How to type Chinese on an iPhone or iPad
You do not need an app. iPhone and iPad include Chinese keyboards: open Settings, then General, Keyboard, Keyboards, Add New Keyboard, and choose Chinese, Simplified with Pinyin – QWERTY. Switch to it with the globe key, type the pinyin without tones, and tap the characters you want.
Add the Pinyin keyboard
- Open Settings and tap General.
- Tap Keyboard, then Keyboards.
- Tap Add New Keyboard.
- Scroll to Chinese, Simplified and tap it.
- Tick Pinyin – QWERTY and tap Done.
That is the whole setup, and you do it once. The keyboard now works in every app: Messages, Notes, Safari, and the exercises on this site.
Switch to it and type
- Tap any text field so the keyboard opens.
- Touch and hold the globe key (or the emoji key) at the bottom of the keyboard, then tap the Chinese keyboard in the list. A quick tap on the globe key moves to the next keyboard.
- Type
nihao. A row of candidates appears above the keys. - Tap 你好.
You never type tone marks. The keyboard takes plain letters and offers every word that matches the sound. Type the whole word before you pick: shijian gives 时间 first, while shi alone gives a long list, because many characters are pronounced shi.
Pinyin has a ü and the keyboard has no key for it, so you type v. 女 is nv and 绿 is lv. After j, q, x and y the dots are not written, so 去 is qu and 学 is xue.
The Chinese keyboards iOS offers
| Keyboard | How you type | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Pinyin – QWERTY | Spell the sound on the normal letter layout. | Learners. Start here. |
| Pinyin – 10 Key | Spell the sound on a phone keypad layout. | People who prefer one thumb. |
| Handwriting | Draw the character with a finger. | Looking up a character you cannot pronounce. |
| Stroke, Wubi, Shuangpin | Other input systems with their own rules. | People who already know them. |
Handwriting
Handwriting is in the same list. Go back to Add New Keyboard, tap Chinese, Simplified, tick Handwriting and tap Done. Switch to it with the globe key and draw the character in the writing area. iOS shows the characters that match, and you tap the right one.
This is the fastest way to look up a character you can see but cannot say. Draw it, tap it, then paste it into the dictionary.
Traditional characters
Add a second keyboard. In Add New Keyboard choose Chinese, Traditional and tick Pinyin – QWERTY. You type the same pinyin and get 這個 where the simplified keyboard gives 这个. Keep both keyboards and move between them with the globe key. If you are studying for the HSK, use simplified.
Dictation in Chinese
- Open Settings, tap General, then Keyboard.
- Turn on Enable Dictation.
- In a text field, switch to the Chinese keyboard.
- Tap the microphone key and speak.
Dictation follows the keyboard you are using, so it listens for Chinese while the Chinese keyboard is showing. It is a useful pronunciation check: say a sentence and see whether the characters you meant come out.
Common problems
There is no globe key
The key appears when more than one keyboard is installed. Check that the Chinese keyboard is listed under Settings, General, Keyboard, Keyboards. If the bottom corner shows an emoji face, touch and hold it to see the list of keyboards.
The wrong characters come out
You are probably typing one syllable at a time. Type the full word or phrase, then pick. wojintianhenmang comes out as 我今天很忙 far more reliably than seven separate syllables.
I get a keypad with groups of letters
You added Pinyin – 10 Key. Go back to Keyboards, tap Chinese, Simplified and choose Pinyin – QWERTY.
The characters are traditional and I wanted simplified
You are on the Chinese, Traditional keyboard. Touch and hold the globe key and pick the simplified one.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add a Chinese keyboard on an iPhone?
Open Settings, tap General, tap Keyboard, tap Keyboards, then tap Add New Keyboard. Choose Chinese, Simplified, tick Pinyin – QWERTY and tap Done. Nothing is downloaded from the App Store. The keyboard is part of iOS.
How do I switch between English and Chinese on the iPhone keyboard?
Touch and hold the globe key (or the emoji key) at the bottom of the keyboard and tap the keyboard you want. A quick tap on the globe key moves to the next keyboard in your list.
Which Chinese keyboard should a learner pick?
Pinyin – QWERTY under Chinese, Simplified. It uses the same letter layout as the English keyboard and takes the pinyin you are already learning. Pinyin – 10 Key is a phone keypad layout, and Stroke, Wubi and Shuangpin are other systems that take separate practice.
Can I write Chinese characters by hand on an iPhone?
Yes. Add the Handwriting keyboard from the same list, switch to it with the globe key, and draw the character with a finger. iOS shows the characters it thinks you drew and you tap the right one.
Do I type tone marks on the Chinese keyboard?
No. You type plain letters, so 你好 is nihao. If you need pinyin with tone marks for notes, see how to type pinyin with tone marks.
Is the iPad different?
No. The path is the same on iPadOS: Settings, General, Keyboard, Keyboards, Add New Keyboard. The same Chinese keyboards are offered.
Now that you can type it, learn what to type. GraphChinese teaches HSK 1 to 6 in dependency order, and each topic opens once you have shown you know what it depends on. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
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