Inputting Traditional Chinese characters without pinyin

Mark Yong · 11th February 2006, 12:33 PM

Hi,

I have been reading the many interesting forum threads on how to input Chinese characters on PC without using pinyin. It appears that the Five Strokes (五篳) has received the most fervert support for its speed.

Having said that, the Five Strokes method is used for inputting Simplified Chinese characters. I would like to find out what is the best non-pinyin method for inputting Traditional Chinese characters. I currently use the MS Windows XP IME with Chinese (Taiwan) setting, and employ a mixture of pinyin and the IME Notepad (for words that I do not know the pinyin for).

My interest in finding a non-pinyin method is spurred by the following reasons:

1. I belong to the last generation of Chinese students in Malaysia who studied the language before the advent of pinyin in the curriculum.
2. My first dialects are really Hakka and Cantonese, so it comes more naturally to me to read in those two dialects.
3. I want to discipline myself to be able to 'write' the characters, i.e. remember the radicals and strokes.
4. Okay, this is the real reason - Stubborn purist that I am, I adhere to the old school of thought that Chinese characters speak to the EYE, not the EAR.

I have heard that the Cangjie (倉頡) method is the best, most intuitive method of inputting Traditional Chinese characters. Is this true? If so, could someone please point me to some good online resources for learning this input method?

Or are there better methods? Basically, a method that uses the proper stroke orders would be good. A method employs something close to the Kangxi standard 214 radical classification would be even better (I am aware that the Cangjie method's radical classification is somewhat different from Kangxi).

skylee · 11th February 2006, 02:54 PM

I think 九方 is what you are looking for ... take a look -> http://www.q9tech.com/b5/product/q9/...ke/stroke.php3

I am now using a similar stroke order input on my mobile (but it is even simpler as it is based purely on stroke order) and it is ok.

imron · 11th February 2006, 03:02 PM

Actually the most recent wubi standard supports the input of traditional characters. There are a few input methods that support the new standard, including this one and this one. Wubi doesn't completely follow radicals either, but it's generally pretty good.

tsp_uk · 2nd April 2006, 03:51 AM

I really like using the Cangjie (倉頡) method. Although I'm still quite slow at this in some way it is very logical, I've only been using this for a week. For me the Wubi method makes no sense to me at all, I've tried reading the website that teaches you how to use it but the only thing I understand is that the keyboard is separated into 5 regions, horizontal, vertial, left falling, right falling and then hook. As I grew up speaking Cantonese I have no idea how to use Pinyin. As well there is simplified Cangjie which sometimes I think is better than the tradditional one if I don't know how to type the "inbetweens".

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11th February 2006, 12:33 PM	#1
Mark Yong	Inputting Traditional Chinese characters without pinyin Hi, I have been reading the many interesting forum threads on how to input Chinese characters on PC without using pinyin. It appears that the Five Strokes (五篳) has received the most fervert support for its speed. Having said that, the Five Strokes method is used for inputting Simplified Chinese characters. I would like to find out what is the best non-pinyin method for inputting Traditional Chinese characters. I currently use the MS Windows XP IME with Chinese (Taiwan) setting, and employ a mixture of pinyin and the IME Notepad (for words that I do not know the pinyin for). My interest in finding a non-pinyin method is spurred by the following reasons: 1. I belong to the last generation of Chinese students in Malaysia who studied the language before the advent of pinyin in the curriculum. 2. My first dialects are really Hakka and Cantonese, so it comes more naturally to me to read in those two dialects. 3. I want to discipline myself to be able to 'write' the characters, i.e. remember the radicals and strokes. 4. Okay, this is the real reason - Stubborn purist that I am, I adhere to the old school of thought that Chinese characters speak to the EYE, not the EAR. I have heard that the Cangjie (倉頡) method is the best, most intuitive method of inputting Traditional Chinese characters. Is this true? If so, could someone please point me to some good online resources for learning this input method? Or are there better methods? Basically, a method that uses the proper stroke orders would be good. A method employs something close to the Kangxi standard 214 radical classification would be even better (I am aware that the Cangjie method's radical classification is somewhat different from Kangxi).

11th February 2006, 02:54 PM	#2
skylee	I think 九方 is what you are looking for ... take a look -> http://www.q9tech.com/b5/product/q9/...ke/stroke.php3 I am now using a similar stroke order input on my mobile (but it is even simpler as it is based purely on stroke order) and it is ok.

11th February 2006, 03:02 PM	#3
imron Admin	Actually the most recent wubi standard supports the input of traditional characters. There are a few input methods that support the new standard, including this one and this one. Wubi doesn't completely follow radicals either, but it's generally pretty good.

2nd April 2006, 03:51 AM	#4
tsp_uk	I really like using the Cangjie (倉頡) method. Although I'm still quite slow at this in some way it is very logical, I've only been using this for a week. For me the Wubi method makes no sense to me at all, I've tried reading the website that teaches you how to use it but the only thing I understand is that the keyboard is separated into 5 regions, horizontal, vertial, left falling, right falling and then hook. As I grew up speaking Cantonese I have no idea how to use Pinyin. As well there is simplified Cangjie which sometimes I think is better than the tradditional one if I don't know how to type the "inbetweens".