Chinese to Pinyin Converter
Paste Chinese characters and get the pinyin instantly, with tone marks, tone numbers or no tones. Characters with several readings, like 行 in 银行 (yínháng) and 行走 (xíngzǒu), are read from the word around them, and you can click any one to change it.
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Learn the words, not just the pinyin
Converting tells you how a word sounds. Typing it yourself is how you remember it. Our free courses play real Mandarin sentences with native audio and have you type the pinyin phrase by phrase, so characters, tones and vocabulary stick.
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Tone marks, tone numbers or no tones?
| Style | 你好，妈妈 | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Tone marks | nǐ hǎo, mā ma | Reading, textbooks, flashcards |
| Tone numbers | ni3 hao3, ma1 ma5 | Typing on a normal keyboard, spreadsheets |
| No tones | ni hao, ma ma | Names, URLs, pinyin input methods |
Want to hear every syllable in all four tones? Open the interactive pinyin chart. To go the other way, from pinyin to characters, use the online Chinese keyboard.
Common characters with more than one reading (多音字)
These are the polyphones learners meet first. The converter picks the reading from the word, as below.
行
- háng · 银行 yínháng (bank)
- xíng · 行走 xíngzǒu (to walk)
长
- cháng · 很长 hěn cháng (very long)
- zhǎng · 长大 zhǎngdà (to grow up)
了
- le · 走了 zǒu le (left (completed action))
- liǎo · 了解 liǎojiě (to understand)
好
- hǎo · 很好 hěn hǎo (very good)
- hào · 爱好 àihào (hobby)
还
- hái · 还有 háiyǒu (also; still)
- huán · 还书 huán shū (to return a book)
重
- zhòng · 重要 zhòngyào (important)
- chóng · 重新 chóngxīn (again)
得
- de · 跑得快 pǎo de kuài (runs fast)
- dé · 得到 dédào (to get)
- děi · 我得走 wǒ děi zǒu (I must go)
乐
- lè · 快乐 kuàilè (happy)
- yuè · 音乐 yīnyuè (music)
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert Chinese characters to pinyin?
Paste or type Chinese characters into the box above. The pinyin appears instantly, with tone marks (nǐ hǎo), tone numbers (ni3 hao3) or no tones. Choose "Pinyin above characters" to read along, or "Pinyin only" and press Copy to paste the result anywhere.
How does the converter handle characters with more than one reading?
Many characters, called 多音字 (duōyīnzì), change their reading with the word: 行 is háng in 银行 (bank) but xíng in 行走 (to walk). The converter splits the text into words and uses a word dictionary to choose the reading. If it still picks the wrong one, click the underlined character and choose another reading.
Is this Chinese to pinyin converter free? Is my text sent anywhere?
It is free and needs no account. The conversion runs entirely in your browser, so the text you paste is never uploaded to a server.
What is the difference between tone marks and tone numbers?
Both show the same four tones. Tone marks sit above the vowel (mā má mǎ mà) and are the standard in textbooks and dictionaries. Tone numbers follow the syllable (ma1 ma2 ma3 ma4) and are easier to type on a normal keyboard. A neutral-tone syllable such as 吗 has no mark (ma) and is written with 5 in number style (ma5).
Why does 一 or 不 show a different tone than in the dictionary?
一 (yī) and 不 (bù) change tone before certain syllables: 一个 is said yí gè and 不是 is said bú shì. The converter writes these spoken tones by default. Untick the tone-change option to get the dictionary tones instead.
Does it work with traditional Chinese characters?
Yes, traditional characters such as 長城 are converted too. Word-level accuracy is best for simplified Chinese, so with traditional text check underlined characters and click to fix any reading.
Can it translate English to pinyin?
No. Pinyin is a way of writing Chinese sounds, so an English sentence first has to be translated into Chinese. Once you have the Chinese text, paste it here to get the pinyin.