Getting Your Computer Mandarin Ready

Thank you for taking the initiative of getting your computer Mandarin ready for your child. The first thing you need to do is install the language pack on your computer. Here are a few links to help you along – pick according to your operating system. Take note of how you toggle the Chinese keyboard on/off as it can be accidentally turned on, which can cause some confusion when using the computer. If you do not install the language pack, you will not be able to view Chinese characters on your computer. If your operating system is not listed or you are having difficulty enabling Mandarin (Simplified, PRC) on your computer, please google your operating system with the words “installing Mandarin” to search for a different tutorial.

For Windows XP

For Windows 7 

For Mac 

Once you have the language pack installed, a Chinese translating plug-in for your browser can be handy for translating hard to read webpages. These plug-ins have an on/off feature so they will not interfere with your normal web browsing. Here are a few that are available and the browser it is supported on.

Zhongwen – Chrome