How to Type Chinese on Any Device

To type Chinese, add a Chinese pinyin keyboard (an "input method") in your device's settings. Then type the pinyin without tones and pick the characters you want from a list. Type nihao, press space, and you get 你好 (nǐ hǎo, hello). Every Windows PC, Mac, iPhone and Android phone has one built in for free, and setting it up takes about two minutes.

Below are the steps for each device, followed by the tricks that make typing fast and a short section on typing pinyin with tone marks. If you just need a few characters right now, our free online Chinese keyboard works in your browser with nothing to install.

How Typing Chinese With Pinyin Works

A Chinese keyboard looks like an ordinary keyboard. The input method sits between your keys and the screen:

1. You type pinyin in plain letters, with no tones: xiexie.
2. A candidate list pops up with the words that match: 谢谢 (xièxie, thank you) first, then less likely ones.
3. Press space to take the first candidate, or a number key to pick another.

Because you don't type tones, a lot of characters share the same letters. shi alone matches 是 (shì, to be), 事 (shì, matter), 试 (shì, to try), 十 (shí, ten) and dozens more. The input method copes by guessing from context, so the trick is to type whole words, not single syllables: kaoshi gives 考试 (kǎoshì, exam) straight away. That's why typing Chinese is quick once you know your pinyin spelling, even if your tones are shaky.

Two spellings catch people out. ü is typed as v, so lv gives 绿 (lǜ, green) and nv gives 女 (nǚ, woman). And syllables that could be split two ways need an apostrophe: xi'an gives 西安 (xī'ān, the city of Xi'an), while xian gives 先 (xiān, first) and similar.

The steps below were checked against official help pages, where they exist, in October 2026. Menu names move around between updates, so if one doesn't match exactly, look for "Language", "Keyboard" or "Input" in your settings.

How to Type Chinese on Windows 11 and 10

Windows comes with Microsoft Pinyin. You add it by adding the Chinese language:

1. Open Settings > Time & language > Language & region. On Windows 10 it's Time & Language > Language.
2. Select Add a language, choose Chinese (Simplified, China) and select Next.
3. Untick Set as my Windows display language unless you want Windows itself in Chinese. You can also leave optional extras such as speech unticked if you only want to type.
4. Select Install. Microsoft Pinyin is added automatically.

To use it:

• Windows key + Space switches between your keyboards. The icon by the clock shows which one is active.
• In Microsoft Pinyin, Shift flips between Chinese (中) and English (英) mode, which is handy for typing an English word without switching keyboards.
• The up and down arrows move through the candidates, space picks the highlighted one and the number keys pick one directly. Enter types the letters as they are, and Esc cancels.
• For Traditional characters, press Ctrl+Shift+F to toggle, or change it in Microsoft Pinyin's settings under General.

To change Microsoft Pinyin's settings, select the … next to Chinese in Language & region, then Language options, then the … next to Microsoft Pinyin and Keyboard options (on Windows 10, use the Options buttons instead). General has fuzzy pinyin, which accepts, say, z for zh (useful if you mix them up), and Keys sets the keys for paging through candidates.

If you learn Traditional Chinese for Taiwan or Hong Kong, you can add Chinese (Traditional, Taiwan) or Chinese (Traditional, Hong Kong SAR) instead. Those come with input methods used locally, such as Bopomofo (zhuyin) and ChangJie, rather than pinyin, so most learners are better off with Microsoft Pinyin switched to Traditional.

How to Type Chinese on a Mac

1. Open the Apple menu > System Settings > Keyboard.
2. Under Text Input, select Edit, then the + button.
3. Choose Chinese, Simplified and then Pinyin - Simplified, and select Add. For Traditional, choose Chinese, Traditional > Pinyin - Traditional.

To switch, press Control-Space, or press the Globe (fn) key if it's set to change input source in Keyboard settings. In the same Edit window you can also turn on the option to use the Caps Lock key to switch to and from English.

In the candidate window, the arrow keys move between candidates, - and = (or [ and ]) page through the rows, and space or a number picks one. Apple's Pinyin also has a fuzzy pinyin setting, and you can turn selected text from Simplified into Traditional with Control-Shift-Command-C.

How to Type Chinese on an iPhone or iPad

1. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard.
2. Choose Chinese (Simplified) (or Chinese (Traditional)).
3. Tick Pinyin (QWERTY), plus any extra layouts you want, and tap Done.

Tap the globe key to cycle through your keyboards, or touch and hold it to pick one from a list.

The other layouts are worth knowing about:

• Pinyin (10 Key) puts several letters on each key, like old phone keypads. It suits one-handed typing, but QWERTY is easier to learn.
• Handwriting lets you draw a character with your finger. It's the one to use when you see a character but don't know how to say it, and it's a good test of your handwriting.
• Stroke and Wubi build characters from their shapes, and Shuangpin is a shorthand version of pinyin. Most learners never need them.

How to Type Chinese on Android

Most Android phones use Gboard, Google's keyboard:

1. Open any app you can type in, tap the gear icon on the keyboard (or go to Android Settings > System > Keyboard > On-screen keyboard > Gboard).
2. Tap Languages > Add keyboard.
3. Search for Chinese and choose the Simplified Chinese option (中文（简体）). Pick the pinyin layout and tap Done. For Traditional, choose the Traditional option instead.

To switch, touch and hold the space bar. If you'd rather have a globe key, turn on Show language switch key under Gboard's Preferences. Gboard also offers a 9-key pinyin layout and handwriting for Chinese; the exact list varies between versions.

Samsung phones come with Samsung Keyboard, which also supports Chinese: go to Settings > General management > Samsung Keyboard settings > Languages and types, and add Chinese. Phones sold in mainland China usually don't come with Gboard at all; they ship with Chinese keyboard apps that work the same way.

Chromebooks and Linux

• Chromebook: open Settings, find the keyboard input settings (under Device > Keyboard > Change input settings, or Languages and inputs > Inputs on newer versions), select Add under input methods and choose Pinyin. Ctrl+Shift+Space moves to the next input method and Ctrl+Space goes back.
• Linux: install Fcitx5 with its Chinese add-ons (the package is fcitx5-chinese-addons on Arch, and fcitx5-pinyin on Debian and Ubuntu), or IBus with ibus-libpinyin, and add Pinyin in its settings.

Typing Chinese Without Installing Anything

On a work computer or a borrowed laptop, you may not be allowed to add a keyboard. Our online Chinese keyboard works in any browser: type pinyin, pick characters with the number keys or a click, then copy the text wherever you need it.

Tips for Typing Chinese Faster

• Type whole phrases. The input method gets more accurate the more it has to go on. Type wojintianhenmang and it will usually offer the whole of 我今天很忙 (wǒ jīntiān hěn máng, I'm busy today) as one candidate.
• Use initials for common words. Most pinyin keyboards accept just the first letter of each syllable for common words. Apple's example is jsj for 计算机 (jìsuànjī, computer), and you can mix full and short syllables. On Windows, this is a setting called super abbreviated pinyin.
• Remember v for ü and the apostrophe for split syllables (above).
• Stay in Chinese mode for punctuation. In Chinese mode, the comma and full stop keys give full-width Chinese punctuation: ， and 。 instead of , and . Chinese text looks wrong with English punctuation.
• Let it learn. Input methods remember what you pick, so names and words you use often move to the top of the list.
• Use handwriting or a dictionary for unknown characters. If you can't type a character because you don't know its pronunciation, draw it on your phone's handwriting keyboard, or look it up in a dictionary app such as Pleco.
• Try voice typing. On an iPhone, once you've added a Chinese keyboard and turned on Enable Dictation (in Settings > General > Keyboard), the microphone key takes Mandarin while the Chinese keyboard is showing. Gboard's microphone handles Mandarin too. It's also a rough check on your pronunciation: if your phone writes the wrong word, a native listener might hear the wrong word too.

How to Type Pinyin With Tone Marks

A pinyin keyboard turns pinyin into characters, so it won't give you nǐ hǎo with tone marks. For notes, flashcards or homework you need something else:

• Mac: Apple's ABC – Extended input source (add it in the same Text Input settings as above) types tone marks with dead keys. Press the Option combination, then the vowel:

  Tone	Keys	Result
  1st tone	Option-a, then the vowel	ā
  2nd tone	Option-e, then the vowel	á
  3rd tone	Option-v, then the vowel	ǎ
  4th tone	Option-` (the backtick key), then the vowel	à
  ü with a tone	the same Option key, then v	ǚ

  On an iPad with a hardware keyboard, you can choose ABC – Extended as the hardware keyboard layout and use the same keys.
• Tone numbers: where tone marks aren't practical, write the tone as a number after each syllable: ni3 hao3. It's the standard fallback, and dictionaries such as Pleco and MDBG accept it in searches.
• Phones: touching and holding a vowel on the English keyboard offers some accented letters, but not every tone mark, so tone numbers are usually easier on a phone.

Not sure which mark goes on which vowel? Our pinyin guide has the placement rules, and the pinyin chart with audio lets you hear every syllable in all four tones.

Make Typing Part of Your Chinese Practice

Typing is how most people write Chinese day to day, and it's good practice in its own right. Every time you type, you have to recall a word's pinyin and then recognise the right characters among look-alikes and sound-alikes. Choosing 权利 (quánlì, rights) over 权力 (quánlì, power), which sound exactly the same, is a small reading test.

A few ways to use it:

• Message in Chinese. A daily message to a language partner, or a few lines in a journal, gets you typing real sentences. Our post on daily habits for learning Chinese has more ideas.
• Type your answers in Mandarin Mosaic. In Mandarin Mosaic's fill-in-the-blank lessons you normally pick the missing word from four options. Turn on Type word answer under Lesson Screen in Settings, and you type the word in characters with your phone's Chinese keyboard instead. Producing a word from memory is a much stronger test than spotting it; our cloze guide explains how it works.
• Save sentences you find. When you meet a useful sentence in a show, an article or a chat, type it into your own pack in Mandarin Mosaic and the app will add audio and schedule reviews. That's sentence mining, and a Chinese keyboard is all you need to start.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I Need to Know the Tones to Type Chinese?

No. Pinyin keyboards ignore tones, and you choose the right word from the list. You still need to know which characters you want, and learning tones helps you speak and be understood, so don't skip them. Our guide to tones in Chinese covers them.

Can I Type Chinese Without Pinyin?

Yes. Phones have handwriting keyboards, and there are shape-based input methods (Stroke, Wubi and Cangjie) and zhuyin (Bopomofo), which is common in Taiwan. For learners, pinyin is by far the easiest place to start, and handwriting is the best backup for characters you can't pronounce.

Is the Chinese Keyboard Free?

Yes. The input methods built into Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and ChromeOS are all free, and so is our online keyboard.

How Do I Switch Between Simplified and Traditional?

On Windows, press Ctrl+Shift+F in Microsoft Pinyin, or change the setting under General in its settings. On a Mac or iPhone, add the Traditional pinyin keyboard alongside the Simplified one. On Android, add the Traditional option in Gboard's languages. Not sure which to learn? See our post on learning Traditional Chinese.

Now that you can type Chinese, put it to work. Mandarin Mosaic teaches Chinese through real sentences with one new word at a time, with audio and spaced repetition, and lets you add sentences of your own. At the time of writing, there's a 30-day free trial, then a free plan with one lesson a day, or Premium from £7.92 a month billed yearly (£11.95 monthly). Get it on iOS or Android.

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