How to convert Chinese characters to pinyin
Paste the Chinese text into a converter that reads whole words, choose tone marks or tone numbers, and check characters with several readings such as 行, 长 and 了. The Chinese to Pinyin converter does this in your browser.
Try it on your own text
Paste Chinese into the converter, or add the extension to see pinyin above characters on any page.
Steps
- Copy the Chinese text: a word, a sentence or a whole paragraph.
- Open the Chinese to pinyin converter and paste it into the input field.
- Choose the output style: tone marks (nǐ hǎo), tone numbers (ni3 hao3) or no tones (ni hao).
- Copy the pinyin, or copy Chinese and pinyin together for study notes.
- Check characters that have more than one reading (see below).
Characters, words and sentences
A converter can work in three ways. Character by character it is fast but ignores context. Word by word it picks readings from the surrounding words. Sentence-level tools also use grammar. The Chinese to Pinyin converter reads over the whole text, so context decides the reading of a polyphonic character. For one word, one character or a whole page, the steps above are the same.
Which style to choose
| Style | Looks like | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Tone marks | nǐ hǎo ma | Reading and teaching: the mark sits on the vowel |
| Tone numbers | ni3 hao3 ma5 | Typing, plain text, spreadsheets, flashcard apps |
| No tones | ni hao ma | Search, file names, rough notes |
Tone marks are the most readable. Tone numbers survive copy-paste into systems that cannot show diacritics.
Characters with more than one reading
Some characters are read differently depending on the word. A good converter chooses from the neighbouring characters:
| Character | Readings | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 行 | yín háng / xíng zǒu | bank / to walk |
| 长 | cháng chéng / zhǎng dà | long / to grow up |
| 重 | zhòng yào / chóng fù | heavy, important / again |
Even the best tool can be wrong on rare words, names and ambiguous sentences. If a reading looks off, look the word up in a dictionary before you memorise it.
Try it on your own text
Paste Chinese into the converter, or add the extension to see pinyin above characters on any page.
What is kept as it is
Digits, Latin letters and punctuation are not converted: iPhone 15 stays iPhone 15 in the pinyin line. Only Chinese characters get pinyin.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert a single Chinese character to pinyin?
Paste the one character into the converter. If it has several readings, you only see the most likely one for a standalone character, so check a dictionary for the others.
Can I get pinyin without tones?
Yes. Choose the no-tones style in Settings.
Does it handle traditional characters?
Yes. Simplified and traditional characters are both converted.
Why does a converter sometimes give a wrong reading?
Polyphonic characters depend on the whole word. Rare words, proper names and ambiguous phrases are where mistakes happen.
Can I show pinyin above the characters on a web page?
Yes, with the browser extension; see how to add pinyin to Chinese web pages.
Try it on your own text
Paste Chinese into the converter, or add the extension to see pinyin above characters on any page.