Pinyin Type

About

Pinyin Type is an extension that helps you type pinyin. You type a syllable followed by a tone number (1–4, or 5 for the neutral tone), and you get pinyin with tone marks (ma1 → mā, ni3hao3 → nǐhǎo, lve4 → lüè).

All processing happens locally in your browser — your text never leaves your device.

Key features

（一）Automatic tone marks
When you type a syllable + tone number, the correct tone mark is placed on the right vowel according to pinyin rules, including ü.
Examples: shuang4 → shuàng, lve4 → lüè.
If you used the wrong tone, just press a different number — the tone will be replaced.

（二）Smart Backspace
Pressing Backspace once removes only the tone from the last syllable without deleting the word itself:
lǎoshī → lǎoshi, mǎ → ma.
This is faster than retyping and more convenient than normal deletion.

（三）Works on most sites
The extension processes your typing in text fields, chats, comments, search boxes, and many rich-text editors.
If a site intercepts keystrokes and tones aren’t applied automatically (for example, in some online document editors), you can open the built-in input window (from the popup or with a hotkey), type the pinyin there, and paste the result into your document.
On these sites Smart Backspace may not be available — but tone-marked pinyin from the input window still works.

（四）Global On / Off
With one click you can pause the extension everywhere without uninstalling it.
When Pinyin Type is off, the lantern icon turns gray.

Who this is for:

* students and teachers of Chinese;
* translators, editors, writers;
* anyone who types pinyin in messages, documents, notes, or comments.

Benefits

* Speed and convenience: type the usual way (syllable + number) and tone marks appear automatically. No need to copy pinyin from dictionaries.
* Flexible settings and hotkeys.
* Dark theme.
* Correct tone placement on the right vowel according to standard pinyin rules (including ü).
* Two ways to fix a tone: Smart Backspace, or pressing the number of the tone you want.
* Works where you actually type: chats, forms, comments, and online documents (using the built-in input window and paste).
* Privacy by default: not a single character of your text leaves your browser.

Quick start

* Install the extension and turn it on.
* Type syllable + tone number: ni3hao3 → nǐhǎo.
* Wrong tone — press another number to replace it, OR press Backspace once to remove just the tone (on sites that support Smart Backspace).
* If the extension gets in the way — turn it off with the global switch or with the hotkey.