Chinese Typing Software: Best to Use in 2024

4 min. read

Updated on January 8, 2024

updated on January 8, 2024

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Chinese characters - typing chinese software

You don’t need to buy a specialized keyboard in order to type in Chinese characters on your Windows 10 PC. You can simply use the same QWERTY keyboard you’re used to, and modify the input language from the Windows control panel. One of the best tactics to go about solving this issue is to use the pinyin input method. This method is most commonly used in Chinese schools, so it is perfectly suitable to use it in order to contact any of your Chinese acquaintances. It is also the easiest method to use for people that do not speak the language fluently as it only requires you to know the phonetics of reading each character. Another popular method of writing in Chinese is the Zhuyin input method, but this requires that you understand and know the entire bopomofo syllable system. In this article, we are going to explore both built-in Windows solutions for dealing with this issue, but also a few third-party software options.

Best tools to type Chinese on your Windows 10 PC

Built-in Windows 10 Chinese keyboard input options

There are two built-in options available on Windows 10 for writing both traditional and simplified characters (Hanyu):

Microsoft Pinyin (MSPY) – most commonly used in mainland China and Singapore, this method allows you not to worry about inserting apostrophes between each sound, as it does this completely automatically

Microsoft Bopomofo (MSZY) – most commonly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, this format offers you access to modern Traditional characters that also include the Hong Kong set, and is also fully compatible with the Taiwan Big5 and also International Unicode standards

If you’re wondering where you can find these settings, here are the steps you need to follow in Windows 10 in order to modify them:

1. In the Cortana search box type ‘Region’> Click ‘Region and Language Settings’ > Clik ‘Add a Language’.
2. Choose ‘Chinese Simplified’ from the list of languages > Select ‘Chinese (Simplified, China)
3. Download the Language Pack available.
4. Click on options button after installing the language pack to choose between simplified or traditional character sets.

Did you know can now download language packs for Windows via Microsoft Store

Pinyin IME Google Input Tools

This online tool developed by Google allows you to type in both Simplified and Traditional Chinese without downloading any software.

In order to effectively use this tool, you will need to type the sound you want to write down, and a pop-up with suggested characters will give you the ability to choose a specific character.

Looking for a way to avoid the Great Firewall of China? Check these VPN solutions.

In order to select a highlighted character, you can simply choose between clicking on it, using the spacebar, you can type the number that represents the word.

You can even use the arrow keys on your keyboard to either change pages (left or right), and scroll through pages (up and down arrow keys).

Try the online Pinyin IME from Google

Microsoft Office IME 2010

This tool from Microsoft is a plug-in for your version of Microsoft Office that allows you to input a wide range of languages, but most importantly includes both the Traditional and Simplified versions of Chinese.

Download Microsoft Office IME

Sogou Pinyin

Sogou Pinyin is one of the best matching Chinese typography software, but the database of characters does not match the capabilities of the software and built-in options we presented above.

Because Sogou is also a search engine company, the software word databases are constantly updated and improved by its users.

Download Sogou Pinyin IME

Conclusion

In this article, we explored some of the most practical ways to write both Traditional and Simplified versions of Chinese on your Windows 10 PC. This list offers you a choice no matter if you want to install any third-party software on your computer or not.

You can choose to use the built-in language input settings found in the control panel of your PC, or use an online IME tool created by Google, or, if you are using Microsoft to type, can explore their option.

Please feel free to let us know how your experience was when trying these typing options out. You can do so by using the comment section found below this article.

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