posted by blueblade3000 on December 1, 2011 | 9 comments
Ok, so how do I get my computer to create Chinese characters so that I can "type" in Chinese?
If you use Windows, you should get the Google Pinyin IME:http://www.google.com/intl/zh-CN/ime/pinyin/index.htmlShould be shift+space to switch between English and Chinese input modes. There's also a built-in IME here on Popup Chinese right above the comment boxes in the lesson discussions (but not forum, you guys should fix that!). Just click the "en" box above the comment area.
@blueblade3000,I've found that Google Pinyin has lagged behind native Chinese IME's. Google doesn't add new words and combinations as frequently as the actual Chinese ones do. This makes it cumbersome to type in Pinyin combinations of frequently used new words. Native Chinese Pinyin IME's are:http://pinyin.sogou.comhttp://shurufa.baidu.comhttp://py.qq.comAnyway you can install them and through usage figure out for yourself which one is most intuitive and then uninstall the ones you don't use.If you have an Android phone though, then the Baidu and QQ IME's are indispensable because they have handwriting features which the Google IME doesn't have. Perfect for practicing writing on the go.
I agree with Xiao Hu on 搜狗 (sougou) being the best one. Just click the link and click the big green button that says 立即下载 (download now). When it downloads just install it and keep clicking the 下 button.Afterward, push the Windows and R key (or start ->) and type in intl.cpl to bring up the language bar settings. Click keyboards and languages. Click 'change keyboard'.In here you can add a keyboard, in your case you'll want Chinese. The one you want should look something like 中文（简体） - 搜狗。。。。Then click over a tab to language bar. Set it to float or on the taskbar. Your preference. Then after that just close it up. When you hit left alt and left shift it'll shift between languages. You can see the bar appear in the bottom right corner or wherever you docked it. Then you can type away in pinyin! Wohoo!Let me know if you have questions :).
If you're using a Mac, you'll already have a built-in Chinese IME ("input method editor" -- the Chinese for it, 输入法 - 'way of entering [characters]' - is a much clearer term), which you can enable by going to System Preferences >Language & Text > Input Sources and checking the box next to "Chinese - Simplified" and "Pinyin - Simplified." (Or Chinese - Traditional/Pinyin - Traditional.)Apple's built-in IMEs in OS X have historically been woefully underpowered, especially compared to Windows-only IMEs. The latest version of OS X (Lion/10.7) improves greatly upon the native IME, but your best bet will probably still be to go with QIM (http://www.macqim.com/RegQIME.html), which shares a lot of functionality with the Windows-only Sogou IME.
blueblade3000 on December 2, 2011 | reply
I tried the apps for Android, and I went to the websites for PC, but it's all in Chinese, so I don't know how to use the software, or even how to download it! I guess I have to learn a little more first?
blueblade3000 on December 2, 2011 | reply
I tried the apps for Android, and I went to the websites for PC, but it's all in Chinese, so I don't know how to use the software, or even how to download it! I guess I have to learn a little more first?
Hi. I use this site to write hanzi. Sometimes, if the correct one does not appear, I use the dictionary to find it.
沁兰
http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php
http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/webime2.php?ime=mand_eng_simp
@沁兰,
You might want to try our own Chinese-English dictionary, which currently has around 210,000 entries. Missing entries can be easily added:
http://popupchinese.com/dictionary
It's also possible to use any (lesson) comment box as an IME. Look for the green "en" (english) button and click on it to switch into red "cn" (chinese) mode. Start typing in pinyin and pick whichever character you wish.
Best,
--david