ChineseSavvy.com

Frequently Asked Questions

By Chinese Savvy

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Before reading this FAQ, we recommend taking a quick look at the Chinesesavvy Toolbox area, which contains web-based tools for all Chinese reading, writing, editing and translating needs. 

Q: Why can't I see any Chinese Characters?
Q: How do I type in Chinese?
Q: What is Pinyin?
Q: What are the hotkeys for Microsoft IME?
Q: How do I make Chinese characters appear larger and thereby easier to read?
Q: Where can I find dictionary and translation tools?
Q: How do I use a Chinese dictionary?  

Q: Why can't I see any Chinese Characters?     
A: When loading a Chinese page, you come across a page full of squares that look like this: □. This means the computer you are using does not have Chinese fonts installed. A Chinese language pack is necessary for reading and writing in Chinese. Windows Vista comes installed with a Chinese language pack. Windows XP and Windows 2000 have language packs included on their installation CDs. Previous versions of Windows (NT, ME, 98, 95) require the user to download a language pack. There are alternatives to the Microsoft language packs.

If you are on a computer that does not belong to you, such as one at a web cafe, a library, a computer lab or at a friends house, you must request somebody with administrative access to install the language pack. Unfortunately there are no ways around this.

Windows XP instructions (requires Windows CD)
From Control Panel: 'Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options' -> 'Regional and Language Options.'  You may go directly to 'Regional and Language Options' depending on the Control Panel view. Select  'Languages' tab on the top of the new window, and then enable 'Install files for East Asian languages' . Insert the Windows XP CD and click 'OK.' The files will install and you will then need to restart Windows. Microsoft also provides instructions with diagrams: http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/handson/user/xpintlsupp.mspx#E4  

Windows 2000 instructions (requires Windows CD)
From Control Panel, select 'Regional Options.'  Under the first tab, 'General,'  there is a  'Language settings for the system' area at the bottom. Select the languages you would like to install. At Chinesesavvy.com we use only 'Simplified Chinese,' however you may want to install 'Traditional Chinese' in the event that you come across a web page using that font set. Insert the Windows 2000 CD, Click on 'OK' and allow the installation to take place. You will then need to restart Windows. Microsoft also provides instructions with diagrams: http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/handson/user/2kintlsupp.mspx  

Windows NT, ME, 98, 95
Microsoft provides an IME for these versions of Windows here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/downloads/recommended/ime/install.mspx  

Windows alternatives
There are alternative, third-party font packages and IMEs. You may be interested in using these if you do not have your original Windows CD, or if you'd like additional Chinese fonts. You can try: Nanji Star: An all-in-one solution, with word processor, IMEs, font packages, translation tools and more. 

MAC OS instructions
Newer versions of MAC OS include support for East Asian fonts. However if you have an older version (10.1 or older) or are having difficulty, you will need to download the Language Support Update. This can be found at: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120063  

At the bottom of this page are two options for Chinese character packages. They are indicated in Chinese characters in picture format, so you can see them whether or not the font is already installed. We recommend the second package, as it is more complete. You can also grab it directly from this link: http://download.info.apple.com/Mac_OS_X/082-0131.20020604/TraditionalChineseSU.dmg.bin  

Q: How do I type in Chinese?       
A: There are several input methods available for inputting Chinese characters in both Windows and MAC OS. Both OS's come with built-in IMEs (input method editor), and third-party IMEs are also available for purchase and download. In order to use a Chinese IME, you must have Chinese fonts installed (see above question). Although several different input methods exist, we recommend using Pinyin input. See next question for more information about Pinyin.

Windows XP instructions
Microsoft provides instructions with diagrams: http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/handson/user/xpintlsupp.mspx#E4 

Windows 2000 instructions
Microsoft provides instructions with diagrams: http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/handson/user/2kintlsupp.mspx  

MAC OS instructions
Under the Apple menu, choose 'System Preferences'. Click on the 'International preferences' icon. Under the 'Input Menu' tab, choose the Chinese language layout. In order to quickly between layouts, use the hotkey + space. 

Chinese Savvy has an IME that is web-based and works on all operating systems. Try the ChineseSavvy Pinyin-character Input . Chinese Savvy also provides a web-based Chinese character writing tool, which is useful if you want to input a character that you can write but do not know how to read. Try Write Your Search .    

Q: What is Pinyin?    
A: Pinyin is the romanized version of Chinese. Known in full as 'Hanyu Pinyin', it uses the latin alphabet to emulate the sounds of Chinese words. It was developed in 1958 and formally adopted in 1979, and so it is relatively new. All students in China are required to learn pinyin from an early age. It is an extremely useful tool for computer input and for learning Chinese as foreign language. Although the latin alphabet is used, many sounds do not correspond to their intuitive English pronunciations, and there are some sounds that do not exist in English. 

If you are interested in learning pinyin in greater detail, you can take our Savvy Pinyin Course . The course has step by step lessons for every sound used in pinyin, complete with audio lessons, practice words, and mini-tests. 

Q: What are the hotkeys for Microsoft IME?        
A: Microsoft IME has many hotkeys that will make your life easier: 

ALT+SHIFT:  Switch between languages.
SHIFT:  This also changes the input language, and will switch from Chinese to your default language. If the English has odd spaces between it (ｌｉｋｅ　ｔｈｉｓ), then you must switch from 'full-shape'  to 'half-shape' input using SHIFT+SPACE.
CTRL+SHIFT:  If you have multiple IME's installed (Windows IME and other third party IME's), this switches between them.
SHIFT+SPACE: This switches between 'full-shape' and 'half-shape' input. When inputting in English, this will change the writing from THIS to ＴＨＩＳ. 'Full-shape' forces the Roman characters to correspond with the same width as Chinese characters. For most purposes this is unnecessary, and one of the drawbacks of Microsoft IME.
CTRL+SPACE: This switches between Chinese and Western punctuation. All punctuation marks in Chinese are slightly different. They are all 'full-shape', so each punctuation mark takes us the same width as a regular Chinese character. In addition, the period, question mark and exclamation mark all appear slightly differently. 

Q: How do I make Chinese characters appear larger and thereby easier to read?     
A: All internet browsers have easy to use font display size settings. 

Mozilla Firefox
The easiest way to change display font size in Firefox is to hold CTRL and use the mouse scroll wheel. CTRL+SCRLUP will increase the display font size, where CTRL-SCRLDWN will decrease it. If you do not have a mouse scroll wheel, then you can try to use CTRL++ (hold CTRL and press the '+' button) to increase font size, or CTRL+- to decrease it. You can set it back to the default size by pressing CTRL+0. To do this by the top menu, go to View -> Text Size, and you'll find your options there. When you close a window or tab, the font display size is automatically reset to default size. 

Internet Explorer
As with Mozilla Firefox, the easiest way to change display font size is to hold CTRL and use the mouse scroll wheel. CTRL+SCRLUP will increase the display font size, where CTRL+SCRLDWN will decrease it. If you do not have a scroll wheel, then you must use the top menu. Simply click on View -> Text Size, and you'll find your options there. Unlike in Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer will save the new display size as the default, so that it will display in the same size every time you open the program until you change it to 'Default' size. 

Safari
The hotkey for increasing the font size is COMMAND++, and COMMAND+- to decrease it. To do this through the top menu, go to View -> Make Text Bigger. 

Q: Where can I find dictionary and translation tools?       
A: There are many software and web-based Chinese dictionaries and translation tools. 

Web-based dictionaries and translation tools
If you're on-the-go, or at a public computer, the most convenient online source is right here at Chinese Savvy.com. We provide a free online dictionary The People's Chinese Dictionary . Chinesesavvy.com also provides a Speech Dictionary with many common expressions. 

Software-based dictionaries and translation tools
If you are planning on learning Chinese on a long-term basis, you may want to consider purchasing a dictionary and translation program. There are many available. One of them is Kingsoft Powerword, a very popular software program used in China. They have a comprehensive dictionary, and tools integrated with Windows to translate words as you place the cursor over them, as well as many other features. 

Q: How do I use a Chinese dictionary?    
A: There are three methods to use search for a word in a Chinese dictionary: pinyin, radical, and stroke. 

By pinyin: The easiest and most widely used is the pinyin search method. This method requires the user to know the proper pinyin spelling of a word. Words are primarily ordered alphabetically by their pinyin. Secondary order is decided by the tone markings, neutral tone being first, followed by tone markings 1, 2, 3 and lastly 4. The tertiary order is decided either by the number of strokes in a character or the popularity of that character. So, for example, if you were searching for 晚 (wan3, wǎn), you would first search for wan. Upon finding the 'wan' entries, you would skim through the first and second tone markings to the beginning of the 'wan3' entries. 晚 has 11 strokes (see below, STROKE), so you may pass through a few entries before finding it. However, 晚 is a the most commonly used wan3, so it may also come first depending on the dictionary. Try it.   

By radical: The Radical search method is best used for a character which you can see, but do not know how to spell using pinyin. All characters are composed of at least one radical, and most characters have multiple radicals. In order to search by radical, you must learn to recognize which is the primary radical. This is usually the component on the top, the left, or on the outside of the character. For example, the radicals for the characters 宝, 晚, 国 are宀, 日 and囗. Some radicals change depending on their position. For example, the fire radical can appear as 火 on the top or left of a character, however on the bottom it is represented as灬. Notice that although it appears different, it is still four strokes. Once you determine the primary radical, you must search for that radical. They are listed by number of strokes (see below, STROKE). After you have chosen the right radical, all characters with that radical are also listed by increasing number of strokes. Try here.

 

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