Tools
Free Chinese language tools
A set of free tools for working with Chinese text: count characters and words, convert to pinyin, render characters as downloadable images, and hear any passage read aloud with karaoke highlighting.
Chinese Word Counter
Paste Chinese text and get an instant breakdown: how many Chinese characters it contains, how many words, how many sentences, and how much of it is punctuation, Latin letters or digits.
Open the tool →Pinyin Generator
Turn any Chinese passage into pinyin. Choose tone marks, tone numbers or plain letters, show pinyin above the characters for reading practice, and copy the result in one click.
Open the tool →Chinese Text Image Generator
Type Chinese text, see it rendered in a range of authentic Chinese typefaces from brush calligraphy to modern sans, and download the version you like as a transparent, high-resolution image.
Open the tool →Chinese Text to Speech
Paste Chinese text and hear it spoken. Words highlight in time with the audio, pinyin sits above every character, and you can download the MP3 or share a link to a playback page.
Open the tool →Guides
Background reading on counting Chinese, pinyin, typography and pronunciation.
- Counting Chinese · 8 min readHow to Count Chinese Characters: Why Tools DisagreeWord processors, translation agencies and HSK examiners each count Chinese differently. Here is what every number measures and which one to quote.
- Counting Chinese · 7 min readChinese Character Count vs Word Count ExplainedA Chinese character is not a Chinese word. The difference changes how you build vocabulary, quote translation work and read length requirements.
- Writing in Chinese · 8 min readChinese Essay Length: HSK Minimums and How to Hit ThemEvery HSK writing task has a character minimum and examiners count strictly. The real requirements by level, plus how to plan an essay on target.
- Learning Chinese · 9 min readHow Many Chinese Characters Do You Need to Know?What the frequency data actually shows, why 99% character coverage is not comprehension, and the realistic target to aim for at each stage.
- Pinyin basics · 9 min readWhat Is Pinyin? A Complete Guide for Chinese LearnersPinyin is the official romanisation of Mandarin, and it is not English. How the system works, which letters mislead you, and how to use it well.
- Pinyin basics · 8 min readPinyin Tone Marks: Placement Rules and Tone SandhiWhere the tone mark goes, how to type ǎ and ǜ on any keyboard, and the sandhi rules that change how tones sound but never how they are written.
- Pinyin basics · 8 min readPinyin vs Wade-Giles vs Zhuyin: Which to Learn?Why Peking became Beijing, what the apostrophes in Wade-Giles mean, and why Taiwan teaches a system that uses no Latin letters at all.
- Pronunciation · 9 min read10 Common Pinyin Mistakes English Speakers MakeThe pinyin errors that survive years of study, why familiar letters cause them, and the specific drills that actually correct each one.
- Chinese typography · 9 min readA Guide to Chinese Calligraphy Styles and FontsSeal, clerical, regular, running and cursive: the five historical scripts, how they map onto modern digital fonts, and which suits your design.
- Design · 7 min readHow to Make Chinese Text Images for Posters and SlidesWhy screenshotting Chinese text fails, how to get a clean high-resolution rendering, and the layout rules that make Chinese typography look right.
- Design · 8 min readChinese Characters for Tattoos: How to Get It RightChinese character tattoos go wrong in predictable ways. How to check the meaning, verify the strokes, choose a script, and avoid the mistakes.
- Chinese typography · 8 min readChinese Typography Basics for DesignersEvery character is the same width, there is no italic and no word spaces. A practical primer on what changes when you set Chinese instead of Latin.
- Pronunciation · 10 min readChinese Pronunciation: A Complete Guide to MandarinEvery initial, final and tone in Mandarin, with the mouth positions English speakers need and the contrasts that actually carry meaning.
- Pronunciation · 9 min readChinese Tones Explained: How to Actually Learn ThemThe four tones, the neutral tone, the sandhi rules that change them, and a training method that works better than repeating mā má mǎ mà.
- Study method · 8 min readShadowing Practice for Chinese: A Step-by-Step MethodShadowing is the most effective pronunciation exercise most learners never do properly. The method, the common mistakes, and a daily routine.
- Study method · 9 min readChinese Listening Practice: What Actually HelpsReading Chinese is easier than hearing it, and the reason is structural. What makes Mandarin listening hard and the methods that address each cause.