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Pinyin tone marks
Type pinyin with tone numbers, like ni3 hao3, and get it with tone marks, nǐ hǎo, ready to copy. Or turn marks back into numbers.
With tone marks
Nǐ hǎo! Wǒ shì lǎoshī. Nǚ’ér qù Xī’ān le.
Tap a letter to copy it
Where the tone mark goes
One rule covers every syllable: a or e takes the mark if there is one; in ou it goes on the o; otherwise it goes on the last vowel. So it’s hǎo, dōu, guì and liú.
| You type | You get | Rule |
|---|---|---|
ma1 ma2 ma3 ma4 ma5 | mā má mǎ mà ma | The four tones and the neutral |
hao3 | hǎo | a and e always take the mark |
dou1, gou3 | dōu, gǒu | in ou, o takes it |
gui4, liu2 | guì, liú | otherwise the last vowel: ui, iu |
lv4, nu:3 | lǜ, nǚ | v or u: for ü |
Xi1an1, nv3er2 | Xī’ān, nǚ’ér | an apostrophe before a, e or o |
Tone numbers
Dictionaries and keyboards often write tones as a number after the syllable: 1 is the high flat tone (ā), 2 rising (á), 3 dipping (ǎ), 4 falling (à) and 5, or nothing, the neutral tone (a). Marks are what textbooks and signs use.
Typing tone marks on a Mac
Add the ABC – Extended keyboard in System Settings, Keyboard, Input Sources. Then type Option-a for ā, Option-e for á, Option-v for ǎ and Option-` for à, each followed by the vowel. For ü with a tone, copy it from the pad above.
On Windows, iPhone and Android
Windows has no simple key for them, so type numbers here and copy the result. On an iPhone or Android phone, press and hold a vowel on the English keyboard and slide to the marked letter.
Typing Chinese characters
To type characters instead, add a Chinese Pinyin keyboard and type the pinyin without tones: nihao gives 你好. To see the pinyin of Chinese you already have, use the pinyin converter.
Questions
How do you type pinyin with tone marks?
Type each syllable with its tone number (ni3 hao3) in the box on this page and copy the result (nǐ hǎo). On a Mac you can also use the ABC – Extended keyboard; on a phone, press and hold a vowel.
Where does the tone mark go in pinyin?
On a or e if the syllable has one, on the o of ou, and otherwise on the last vowel: hǎo, dōu, guì, liú.
How do you type ü in pinyin?
Type v or u: with a tone number: lv4 gives lǜ and nu:3 gives nǚ. After j, q, x and y the ü is written u: ju, qu, xu, yu.
More free tools
Pinyin converter: pinyin above any Chinese text. Pinyin chart: every syllable, all four tones. Pinyin trainer: hear a word and pick its tones. Read any Mandarin: point at a word for its meaning.