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What about computers

What about computers?

You’re probably wondering how people type Chinese on their computers. No, they don’t have huge keyboards with thousands of keys for all the characters!

There are many systems for character input out there, but the one that’s the easiest for us language learners is the one that uses pinyin. You simply type in the word using pinyin and a box with characters which are pronounced that way appears. You click the number you need and voilà! The character is there.

There are many ways to enable this system on your computer.

If you’re using MS Windows, go to Control Panel --> Regional and language options --> Keyboards and languages --> Change keyboards --> Add --> Chinese (Simplified). Choose Microsoft Pinyin IME as your default input method.

Want to know more?

What’s the difference between “simplified” and “traditional”?

"Simplified” characters are those used in the PRC (People’s Republic of China). They were simplified in the mid-20th century, to make writing more approachable. When simplifying the characters, linguists used alternative character forms used centuries before 1949. The original forms of the characters, however, remain in use in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and many overseas Chinese communities. In this course, simplified characters are used.

Alternatively, you could download an input program, such as Google Pinyin input software: http://www.google.com/intl/zh-CN/ime/pinyin/

Want to know more?

How are characters arranged in a Chinese dictionary?

Well, these days, most dictionaries arrange characters and words by their pinyin transcriptions, so if you known the pronunciation of the word, it’s not difficult to find it. What if you want to find out the meaning of a character, but you do not know the pronunciation?

Most dictionaries have something that’s called a radical index. So-called radicals are elements that are common to many characters. To find a character in a dictionary, you need to first:

  1. Identify its radical. For example, the radical of the word 花 is 艹 (“grass”).
  2. Calculate the number of strokes in addition to the radical. 花 has 4 more strokes in addition to its radical (which has 3 strokes).
  3. In the character index, find the characters with 艹 for a radical. Find the characters with +4 strokes. One of them is yours!
  4. Next to it, you’ll find its pronunciation. Now all you have to do is find it in the dictionary, alphabetically.

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average evaluation for this lesson: 7.5

Latest comments

  • Maksymilian Rakoczy
    10.10.2020 20:59
    TRUDNE
  • Max Imperiali
    04.09.2020 15:25
    ok2
  • Massimo Imperiali
    14.05.2020 17:55
    ok
  • Massimo Imperiali
    14.05.2020 17:49
    ok
  • Massimo Imperiali
    30.04.2020 20:44
    ok
  • Massimo Imperiali
    30.04.2020 20:39
    ok
  • Massimo Imperiali
    30.04.2020 20:36
    ok
  • Marta Guzy
    29.04.2020 20:43
    fajne... tylko trudne!
  • Massimo Imperiali
    26.04.2020 15:58
    facile per ora !
  • Massimo Imperiali
    26.04.2020 15:51
    vedremo … !
  • Massimo Imperiali
    26.04.2020 15:48
    chiarissimo !
  • Massimo Imperiali
    26.04.2020 15:44
    :)
  • Jaakko Koskelo
    07.10.2019 09:39
    Very useful information!
  • Jaana Mattila
    10.07.2019 13:50
    Sekava. Esim. värien käyttö näyttämään mitä merkin osaa kulloinkin tarkoitetaan, tekisi heti selkeämmän.
  • Jaana Mattila
    10.07.2019 13:45
    Sekava vaikutelma
  • Chiara Camporese
    02.05.2018 22:15
    Spiegato benissimo
  • ΕΥΘΥΜΙΟΣ - ΡΑΦΑΗΛ ΑΓΓΕΛΗΣ
    01.05.2018 23:52
    Excellent!!!
  • Paolo Pasquini
    01.10.2017 07:47
    Ottima la lezione, i caratteri cinesi sono scritti troppo piccoli!
  • levente schepisi
    10.07.2017 19:10
    Ottima lezione!
  • Florian Costea
    08.05.2017 16:27
    Varianta in Romana foarte slaba.
    Textul incepe in Engleza.
  • Florian Costea
    08.05.2017 16:23
    Corectati varianta in Romana
    xiū = odihna
  • Aleksandra Kmin
    11.12.2016 15:33
    super brnę do przodu
  • Amojo Samuel
    09.11.2016 20:07
    fine
  • Carlo MARINO
    31.07.2016 22:03
    Very interesting lesson
  • Ruzica Mikulic
    12.05.2016 17:01
    super
  • Alexandru Popescu
    15.04.2016 21:58
    Excelenta lecție!
  • reneja marn
    01.10.2015 15:22
    great lesson
  • maria paola ricci
    31.07.2015 15:37
    interessante ... fa venire voglia di approfondire l'origine dei caratteri e come sono cambiati nel tempo
  • Enrico Rossini
    13.03.2015 17:11
    very fashinating...it has a different and interesting tongue roots comparing with european languages
  • Agnieszka Mazur
    11.03.2015 15:39
    I love this GOLD sign :) good sign :) very logic explanation
  • Amaresh Biswas
    27.12.2014 15:52
    It is good for understanding, how a character has got the shape.
  • Giovanni Villella
    14.11.2014 14:45
    Buono
  • Waldemberg Fernandes osta Berg
    02.09.2014 03:25
    Bem explicativo.
  • Milena Koleva
    20.04.2014 22:16
    Много интересно, веднага се запомня.
  • Grace Sumidanu
    18.03.2014 21:54
    Przydatne złożenia podobnych znaków i ich wyjaśnienie.
  • ari saarinen
    25.01.2014 19:16
    Guan no 2 pin yin not written right
  • Raimo Pullat
    10.06.2013 16:12
    Grammatika on selgelt esitatud.
  • Marius Lapė
    29.05.2013 09:43
    See on hästi kirjutatud.
  • Esztora Petőfi
    16.05.2013 13:12
    Nagyon jól strukturált.
  • Blanka Slavik
    14.05.2013 08:46
    Myslím, že táto lekcia je dosť atraktívna.
  • Valdek Pall
    13.05.2013 13:38
    Väga hea heli kvaliteet
  • Donata Cazacu
    13.05.2013 08:50
    Un mod foarte uşor şi interesant de a învăţa limbi străine.
  • Андрей Врабчев
    10.05.2013 12:15
    Информацията е представена по много интересен начин.
  • Marta Malinowska
    09.05.2013 14:33
    Faktycznie znaki bardzo fajnie i czytelnie przedstawione.
  • Małgorzata Jendryczka
    30.12.2012 15:47
    Bardzo obrazowo przedstawione znaki, nawet dla manualnie niezbyt zdolnych użytkowników.

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