom-right corner to switch between them. Note that, while you’re using your Chinese keyboard, either the character 中 (China) or the character 英 (England) will be in the bottom-right corner. You can click that character to switch between the Latin script (normal letters) and the Chinese script while still using your Chinese keyboard.

Mac

• Open the Settings app
• Click Keyboard
• Click Edit... by the list of input sources
• Search for Chinese and click the Simplified/Pinyin option
• Click Add

You now have two keyboard inputs! You can switch between them with the fn (or globe) key in the bottom left corner of your physical keyboard.

iOS

• Open the Settings app
• Click General
• Click Keyboard, then Keyboards
• Click Add New Keyboard, then search for Chinese, Simplified
• Select Pinyin - QWERTY and Handwriting, then click Done

You now have two keyboard inputs! You can switch between them by clicking the globe icon in the bottom left corner of your keyboard. You can also see all of your keyboards by holding the same button for a second.

Android

• Open the Settings app
• Click General management, then click Samsung Keyboard Settings
• Click Languages and Types, then click Manage input languages
• If Chinese is not already on the list of languages you see, then search for it with the magnifying glass and add it
• Make sure that the switch next to Chinese is flipped on

You now have two keyboards! You can switch between them by tapping (or holding) the globe icon anytime you are typing. To access the handwriting feature (explained below), click the icon with a T and a pen.

Now that you have your keyboard, we’ll explain how to use it. Since there are 50,000 Chinese characters, it doesn’t make sense to assign each one its own key like we do in English. Instead, Chinese keyboards let you type out the pronunciation of Chinese text using the Latin alphabet, then select the option you want. For example, to type the character 大 (dà, big), type “da”, then select the option 大 by either clicking it or typing the number key corresponding to it, depending on your operating system. The pronunciation written in the Latin alphabet is called Pinyin, which you will learn about early in this course.

A quick note on a confusing letter: Pinyin uses the letter ü (distinct from u), which probably isn’t written on your keyboard. Type it with the v key instead.

If you’re using a phone, our guide also had you install a handwriting keyboard. This is an alternative typing method where you write the character you want with your finger, then select it among the options displayed. It is a very good way to practice remembering the characters as you type.