When you’re just starting to learn Chinese and getting familiar with the characters, it can be a daunting concept having to then type in Chinese characters and use a Chinese keyboard. Whilst it may be scary at first, it won’t take long for you to get used to using a Chinese keyboard both on your laptop and on your mobile. Especially if you’re using it often. Chinese Pinyin Honestly typing in Chinese pinyin using a Chinese keyboard is pretty straightforward. Most Chinese learners will have learned the characters through the pinyin, so will know which letters of the alphabet build which sound. There may be some instances, however, where you mix up a ‘q’ for a ‘ch’ or a ‘j’ for a ‘zh’, in which case you may not find the character you’re looking for. Usually though, the Chinese keyboard is pretty smart and will be able to detect what you’re trying to say. Make sure to watch out for the ü sound, as in 旅行 (lǜ xíng). This ü is made by combining the consonant with v, so to write “lüxing” you would type “lvxing”. Chinese Keyboard: Laptop Windows and Apple are both pretty friendly nowadays when it comes to switching between different keyboards, much to the relief of the multilingual. You simply need to add the keyboard to your device, and you’re ready to go! You can easily flick between keyboards by pressing either Win-Space (Windows) or by pressing the space bar on a Mac. The most frustrating thing you’ll come across is forgetting to turn your keyboard back to English. Chinese Keyboard: Mobile Phone On any android, Windows, or Apple iPhone, you will be able to get yourself a Chinese keyboard by going into settings, keyboard, and adding another language to your keyboards. Different devices will have different keyboard interfaces, but they all work in similar ways. You can also choose between Chinese simplified characters or Chinese traditional character keyboards. If you want to know the different input methods, how to choose the right character and keyboard shortcuts, read part 2 of our guide on how to use a Chinese keyboard. |
| FOLLOW US： |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |