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Add pinyin above Chinese characters
Paste Chinese text and Foxalo places tone-marked pinyin above each character, colours the four tones and flags characters with more than one reading so you can pick the right one. Copy the result as ruby text into Word or Google Docs.
How to use it in 3 steps
- Paste or type the Chinese text.
- Turn on tone colours, turn on spoken tone changes if you need them, and tap a dotted character to choose its reading.
- Copy the result (characters with pinyin) into your document.
The four tones and the neutral tone
| Tone | Example | How it sounds |
|---|---|---|
| 1st tone (ˉ) | 妈 mā (mother) | High and level |
| 2nd tone (ˊ) | 麻 má (hemp) | Rises from mid to high |
| 3rd tone (ˇ) | 马 mǎ (horse) | Dips low, then rises slightly |
| 4th tone (ˋ) | 骂 mà (to scold) | Falls sharply from high to low |
| Neutral tone | 吗 ma (question particle) | Short and light, no mark |
Frequently asked questions
Is the pinyin tool free?
Yes, it runs in your browser with no sign-in.
Does it handle the tone changes of 一 and 不?
Yes. 一 and 不 change tone with the next character: 一个 is yí gè and 不是 is bú shì.
Why does 你好 still show nǐ hǎo?
Written pinyin keeps the original tones. Two third tones in a row are spoken as second + third (ní hǎo); turn on “Spoken sandhi” to show that.
What about characters like 行 or 得?
Characters with several readings can be tapped to choose one. Those likely to be misread are underlined with dots so you can check them.
Does pinyin stay above the characters in Word?
Yes. The HTML ruby copy keeps pinyin above each character in Word or Google Docs.