妈 mā mother  ·  麻 má hemp/numb  ·  马 mǎ horse  ·  骂 mà to scold

Pinyin spells Mandarin sounds with the Latin alphabet — but several letters do not sound like they do in English. Tap 🔊 on each one to hear it in a real word.

The keyboard doesn't type characters directly — you type pinyin and it offers you characters to pick from. That row of suggestions above the keys is the whole trick: type nihao, tap 你好. It means you can only type what you can pronounce — which is exactly why it makes you better.

iPhone — Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Chinese, Simplified → Pinyin. Switch with the 🌐 globe key; hold it to pick from a list.

Mac — System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit → + → Chinese, Simplified → Pinyin – Simplified. Switch with Control + Space. Press Space to accept the first suggestion, or tap a number key to pick another.

The one trap: loads of characters share a sound. Type shi and you'll be offered 是 十 事 时 试 市 室 诗… — always read the suggestion before you tap it. Tapping the first one every time is how beginners end up sending nonsense.

Try today: type 你好, then 谢谢, then 周一快乐 to a student. Three phrases you already know by heart — now type them instead of copying them.

Pattern: 周 zhōu + the number of the day + 快乐 kuàilè (happy). Sunday breaks the pattern — it uses 日 rì (day) instead of a number. The longer 星期一快乐 xīngqīyī kuàilè means exactly the same thing — 周 is just the shorter, more casual everyday form.