HOWTO pinyin
More info on the Pinyin input method/transcription method or inputting Chinese in Windows, linux or on your smartphone.- Unicode There are two different ways :
- type a letter and add the code for the tone
- In a wordprocessor (ie OpenOffice.org or MS Word) or an other unicode enable program, use 'Insert > Special Characters' or 'Insert > Symbol', the letters with second and forth tone are found in 'Latin -1', the letters with first and third tone can be found in 'Latin Extended A' (don't forget to select a unicode font for this)
- Software
- Download NJStar (homepage) or any other FEP that supports this function.
- Use special programs for pinyin input i.e. free pinyin editor.
- Google released a pinyin IME. Google Pinyin 2 is completely in Chinese and made to input simplified Chinese but it's also able to use traditional Chinese.
An updated version of Google Pinyin 3 also introduced a translation function into it.
To switch to traditional Chinese, go to the settings > dictionary > pick 'traditional Chinese'. - Download and install pinyin enabled fonts
- Input pinyin on the web
Download a pinyin font. Read the install instructions and install the font.
The most common way to install fonts in Microsoft Windows by going to the Start menu, choose for Settings and then Configuration. Choose there Fonts. In the menubar choose for Install fonts and choose the directory where you have unzipped the font. Once you have installed the font go to Word or an other wordprocessor and start using the font.
An example of how a pinyin font may work : If you type ma1 you will get to se ma with the first tone on the a, if you type zho2u you will get a zhou with a second tone on the o (zhóu).
A good online resource for pinyin fonts
Decimal
Hexadecimal
Latin-1 Supplement - Unicode U+0080 - U+00FF - (128-255)
á
á
á
á
à
à
à
à
é
é
é
é
è
è
è
è
í
í
í
í
ì
ì
ì
ì
ó
ó
ó
ó
ò
ò
ò
ò
ú
ú
ú
ú
ù
ù
ù
ù
ü
ü
ü
ü
subtract 32 for upper case
Latin Extended-A - Unicode U+0100 - U+017F - (256-383)
ā
ā
ā
ē
ē
ē
ě
ě
ě
ī
ī
ī
ō
ō
ō
ū
ū
ū
subtract 1 for upper case
Latin Extended-B U+0180 - U+024F (384-591)
ǎ
ǎ
ǎ
ǐ
ǐ
ǐ
ǒ
ǒ
ǒ
ǔ
ǔ
ǔ
ǖ
ǖ
ǖ
ǘ
ǘ
ǘ
ǚ
ǚ
ǚ
ǜ
ǜ
ǜ
subtract 1 for upper case
Transcription compharison chart
Reading and Writing Chinese Characters and Pinyin on the Web Using Unicode (by Helmer Aslaksen)
Belorussian translation (by Paul Bukhovko)
German translation (by Anastasiya Romanova)
Portuguese translation (by Artur Weber)
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