Quickest way to convert a list of names from Chinese Characters to Pinyin in Excel

[aprose1977]

Hello. 

 

I have a large  (about 4000) list of names in Chinese Characters which I need to convert to pinyin so they can be reconciled with another database.  is there an easy way to do this?  

 

I know that there are lots of character to pinyin converters out there but I am really looking for one that will just convert into simple pinyn (without tone markings or numbers), and ideally be able to preserve the format of a list so I can re-export it back into Excel.

 

Failing that if anyone has any advice how to do this without ruining my eyesight it would be much appreciated!  

 

Adam 

[imron]

is there an easy way to do this?

Try Google Translate.

 

Keep in mind however that characters used in names (and especially surnames) often have a pronunciation different from the most common pronunciation.

[aprose1977]

Many Thanks.  That works pretty well. For some reason I thought Google Translate wouldn't be able to cope with a list but obviously it can.  

 

I understand the issue about Chinese names and alternative pronunciations but I just need a starting point.

[imron]

It turns out Google Translate actually does quite alright with name lists.  I was originally going to reply to your first post that this sort of thing was difficult and then use Google Translate as a demonstration of the sorts of errors you'll get, but then it got the examples I was going to use correct so I recommended it instead