Chinese input methods for computers

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	Input methods

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Since the Chinese language uses a logographic script — that is, a script where one or more "characters" corresponds roughly to one "word" or meaning — there are vastly more characters, or glyphs, than there are keys on a standard computer keyboard.

[edit] Overview

A variety of keyboard input method editors (IME) have been designed to allow the input of Chinese characters using standard keyboards.

Keyboard input methods can be classified in three main types:

by encoding
by pronunciation
by structure of the characters.

The following are just some samples of Chinese input methods. Many of those input methods have variations. Full Pinyin and Double Pinyin are variations of the pinyin input method. In addition, the methods which require the user to select a character from a menu generally have sophisticated methods for guessing which characters the user intends based on context.

Each standard has its strengths and weaknesses and usage varies between people. For example, for someone who is already familiar with pinyin, the pinyin method can be learned instantly. However, the maximum typing rate is limited, and learning the system can be difficult for those not familiar with pinyin. Wubi takes much effort to learn, but expert typists can enter text much faster with it than with the phonetic methods. Because of these factors, there is very little likelihood of a "standard" method evolving.

An experimental Chinese keyboard with many keys.

Other means of entering Chinese characters include handwriting recognition, OCR and voice recognition. The first and last of these usually must be “trained” before use; that is, the user must first use the system in a special “learning mode” so that the system can get accustomed to the user’s handwriting or speech pattern, and failure to do so will increase the recognition error rate. These, especially the latter two, are less frequently used than keyboard-based input methods and, as with even the most advanced English language systems, suffer from relatively high error rates, especially when used without proper “training”, though the error rates are an acceptable trade-off to many users.

Particular mention should be given to handwriting recognition systems: although mostly associated with stylus and tablet-based systems, it is in fact one of the built-in input methods in Windows XP systems. Handwriting recognition systems for Chinese are generally far more reliable.^{[clarification needed]}

Finally, some systems allow Chinese characters to be entered by typing their equivalent English words.

[edit] Pronunciation

Pinyin method (拼音) (used in mainland China and also increasingly in Taiwan)
Zhuyin (注音) (used in Taiwan only)
Cantonese phonetic method (粤拼) (used in Hong Kong)

[edit] Character structure

Cangjie method (倉頡; 仓颉)
Simplified Cangjie (簡易倉頡, known as 速成 on Windows systems)
CKC Chinese Input System (縱橫輸入法)
Boshiamy method (嘸蝦米)
Dayi method (大易)
Array method (行列)
Four corner method (四角碼; 四角码)
Q9 method (九方)
Shouwei method (首尾字型)
Stroke count method (筆畫; 笔画)
Stroke method (筆劃; 笔划)
Wubi method (五筆字型; 五笔字型)
Wubihua method (五筆畫; 五笔画)
Zheng code method (鄭碼; 郑码)
Shou-wei Hao-ma method (首尾號碼)
Knot DNA method (筆結碼)

[edit] Combination of pronunciation and character structure

Tze-loi method (子來; 子来)
Renzhi code method (認知碼; 认知码)

A typical keyboard layout for zhuyin on computers, which can be used as an input method	The Wubi keyboard which is an input method	A typical keyboard layout for Cangjie method, which is based on United States keyboard layout. Note the non-standard use of Z as the collision key.	A typical keyboard layout for Dayi method
Chinese (traditional) keyboard layout, a US keyboard with Zhuyin, Cangjie and Dayi key labels, which can all be used to input chinese characters into a computer