Chinese to Pinyin Converter
Paste Chinese text to get pinyin instantly — tone marks, numbers, or none. Everything runs in your browser.
Paste or type Chinese to convert it to Pinyin. Choose tone marks, tone numbers, or no tones, and the converter picks the right reading for polyphonic characters automatically. Both Simplified and Traditional Chinese are supported.
- Runs in your browser
- Free · no signup
- Simplified & Traditional
- Smart polyphonic readings
Chinese to Pinyin examples
Tap any example to load it into the converter above and see the Pinyin for greetings, names, polyphonic characters, and full phrases — a quick way to see how the tool handles different kinds of Chinese.
How to convert Chinese to Pinyin
- 1
Paste your Chinese text
Type or paste any Chinese — words, names, or whole paragraphs — into the input box. Both Simplified and Traditional characters work, and you can freely mix in punctuation, numbers, or English.
- 2
Choose your format
Pick tone marks (nǐ hǎo), tone numbers (ni3 hao3), or no tones, then set capitalization and whether to keep other characters. The result updates instantly as you change any option.
- 3
Copy your Pinyin
The Pinyin appears instantly above each character. Copy the result to your clipboard with one click, ready to paste into documents, worksheets, or study notes.
Private by design
Conversion runs entirely in your browser, so your Chinese text never leaves your device and is never uploaded or stored.
Instant
Pinyin appears as you type, with no server round-trips — even long paragraphs convert in a moment.
Free, no signup
Open the converter and go. No account, no paywall, and no limit on how much text you can convert.
Works everywhere
Runs in any modern browser on phones, tablets, and computers, and keeps working offline once the page has loaded.
Features
Tone marks & numbers
Switch between tone marks (nǐ hǎo), tone numbers (ni3 hao3), and no tones (ni hao) with one click. Tone marks suit reading and study; tone numbers are easier to type and search.
Smart polyphonic reading
Context-aware conversion reads whole words, not single characters, so polyphonic characters get the reading a native speaker would use.
Annotated view
Pinyin is printed directly above each character using ruby text, perfect for reading practice, teaching handouts, and subtitles. Switch to plain text whenever you only need the romanization.
Formatting options
Capitalize each syllable or switch to all-lower or all-upper case, and choose to keep or strip punctuation, numbers, and other non-Chinese characters, so the output is ready to paste wherever you need it.
Why use this Chinese to Pinyin converter
Built on the open-source pinyin-pro engine with dictionary-based word segmentation, this converter reads whole words to pick the right reading. Here is how it compares with machine translation and basic romanizers on accuracy, tone options, and privacy.
| This converter | Typical tools | |
|---|---|---|
| Polyphonic accuracy | Context-aware, reads whole words | Often one fixed reading |
| Tone output | Tone marks, numbers, or none | Tone marks only |
| Privacy | Runs locally in your browser | Text sent to a server |
| Annotated view | Pinyin above each character | Plain text only |
What you can use it for
Learning Chinese
Add Pinyin above unfamiliar characters to practice pronunciation and build reading confidence. The annotated view lets you check the sound of every word without reaching for a separate dictionary.
Teaching & worksheets
Generate annotated text for classroom handouts, flashcards, and study materials in seconds, then copy it so students can read along with the correct tones.
Names & romanization
Convert Chinese names and place names to Pinyin for documents, citations, passports, and forms, with consistent, standard romanization you can rely on.
Subtitles & captions
Romanize lyrics, dialogue, or quotations for karaoke, subtitles, and language notes, choosing tone marks or tone numbers to match the style you need.
Understanding Pinyin
What is Pinyin?
Pinyin (Hànyǔ Pīnyīn) is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese, adopted in 1958 and now used worldwide to teach pronunciation. It spells out the sound of each Chinese character with the Latin alphabet and adds one of four tone marks (ā á ǎ à) to show pitch. Because Chinese writing does not encode pronunciation directly, Pinyin is the bridge that lets learners read, type, and pronounce characters they have never seen before.
Tone marks vs tone numbers
Mandarin has four main tones plus a neutral tone, and the tone changes a word's meaning entirely. Tone marks (mā má mǎ mà) sit above the main vowel and are the standard form used in textbooks and dictionaries. Tone numbers (ma1 ma2 ma3 ma4) place a digit after each syllable instead; they are easier to type on a normal keyboard and to search for online. Both notations describe exactly the same tones, so you can switch between them freely.
Polyphonic characters
Many Chinese characters are polyphonic (多音字), meaning they have more than one reading depending on context. For example, 行 is read "háng" when it means a row or a business, but "xíng" when it means to walk or to be acceptable. A character-by-character lookup cannot resolve these cases, which is why this converter analyses whole words and phrases to choose the reading a native speaker would actually use.
Initials, finals, and syllables
Every Pinyin syllable is built from an initial and a final, combined with a tone. The initial is the opening consonant (such as b, p, m, or zh), and the final is the vowel cluster that follows (such as a, ao, or iang) — for example b + ǎo gives bǎo. A few syllables have no initial at all. Understanding this initial-plus-final structure makes Mandarin pronunciation more predictable and explains why Pinyin is typed the way it is.
FAQ
Convert Chinese to Pinyin in seconds
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