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How to configure Linux Mint to type chinese characters

nihaoFor Linux Mint 14 (Nadia)

  • Menu / Control Center / Language Support
  • Install / Remove Languages...
  • check Chinese (simplified and / or traditional) and click on Apply Changes. Required data download and installation is started.
  • using package manager, install ibus package (this will install several dependancies: ibus, ibus-gtk, etc.)
  • restart Language Support, and select ibus for keyboard input method system.
  • in Control Center, a new icon named Keyboard Input Methods appeared. Click on it. You will be asked whether you want IBus Daemon to be started. Accept.
  • in IBus Preferences window, General tab, configure keyboard shortcuts (my own preference is Control+Alt_L for Enable or disable and Shift+Meta_L for Next input method).
  • in Input Method tab, add Chinese py (m17n) method.
  • in Control Center, right-clicking on Keyboard Input Methods, request to add it to startup programs.
  • restart your session.

Enable the input method (Control+Alt_L for me). You should now be able to type chinese characters.

To be able to type pinyin with accents, add the input method Chinese hanyu pinyin (m17n). To write a tone, simply type its number.

You can now type characters like these ones: 你好 nǐhǎo.

For Linux Mint 16 (Petra)

  • Menu / Control Center / Language Support
  • Install / Remove Languages...
  • check Chinese (simplified and / or traditional) and click on Apply Changes. Required data download and installation is started.
  • using package manager, install ibus, ibus-m17n and ibus-pinyin package (this will install several dependancies)
  • restart Language Support, and select ibus  for keyboard input method system.
  • in Control Center, a new icon named Keyboard Input Methods appeared. Click on it. You will be asked whether you want IBus Daemon to be started. Accept.
  • in IBus Preferences window, General tab, I was not able to configure my usual keyboard shortcuts Frown.
  • in Input Method tab, add Chinese - pinyin and Chinese - hanyu pinyin (m17n) methods. Add input method for your language as well.
  • restart your session.

For Linux Mint 17 (Qiana)

In above method, replace ibus-pinyin by ibus-libpinyin.

For Linux Mint 17.1 (Rebecca)

  • Menu / Control Center / Languages
  • click on Install / Remove Languages... (will ask for your password)
  • click on Add...
  • select Chinese, China UTF-8 and click on Install
  • going back to Language Settings window, click on Add support for IBus (will ask your password)
  • once done, click on Install optional components (will ask your password)
  • after components installation, select IBus for the input method
  • going back to Control Center, click on Keyboard Input Methods. A dialog asks you whether you want to start IBus Daemon. Accept.
  • IBus Preferences window opens. Add an input method for any language you want to be able to use, in addition to Chinese. For me : French (I use an AZERTY keyboard). For Chinese, add pinyin and hanyu pinyin (m17n).
  • for pinyin method, uncheck Incomplete pinyin in Pinyin mode tab.
  • in IBus Preferences / Advanced, check Use system keyboard layout, otherwise my AZERTY keyboard is recognized as a QWERTY keyboard by the hanyu pinyin method.
  • close your session and reopen it.

For Linux Mint 17.2 (Rafaela)

Similar to above.