Chinese to Pinyin Converter

What it does

This converter writes the pinyin of Chinese text, with tone marks (hàn zì), tone numbers (han4 zi4) or without tones, above each character or as a line of text. Many characters have more than one reading, such as 行 in 银行 (háng) and 行走 (xíng), so the converter looks at whole words; when it still cannot tell, you can click the character and choose. It works with Simplified and Traditional characters, and everything happens in your browser.

How to use it

1. Type or paste the Chinese text.
2. Choose the tone style and how to show the pinyin: above the characters, as text or initials only.
3. Check the characters with a dotted underline, click to change the reading if needed, then copy or download.

Frequently asked questions

What are polyphonic characters (多音字)?
Characters with more than one pronunciation, which depends on the word: 长 is cháng in 长江 and zhǎng in 长大; 重 is chóng in 重复 and zhòng in 重要. The converter uses a dictionary of words to choose, and marks these characters so you can change the reading.

Tone marks or tone numbers?
Tone marks (mā má mǎ mà) are the standard written form. Tone numbers (ma1 ma2 ma3 ma4) are easier to type and are used in dictionaries and by many learners; “no tones” gives plain letters for URLs and file names.

Why are the tone changes of 一 and 不 off?
Dictionaries and standard pinyin write 一 as yī and 不 as bù. In speech they change before other tones (一个 yí gè, 不要 bú yào); textbooks often show this, so you can turn it on.

How are names written?
Some characters are read differently as surnames: 单 Shàn, 曾 Zēng, 解 Xiè. Turn on the names option and put one name per line, and the first character of each line is read as a surname.

Does it work with Traditional characters?
Yes. Traditional text is matched against the same dictionary of words, so 銀行 is yín háng just like 银行. The characters you typed are kept as they are.

繁 Simplified ↔ Traditional Chinese Converter
壹 Chinese Number Converter
Wikipedia — Pinyin