Pinyin input method: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:01, 5 October 2007

Revision as of 22:29, 11 December 2007

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[[Image:GooglePinyin.png|thumb|300px|Screenshot of [[Google Pinyin]].]]

The '''pinyin method''' ({{zh-stp|s=拼音输入法|t=拼音輸入法|p=Pīnyīnpīnyīn shūrù fǎ}}) refers to a family of [[Chinese input methods for computers|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 (with or without tone, depending on the system) and then presenting the user with a list of possible characters with that pronunciation. However, there are a number of slightly different such systems in use, and modern pinyin methods provide a number of convenience features.

Pinyin-based input methods differ in a number of possible aspects, including:

* Input of the letter ü: The letter ü might need to be input using different keys in different systems. Currently in the Microsoft Hanyu pinyinPinyin system, ü is inputted by typing the letter "v." For example, 女 (pinyin: nǚ; girl/womanfemale) would be entered as "nv".

* Handling of tones: Entering of the Mandarin tones might be mandatory (带调/帶調), or tones might need to be omitted (不带调/不帶調)

* Number of Chinese characters to convert: In the most basic systems, one character is converted at a time; the common systems used today often convert at the word level; in more sophisticated systems, the user can convert a whole sentence at a time.