---
title: "Add Pinyin to Chinese in Google Sheets and Excel: One Free Formula | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "Paste =IMPORTDATA(\"https://mandarinthewild.com/sheet?w=\"&ENCODEURL(A2)) next to a Chinese word in Google Sheets and the row fills with its pinyin, meaning and HSK level, read word by word (银行 yínháng). No add-on, no script, free."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-in-google-sheets"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

Free · No add-on · No sign-up

# Pinyin in Google Sheets and Excel

Chinese in column A, one formula in column B: every row fills with its pinyin, meaning and HSK level, read word by word.

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

## Paste this in B2, then drag it down

| | A | B | C | D |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK level |
| 2 | 银行 | yínháng | bank | HSK 3 |
| 3 | 行李 | xíngli | luggage; baggage | HSK 3 |
| 4 | 长城 | chángchéng | the Great Wall | HSK 4 |
| 5 | 长大 | zhǎngdà | to grow up | HSK 2 |
| 6 | 你好世界 | nǐhǎo shìjiè | | |

For 银行 the formula asks [`mandarinthewild.com/sheet?w=银行`](https://mandarinthewild.com/sheet?w=%E9%93%B6%E8%A1%8C), which answers `yínháng,bank,HSK 3`.

HSK 1 · Now read them in a real story

## 十两饺子 How to order dumplings in Chinese

莎拉来中国的第三天，她想一个人去吃饺子。

饭馆很小，人很多。

莎拉坐下说：“我要饺子！”

老板问：“几两？”

[Keep reading](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-to-order-dumplings-in-chinese#library-word-57-65)

## In Excel

Excel for Windows reads one column a formula: `=WEBSERVICE("https://mandarinthewild.com/sheet?get=pinyin&w="&ENCODEURL(A2))` for the pinyin, with `get=meaning` or `get=level` for the others. Excel for Mac and Excel on the web have no `WEBSERVICE`: fill the sheet in Google Sheets and download it as .xlsx.

## Why is it better than a pinyin add-on?

It reads each cell word by word, as a reader does, so a character with two readings gets the one its word uses: 行 is háng in 银行 and xíng in 行李, and 长 is cháng in 长城 and zhǎng in 长大. Add-ons and scripts that look up one character at a time get these wrong.

## Can I get tone numbers?

Yes. Add &tones=numbers before ENCODEURL: ni3hao3 in place of nǐhǎo.

## What if a cell holds a sentence?

You get the pinyin of the whole cell, word by word with spaces between. The meaning and level fill in only when the cell is one word.

## Are there limits?

Up to 64 characters a cell. A cell with no Chinese gives empty cells. Google Sheets fetches each row itself, so a long list fills in over a few seconds.

## Do you keep my words?

No. Each cell is read and answered; nothing is stored with it and no account is needed.

## Then learn the list

Download the sheet as CSV and drop it into Bring your words: each word goes into Review, with its pinyin and meaning, so you hear it and recall it on the right day. [Bring the list into Review](https://mandarinthewild.com/import-chinese-words)

## More free tools

- [Pinyin converter](https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-converter)
- [Vocabulary list for Anki](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-vocabulary-list)
- [Printable flashcards](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-flashcards)
- [For teachers](https://mandarinthewild.com/teachers)

Readings and meanings come from our own dictionary and reader. Nothing you send is kept.