Chinese input methods for computers
Encyclopedia
Hundreds of Chinese input methods are available for entry of Chinese characters into computers, but most keyboard-based methods rely on either pinyin
phonetic readings or root shapes in Chinese characters. Although the pinyin method is easier to learn, root shapes are often preferred by professional typists due to their faster input speed.
Other methods allow users to write characters on a designated "pad"; this requires extra equipment but can be performed using a mobile phone with a touchscreen.
Chinese input methods predate the computer. One of the early attempts was an electro-mechanical Chinese typewriter
Ming kwai which was invented by Lin Yutang
, a prominent Chinese writer. It assigned thirty base shapes or strokes to different keys and adopted a new way of categorizing Chinese characters. But the typewriter was not produced commercially and Lin soon found himself deeply in debt.
Before the 1980s, Chinese publishers hired teams of workers and selected a few thousand type pieces from an enormous Chinese character set. Chinese government agencies entered charcters using a long, complicated list of Chinese telegraph code
s, which assigned different numbers to each character. During the early computer era, Chinese characters were categorized by their radicals or Pinyin (or romanization), but results weren't completely satisfactory.
Chu Bong-Foo
invented the input method used today in 1976 with his Cangjie input method, which assigns different "roots" to each key on a standard computer keyboard. With this method, for example, the character 日 is assigned to the A key, and 月 is assigned to B. Typing them together will result in the character 明 ("bright").
Despite its difficulty of learning, this method remains popular in Chinese communities that use traditional Chinese character
s, such as Hong Kong
and Taiwan
; it is also the first method that allowed users to enter more than a hundred Chinese characters per minute.
All methods have their strengths and weaknesses. The pinyin method
can be learned rapidly but its maximum input rate is limited. The Wubi
takes longer to learn, but expert typists can enter text much more rapidly with it than with phonetic methods.
Due to these complexities, there is no "standard" method.
In mainland China, wubi
(shape-based) and pinyin methods such as Sogou Pinyin
and Google Pinyin
are the most popular; in Taiwan
, Boshiamy
, Cangjie
, and zhuyin
predominate; and in Hong Kong
, Cangjie
is most often taught in schools.
Other methods include handwriting recognition
, OCR
and voice recognition. The computer itself must first be "trained" before the first or second of these methods are used; that is, the new user enters the system in a special "learning mode" so that the system can learn to identify his handwriting or speech patterns. The latter two methods are used less frequently than keyboard-based input methods and suffer from relatively high error rates, especially when used without proper "training", though higher error rates are an acceptable trade-off to many users.
and Google Pinyin
, learn the user's preferences and "predict" the most wanted characters based on the context. For example, if one enters the sounds jicheng, the software will type 繼承 (to inherit), but if jichengche is entered, 計程車 (taxi) will appear.
Various Chinese dialects complicate the system. Phonetic methods are based on standard pinyin
, Zhuyin, and Jyutping
in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, respectively.
Chinese speakers find the phonetic system easy to learn, choosing appropriate Chinese characters slows typing speed. While there is yet no research comparing available typing speeds, most users report they can enter fifty characters per minute, and some can even reach over one hundred per minute.
is a popular Chinese Pinyin input method editor developed by Sogou, a Chinese search engine.
It is also available on-line without installation, through a so-called "cloud input method".
Tutorials
Tools
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
phonetic readings or root shapes in Chinese characters. Although the pinyin method is easier to learn, root shapes are often preferred by professional typists due to their faster input speed.
Other methods allow users to write characters on a designated "pad"; this requires extra equipment but can be performed using a mobile phone with a touchscreen.
History
Chinese typewriter
The Chinese typewriter is an electromechanical typewriter invented and patented by Dr. Lin Yutang. The patent, No. 2613795, was filed on April 17, 1946 by Lin, and was issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on October 14, 1952. One of Lin's intentions was to help modernize China...
Ming kwai which was invented by Lin Yutang
Lin Yutang
Lin Yutang was a Chinese writer and inventor. His informal but polished style in both Chinese and English made him one of the most influential writers of his generation, and his compilations and translations of classic Chinese texts into English were bestsellers in the West.-Youth:Lin was born in...
, a prominent Chinese writer. It assigned thirty base shapes or strokes to different keys and adopted a new way of categorizing Chinese characters. But the typewriter was not produced commercially and Lin soon found himself deeply in debt.
Before the 1980s, Chinese publishers hired teams of workers and selected a few thousand type pieces from an enormous Chinese character set. Chinese government agencies entered charcters using a long, complicated list of Chinese telegraph code
Chinese telegraph code
The Chinese Telegraph Code, Chinese Telegraphic Code, or Chinese Commercial Code is a four-digit decimal code for electrically telegraphing messages written with Chinese characters.- Encoding and decoding :...
s, which assigned different numbers to each character. During the early computer era, Chinese characters were categorized by their radicals or Pinyin (or romanization), but results weren't completely satisfactory.
Chu Bong-Foo
Chu Bong-Foo is the inventor of the Cangjie method, the most widely available Chinese input method. He is said to be the father of the modern Chinese computing, as his public domain input method, created in 1976, has sped up the computerization of Chinese society.Chu spent his childhood in Taiwan,...
invented the input method used today in 1976 with his Cangjie input method, which assigns different "roots" to each key on a standard computer keyboard. With this method, for example, the character 日 is assigned to the A key, and 月 is assigned to B. Typing them together will result in the character 明 ("bright").
Despite its difficulty of learning, this method remains popular in Chinese communities that use traditional Chinese character
Traditional Chinese character
Traditional Chinese characters refers to Chinese characters in any character set which does not contain newly created characters or character substitutions performed after 1946. It most commonly refers to characters in the standardized character sets of Taiwan, of Hong Kong, or in the Kangxi...
s, such as Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
; it is also the first method that allowed users to enter more than a hundred Chinese characters per minute.
All methods have their strengths and weaknesses. The pinyin method
Pinyin method
The pinyin method refers to a family of input methods based on the pinyin method of romanization.In the most basic form, the pinyin method allows a user to input Chinese characters by entering the pinyin of a Chinese character and then presenting the user with a list of possible characters with...
can be learned rapidly but its maximum input rate is limited. The Wubi
Wubi method
The Wubizixing input method , often abbreviated to simply Wubi or Wubi Xing, is a Chinese character input method primarily for inputting simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese text on a computer...
takes longer to learn, but expert typists can enter text much more rapidly with it than with phonetic methods.
Due to these complexities, there is no "standard" method.
In mainland China, wubi
Wubi method
The Wubizixing input method , often abbreviated to simply Wubi or Wubi Xing, is a Chinese character input method primarily for inputting simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese text on a computer...
(shape-based) and pinyin methods such as Sogou Pinyin
Sogou Pinyin
Sogou Pinyin Method is a popular Chinese Pinyin input method editor developed by Sogou, a Chinese search engine.A Sohu announcement, released on June 5, 2009, indicated that Sogou Pinyin input software has been installed more than 80 million times since it was released three years ago, and Sogou...
and Google Pinyin
Google Pinyin
Google Pinyin IME is an input method developed by Google China Labs. The tool was made publicly available on April 4, 2007.- Windows :, Google Pinyin is available for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. There are both 32-bit and 64-bit versions available.- Android :Google released a Pinyin...
are the most popular; in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Boshiamy
Boshiamy method
Boshiamy is a Chinese character input method editor . It was invented by Liu Chung-tz'u .Boshiamy uses about 300 radicals represented by 26 letters to build characters. Radicals are mapped to letters by their shapes, sounds or meanings....
, Cangjie
Cangjie method
The Cangjie input method is a system by which Chinese characters may be entered into a computer by means of a standard keyboard...
, and zhuyin
Bopomofo
Zhuyin fuhao , often abbreviated as zhuyin and colloquially called bopomofo, was introduced in the 1910s as the first official phonetic system for transcribing Chinese, especially Mandarin....
predominate; and in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Cangjie
Cangjie method
The Cangjie input method is a system by which Chinese characters may be entered into a computer by means of a standard keyboard...
is most often taught in schools.
Other methods include handwriting recognition
Handwriting recognition
Handwriting recognition is the ability of a computer to receive and interpret intelligible handwritten input from sources such as paper documents, photographs, touch-screens and other devices. The image of the written text may be sensed "off line" from a piece of paper by optical scanning or...
, OCR
Optical character recognition
Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is the mechanical or electronic translation of scanned images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text into machine-encoded text. It is widely used to convert books and documents into electronic files, to computerize a record-keeping...
and voice recognition. The computer itself must first be "trained" before the first or second of these methods are used; that is, the new user enters the system in a special "learning mode" so that the system can learn to identify his handwriting or speech patterns. The latter two methods are used less frequently than keyboard-based input methods and suffer from relatively high error rates, especially when used without proper "training", though higher error rates are an acceptable trade-off to many users.
Phonetic-based
Pronunciations are converted into relevant Chinese characters with phonetic methods. Homophones commonly found in the Chinese language are listed for selection by the user. Modern systems, such as Sogou PinyinSogou Pinyin
Sogou Pinyin Method is a popular Chinese Pinyin input method editor developed by Sogou, a Chinese search engine.A Sohu announcement, released on June 5, 2009, indicated that Sogou Pinyin input software has been installed more than 80 million times since it was released three years ago, and Sogou...
and Google Pinyin
Google Pinyin
Google Pinyin IME is an input method developed by Google China Labs. The tool was made publicly available on April 4, 2007.- Windows :, Google Pinyin is available for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. There are both 32-bit and 64-bit versions available.- Android :Google released a Pinyin...
, learn the user's preferences and "predict" the most wanted characters based on the context. For example, if one enters the sounds jicheng, the software will type 繼承 (to inherit), but if jichengche is entered, 計程車 (taxi) will appear.
Various Chinese dialects complicate the system. Phonetic methods are based on standard pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
, Zhuyin, and Jyutping
Jyutping
Jyutping is a romanization system for Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong in 1993. Its formal name is The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme...
in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, respectively.
Chinese speakers find the phonetic system easy to learn, choosing appropriate Chinese characters slows typing speed. While there is yet no research comparing available typing speeds, most users report they can enter fifty characters per minute, and some can even reach over one hundred per minute.
Shape-based
- Cangjie method (倉頡; 仓颉)
- Simplified CangjieSimplified CangjieSimplified Cangjie is an input method in which the user enters only the first and last keystrokes used in the Cangjie system, and then chooses the desired character from a list of candidate Chinese characters that pops up...
(簡易倉頡, known as 速成 on Windows systems) - CKC Chinese Input SystemCKC Chinese Input SystemThe CKC Chinese Input System is a Chinese input method for computers that uses the four corner method to encode characters.The encoding uses a maximum of 4 digits to represent a Chinese character. All possible shapes of strokes that forms any given Chinese character are classified into 10 groups,...
(縱橫輸入法) - Boshiamy methodBoshiamy methodBoshiamy is a Chinese character input method editor . It was invented by Liu Chung-tz'u .Boshiamy uses about 300 radicals represented by 26 letters to build characters. Radicals are mapped to letters by their shapes, sounds or meanings....
(嘸蝦米) - Dayi methodDayi methodDayi uses a set of 46 character components laid out on a standard QWERTY keyboard. A Chinese character is built by combining up to four of the 40 of the 46 characters , using a system similar to that of Cangjie, but is decomposed in stroke order instead of in geometric shape in Cangjie.On most...
(大易) - Array method (行列)
- Four corner methodFour corner methodThe Four Corner Method is a character input method used for encoding Chinese characters into either a computer or a manual typewriter, using four or five numerical digits per character. The Four Corner Method is also known as the Four Corner System.The four digits encode the shapes found in the...
(四角碼; 四角码) - Q9 method (九方)
- Shouwei method (首尾字型)
- Stroke count methodStroke count methodThe Stroke Count Method is an input method editor used for entering Chinese characters on mobile phones and other electronic devices which is based on the order of the strokes of hand-written characters...
(筆畫; 笔画) - Stroke method (筆劃; 笔划)
- Wubi methodWubi methodThe Wubizixing input method , often abbreviated to simply Wubi or Wubi Xing, is a Chinese character input method primarily for inputting simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese text on a computer...
(五筆字型; 五笔字型) - Wubihua methodWubihua methodThe Wubihua method is a Chinese input method for writing text on a computer. It is based on the stroke order of a word, and can be input using only a numerical keypad. Although it is possible to input Traditional Chinese characters with this method, this method is often associated with...
(五筆畫; 五笔画) - Zheng code method (鄭碼; 郑码)
- Shou-wei Hao-ma methodShou-wei hao-ma methodThe shou-wei hao-ma method is a lookup method for Chinese Characters developed between 1961 and 1965, it can also be used as an IME, for computer entry of Chinese characters and related symbols....
(首尾號碼) - Knot DNA method (筆結碼)
Sogou Pinyin
Sogou PinyinSogou Pinyin
Sogou Pinyin Method is a popular Chinese Pinyin input method editor developed by Sogou, a Chinese search engine.A Sohu announcement, released on June 5, 2009, indicated that Sogou Pinyin input software has been installed more than 80 million times since it was released three years ago, and Sogou...
is a popular Chinese Pinyin input method editor developed by Sogou, a Chinese search engine.
It is also available on-line without installation, through a so-called "cloud input method".
See also
- List of input methods for UNIX platforms
- List of CJK fonts
- Japanese language and computersJapanese language and computersIn relation to the Japanese language and computers many adaptation issues arise, some unique to Japanese and others common to languages which have a very large number of characters. The number of characters needed in order to write English is very small, and thus it is possible to use only one byte...
- Japanese input methodsJapanese input methodsJapanese input methods are the methods used to input Japanese characters on a computer.There are two main methods of inputting Japanese on computers. One is via a romanized version of Japanese called rōmaji , and the other is via keyboard keys corresponding to the Japanese kana...
- Japanese input methods
- Korean language and computersKorean language and computersThis article addresses how computers are used to read and write Korean, using Hangul.-Character encodings:In RFC 1557, a method known as ISO-2022-KR for a 7-bit encoding of Korean characters in email was described. Where 8 bits are allowed, the EUC-KR encoding is preferred. These two...
- Han unificationHan unificationHan unification is an effort by the authors of Unicode and the Universal Character Set to map multiple character sets of the so-called CJK languages into a single set of unified characters. Han characters are a common feature of written Chinese , Japanese , Korean , and—at least historically—other...
- List of FEP software for Symbian S60
- Character amnesiaCharacter amnesiaCharacter amnesia is a phenomenon whereby experienced speakers of some East Asian languages forget how to write Chinese characters previously well known to them. The phenomenon is specifically tied to prolonged and extensive use of input methods, such as those that use romanizations of characters,...
- Chinese character encodingChinese character encodingIn computing, Chinese character encodings can be used to represent text written in the CJK languages — Chinese, Japanese, Korean — and obsolete Vietnamese, all of which use Chinese characters...
s:- Big5Big5Big-5 or Big5 is a character encoding method used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau for Traditional Chinese characters.Mainland China, which uses Simplified Chinese Characters, uses the GB instead.- Organization :...
- Guobiao code (GB)
- Neima (內碼)
- UnicodeUnicodeUnicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
- Telegraph codeChinese telegraph codeThe Chinese Telegraph Code, Chinese Telegraphic Code, or Chinese Commercial Code is a four-digit decimal code for electrically telegraphing messages written with Chinese characters.- Encoding and decoding :...
(電報碼)
- Big5
External links
Information- What Does a Chinese Keyboard Look Like?, article by Slate.com
- Overview of Input Methods, by Sebastien Bruggeman.
- 中文輸入法世界 Chinese input method news.
Tutorials
- What is an Input Method Editor and how do I use it?, a Microsoft article about Windows XPWindows XPWindows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
's Input Method Editor. - Enabling International Support in Windows XP/Server 2003 Family, a Microsoft tutorial on how to install input methods on Windows XPWindows XPWindows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
. - Tutorial on typing Chinese using PinYin method - based on HanWJ Chinese Input Engine
- IME Tutorial, tutorial on how to use Microsoft Global IME for pre-Windows 2000Windows 2000Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...
systems.
Tools
- Microsoft Voice Recognition
- Typing Chinese Online with Optional Tone Input
- Online Cantonese Input
- SCIM's homepage
- Chinese Input Method Software
- InputKing Online Input System, an online IME with multiple input methods, supporting both simplified and traditional characters.
- G6 Chinese Input Method (preinstalled on some Android phones eg. by HTC)