Best free hanzi to pinyin converter

[Baudelaire]

I've run it again my own chinese to pinyin converter here http://tatoeba.org/eng/tools/pinyin_converter

And it gives good results.

I've made it some weeks ago to replace adso for tatoeba usage, as I wanted a "adso-like" software but that I can expand to other chinese languages (Cantonese and Shanghainese for example) without struggling during nights. For the moment I'm busy with an other open-source project that I will release soon (I will make an announcement on this forum when it will be ready), but I plan to also make freely downloable the hanzi->pinyin converter that is used on tatoeba now in place of adso.

[WangYuHong]

I'd just like to add another free website converter for your consideration:

http://annotator.jiang-long.com

When I tested it against your sentences, it got confused on 滚石乐

That must just be a confusing word, as none of the converters got it right.

I still find it to be generally correct though for common usage.

I use a combination between it and Google when coming up against characters/phrases I don't recognize. Sometimes they're both wrong (in that, I can't understand their output... I guess if they conspired to teach me incorrect definitions to new phrases I'd be none the wiser), but I can usually pit one against the other to ensure that the meaning comes across.

[ssmith]

Does anyone know of a downloadable standalone program that will convert a very large number of words from Chinese characters to Pinyin?

Thanks

[Jan Finster]

This is an old thread. But, I wonder if there has been any progress to Hanzi to Pinyin in recent years?

 

I catch google translator again and again getting the tones (in pinyin) in a sentence wrong .

What is the gold standard device to assess which tones are correct in a sentence or context? (please do not say native speakers or I will cry ?)

 

[DavyJonesLocker]

I always think this is a red herring topic. Why do peope want this at all?

I can understand needing to check  a word every now and then (and any of the good dictionarys will do that), but a whole sentence?  

 

If you need that you really have a problem with tones. 

 

 

[Jan Finster]

11 minutes ago, DavyJonesLocker said:

I can understand needing to check  a word every now and then (and any of the good dictionarys will do that), but a whole sentence?

 

This is not to check every tone of every word in a sentence. But sometimes, some word/characters seem to have several tone options and I want to check for those words.

Also, I sometimes try to form sentences with google translator and then I get confused if the tones are inaccurate. Today I came up with this sentence: 除夕晚会通常在8点开始。I was not familiar with the word 除夕 and if I trusted google translator, I would have studied Chúxì wǎnhuì tōngcháng zài 8 diǎn kāishǐ. Luckily I double checked other sources and found that it should be Chúxī. I find it annoying as I almost studied the wrong tones...

[DavyJonesLocker]

@Jan Finster

 

Why not use pleco ?  The Dictionary, / ocr / Screen reader etc 

 

I find baidu fanyi much better than Google translate . I see what you mean . I checked 除夕 on Google and it surprisingly comes up with the wrong tones . Baidu is correct. There is also an app you can download aswell.  

 

[imron]

19 hours ago, Jan Finster said:

But, I wonder if there has been any progress to Hanzi to Pinyin in recent years?

Not really.  You should expect one (or more) errors every paragraph or two.

 

16 hours ago, Jan Finster said:

But sometimes, some word/characters seem to have several tone options and I want to check for those words.

Ironically, it's the tricky words with potential multiple pronunciations that automatic pinyin converters often get wrong.

[Jan Finster]

Here is another example of myself being frustrated about not finding a consensus regarding the correct tones.

我们为何不坐下来聊聊呢？

Google translator: zuò xiàlái

Pleco: zuò xiàlai

Zhongwen Chinese Popup Dictionary only sees them as pairs. So, either: "zuòxia" or "xiàlai". Does that make it zuòxialai (zuo4xia5lai5)?

 

 

[shuipingzi]

If we expect the convertors to be precise with PinYin for each and every Chinese character even when the characters got several different versions, we are basically expecting the converters to understand the context. It could be a bit of challenging. 

 

For example: 供给、给予、给我...

[Dlezcano]

On 11/27/2019 at 2:31 PM, Jan Finster said:

Here is another example of myself being frustrated about not finding a consensus regarding the correct tones.

我们为何不坐下来聊聊呢？

Google translator: zuò xiàlái

Pleco: zuò xiàlai

Zhongwen Chinese Popup Dictionary only sees them as pairs. So, either: "zuòxia" or "xiàlai". Does that make it zuòxialai (zuo4xia5lai5)?

 

This is a very interesting question I have researched a little reading some books and talking to natives. According to 《新华拼写词典》, the correct way of transliteration should be "zuò xiàlái", but it is also true that some native speakers from Northern China hesitate when being asked about the tones of 下来 since, as you said, it sounds rather like two light tones. 

[Jan Finster]

I found another common point of disagreement: Nǎlǐ vs Nǎli

http://laowaichinese.net/why-is-nǎlǐ-哪里-written-wrong.htm

 

Even Chinesepod  writes nǎli, but the audio sounds correct (Nǎlǐ)

 

 

[Dlezcano]

1 hour ago, Jan Finster said:

I found another common point of disagreement: Nǎlǐ vs Nǎli

http://laowaichinese.net/why-is-nǎlǐ-哪里-written-wrong.htm

 

Even Chinesepod  writes nǎli, but the audio sounds correct (Nǎlǐ)

 

This case is more obvious, it should be written nǎlǐ, even though maybe some speaker would pronounce it like nǎli (I don't know any yet).

Going back to the main topic of this thread, I have tried some of the hanzi-pinyin converters and I like Google translate most. Even thought it makes mistakes from time to time, it has improved greatly and it is very convenient to use.

[Jan Finster]

 

Do you guys know pronounce 华为?

 

 

Are really both versions correct?

[Dawei3]

On 10/26/2019 at 12:02 PM, DavyJonesLocker said:

I always think this is a red herring topic. Why do peope want this at all?

I'm late to this discussion, but I think the most useful is Word itself.  The reason is in part an answer to DavyJones point,  i.e.,

 

I want it because my reading ability is limited.  I mostly learn by reading emails & wechats from friends.  Word puts the pinyin right above the character, so while looking at the pinyin, I see the character associated with it.  Also, because everything remains in Chinese (as opposed to with google or Pleco that  translate it as well), I can't accidentally see the English on the screen and I get more of a chance to translate it myself. 

 

The only downside to Word is that you need to put spaces between the words so it reads OK (but even this is good practice since you're assessing whether 2 characters are 1 or 2 words).

 

A simple example from Word to illustrate:      

I think this is excellent!  

 

It's easier to do this with Word on a PC, rather than a Mac, but a Mac will still do it.  

 

In contrast, if I use google, the pinyin is completely separated from the characters.  Pleco is slightly better, but the characters are just near and don't align exactly with the pinyin.  Also, if there is an English translation on the page, my eyes instantly look at it, so I prefer Word, which provides a conversion without translation.  

 

 

[Dlezcano]

14 hours ago, Jan Finster said:

Do you guys know pronounce 华为?

 

I have never heard Hua2wei4, so I'm pretty sure it's Hua2wei2.