How do Chinese keyboards work?

Question

i want to know because how can they have all the characters on the keyboard

Answer 1

Chinese keyboards are exactly the same as American ones.



We input Chinese mainly by spelling the words by pronunciation. For example to find the character 爱，I type 'ai' - the pronunciation as spelled using Chinese Pinyin. It then gives me a list of characters with the same pronunciation and pick the one I need.



Same to send a text message on a cell phone.



It is also possible to input Chinese by a stroke order method, where each key on the keyboard represents part of a character. This is becoming less popular.

Answer 2

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.



Some Chinese input methods proposed for typewriters before 1950s, Lin Yutang spent much money on it.[1] Little or none is used before the computer age, then 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.



http://www.answers.com/topic/chinese-input-methods-for-computers



http://www.slate.com/id/2136726/



http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1138/how-can-the-chinese-use-computers-since-their-language-contains-so-many-characters



http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6281884/claims.html

Answer 3

there are two ways to type Chinese on the keyboard.



1. We type the pronunciation of a Chinese character by using alphabeths.



2. If the keyboard has Chinese characters on it, it's called "Bi Hua". When you learn Chinese, you are taught to write the word in correct sequence.



To type by using the little chinese characters on ur keyboard, you just press according to the correct sequence you would write on the paper, then the computer will detect the correct word based on the sequence u typed.

Answer 4

you type the pronunciation and you choose a character from a list of homonyms...

or

you try the elements and get the final character which consists of them...

or

you use a manipulator to draw the character and the program recognizes it...

Answer 5

It's called han yu ping ying. You type that, which uses a western alphabet and there are corresponding chinese characters for it. For example, if i wanted to type big in chinese i would type "da" (ping ying) and a chinese character software will show corresponding chinese character for it.