JPH01144158A - Input system for chinese sentence - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the key input operations of an operator by omitting the need to designate four tones at one time at key input of phonetic symbols. CONSTITUTION:A key input means 1 is used together with a display means 2, a conversion dictionary 3, a conversion means 4, a check subject wordselection means 5, a phonetic/four-tones coincidence replacement candidate word extracting means 6, and a replacement means 7. Then a Chinese sentence is first supplied continuously with key input of only phonetic symbols for conversion of the sentence. When a series of key input operations are through, the homonyms which are not converted into the desired words yet and the desired words to be converted can be extracted just with input of the four tones with no second input of the phonetic symbols. Thus the load of an operator can be reduced.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a Chinese sentence input method that uses four tones to facilitate the selection of homophones. After completing the series of keystrokes, input the four tones of the target word that should be replaced with the homophone that has not been converted into the target word without having to key in the phonetic characters again. This article relates to a Chinese text input method that allows extraction by simply typing.

[Conventional technology]

There are approximately 6,000 types of characters commonly used in Chinese texts (hereinafter referred to as Zhongwen), including cylindrical characters. - On the other hand, the number of syllables (corresponding to one Chinese character) that can be expressed by Pinyin (S sound), one of the Chinese phonetic characters, is over 400, so on average Pinyin 15 in one syllable indicated by
There will be 1 Chinese characters (homonyms). Therefore, in the Chinese text input method (hereinafter referred to as the Chinese text input method) in which key input is performed according to the Chinese pronunciation, an important issue is how to distinguish and select homophones (or homophones) as described above. It becomes.

One way to solve this problem in selecting homophones is to specify the four tones of a syllable at the same time or immediately after key-in a syllable using Pinyin.

According to this method, it is possible to discriminate four tones in addition to pinyin, so it is possible to reduce the number of homophones and reduce the burden of selecting homophones.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in general, operators can expect to improve their input speed by reciting the text to be input to a certain extent and then inputting it continuously using the keys. This will significantly increase the burden on the operator.
This has the disadvantage that the input speed is greatly reduced as a result.

In addition, the advantage of the Chinese input method using Pinyin is that by arranging the vocal initial key group and the final final key group on the left and right sides, it is possible to alternately press keys on the left and right sides, resulting in approximately twice the input speed compared to continuous key pressing on the same side. It's about being able to do something. However, this method has the disadvantage that if four-tone key input is performed, the above-mentioned alternate left and right key presses will be significantly inhibited, and the input speed will also be reduced.

Furthermore, even in the case of a Chinese input method using only Pinyin, by appropriately configuring a conversion dictionary and software, it is possible to convert about 80% of the total into desired Chinese characters and input them. Therefore, with the input method of key-inputting the four tones along with Pinyin, approximately 80% of the information about the four tones is unnecessary.
There is a disadvantage in that the operator is forced to make unnecessary key inputs regarding this part.

The problem to be solved by the present invention, in other words, the purpose of the present invention is that when keying in Pinyin, the four tones are not keyed in, and the target word is not converted into the target word in Chinese sentences converted according to Pinyin. To provide a Chinese sentence input method that improves the above-mentioned drawbacks by reducing the burden of selecting homophones by using four tones when an operator replaces a word with an object word due to the existence of homophones. be.

[Means for solving problems]

The first aspect of the present invention is to key-input Chinese sentences using phonetic characters.
The Chinese input method is as shown in Figure 1.
, a display means 2, a conversion dictionary 3 showing the correspondence between phonetic characters, four tones, and Chinese characters, and a phonetic input from the key input means l while referring to the conversion dictionary 3, ignoring the four tones. A conversion means 4 automatically converts a character string into a Chinese sentence one by one and displays it on the display means 2, and a word at a predetermined position in the Chinese sentence converted by the conversion means 4 in response to a check start instruction from the key input means 1 is displayed. Selecting a check target word by setting it as a check target word, displaying a check target word instruction display on the display means 2, and moving the check target word instruction display forward or backward according to key information from the key input means 1 to change the current check target word. By inputting four tones from means 5 and key input means 1 for the current check target word for which the check target word instruction display has been made, the phonetic characters that are the same as the input four tones and the current check target word are input. A phonetic/four-tone matching replacement candidate word extracting means 6 which obtains a corresponding word from the conversion dictionary 3 and displays it as a replacement candidate word on the display means 1; and a replacement means 7 for replacing the current check target word with a replacement candidate word selected by an instruction from the key input means 1 from among the replacement candidate words displayed on the screen.

Further, the second invention of the present invention is as shown in FIG.
Key input means 11 display means 2° conversion dictionary 3.
The conversion means 4 and the check target word selection means 5 search the conversion dictionary 3 for words that have the same phonetic characters as the check target word for which the check target word indication is displayed and display them on the display means 2 as replacement candidate words. Among the replacement candidate words displayed on the display means 2 by the phonetic matching replacement candidate word extraction means 6-1 and the phonetic matching replacement candidate word extraction means 6-1, the phonetic matching replacement candidate word extraction means 6-1 matches the four tones inputted from the key input means l. a replacement candidate word reduction means 6-2 for reducing the number of replacement candidate words by deleting from the display replacement candidate words other than the replacement candidate words to be replaced; and instructions from the key input means 1 among the compatible candidate words displayed on the display means 2; Replacement means 7° for replacing the current check target word with the replacement candidate word selected in
and has.

[Effect]

When the operator inputs the Chinese sentence he wants to input using the key input means 1 using phonetic characters, the phonetic character string is automatically converted one by one into Chinese sentences by the conversion means 4 that refers to the conversion dictionary 3, and is displayed. Displayed on means 2. The Chinese sentence obtained at this time is a conversion result based on phonetic characters and does not take into account the four tones, so the Chinese sentence displayed on the display means 2 may contain homophones that cannot be converted into the target word. Includes some. Therefore, when the operator finishes typing the phonetic character string of Chinese text for one paragraph, for example, several lines of Chinese text, the operator judges whether the conversion result of the above-mentioned Chinese text is appropriate or not, and selects the incorrectly converted word. In order to start the task of replacing with the object word, first, a check start instruction is inputted from the key input means 1.

When this check start instruction is input, the check target word selection means 5 sets a predetermined word, for example, the first word of the currently converted Chinese sentence, as the current check target word, and to indicate this, the check target word selection means 5 If key information for changing the check target word is inputted from the key input means 1, the check target word is changed accordingly and the check target word is displayed, such as increasing the brightness or positioning the cursor. The operation of moving the target word indication display forward and backward up to 0 or more is common in FIGS. 1 and 2, but the following operations are different, so the operations will be explained separately.

- The operator of the invention shown in FIG. 1 determines whether or not the word for which the check target word instruction display has been made is appropriate, and if it is incorrect, inputs the four tones of the target word from the key input means 1. When these four tones are input, the phonetic/four-tone matching replacement candidate word extracting means 6 extracts the input four tones and the phonetic characters of the current check target word (which are the same as the phonetic characters of the target word). ) is found from the conversion dictionary 3 and displayed on the display means 2 as a replacement candidate word. In addition,
At this time, the operator does not need to input the phonetic characters again. When the operator finds the target word from among the displayed replacement candidate words and inputs a selection instruction from the key input means 1, the replacement means 7 selects the desired word. The check target word is replaced with the replacement candidate word.

・For the current check target word for which the invention check target word instruction display in FIG. is extracted from the conversion dictionary 3 and displayed on the display means 2. Since this display is performed without waiting for an instruction from the operator, the operator operates the key input means 1 to input i! As soon as the check target word indication display is moved to the desired word, the replacement target word whose phonetic characters match will be displayed.

When the operator finds a target word among the displayed replacement candidate words and inputs a selection instruction from the key input means 1, the replacement means 7° replaces the check target word with the selected replacement candidate word.

In addition, since the replacement candidate words displayed by the phonetic matching replacement candidate word extraction means 6-1 include words with four tones different from the four tones of the target word, many replacement candidate words are displayed. It may be difficult to choose. In such a case, when the operator inputs the four tones of the target word using the key input means 1, the replacement candidate word reduction means 6-2 removes from the display replacement candidate words other than the replacement candidate word that matches the input four tones. Since it is erased, the selection can be easily made.

The operator can obtain the desired Chinese sentence by repeating the above operations for the erroneously converted homophones in the Chinese sentence.

〔Example〕

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of an apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The apparatus of this embodiment includes a keyboard 10, a keyboard control section 11. Processing unit 122 working memory 13. Printer control unit 14. Printer 15° screen control unit 169 screen memory 17. Display device such as CRT 18. Conversion dictionary file 19. Conversion dictionary file control unit 20. Conversion dictionary file successive control unit 21, character pattern file 22. Character pattern file control unit 232 Character pattern file succession control unit 24. Exit cafe aisle 25. It is composed of an output file control section 26 and an output file writing continuation control section 27.

The keyboard IO is for inputting various key information such as Chinese pinyin, check start instruction, southwest, etc. that the operator wants to create.The keyboard control unit 11 identifies the key information input from the keyboard 10. control to transmit data to the processing unit 12.

The processing unit 12 converts the input Pinyin string into Chinese by referring to the conversion dictionary file 19.

A process for transmitting data to the screen control unit 16 in order to monitor and display various information on the display device 18; a process for assisting the operator in checking Chinese sentences; a process for assisting the operator in checking Chinese sentences; Performs processing such as transmitting various information.

The screen control unit 16 controls displaying various data such as Chinese characters and virtual key groups on the display device 18. Data to be displayed is transmitted from the processing unit 12, and character patterns necessary for display are transmitted from the processing unit 12. The 0-screen memory 17 obtained from the file 22 is a memory that temporarily holds characters, symbols, etc. to be displayed on the display device 18.

The conversion dictionary file 19 is a file that shows the correspondence between Pinyin and four tones (or tones including light tones) and Chinese characters, and is a 0-character pattern in which the four tones are ignored when inputting Pinyin and a search for Chinese characters is performed. The file 22 is a file that stores character patterns to be displayed or printed, and the output file 25 is a file that stores created Chinese sentences.

The conversion dictionary file succession control unit 21 performs various controls for reading data from the conversion dictionary file 19 according to instructions from the processing unit 12, and the conversion dictionary file control unit 20 controls the conversion dictionary file succession control unit 21. Access to the conversion dictionary file 19 is controlled according to instructions from the conversion dictionary file 19. Further, the character pattern file succession control unit 24 performs various controls for reading data from the character pattern file 22 according to instructions from the printer control unit 14 or the screen control unit 16. is for controlling access to the character pattern file 22 in accordance with instructions from the character pattern file succession control section 24. Further, the output file writing continuation control section 27 controls the output file 2 according to instructions from the processing section 12.
The output file control section 26 performs various controls for writing or reading data into the output file 2 according to instructions from the output file writing/reading control section 27.
5 for access control.

The printer control unit 14 reads the contents of the character pattern file 22 via the character pattern file succession control unit 24 and performs various controls for printing the character pattern corresponding to the character code transmitted from the processing unit 12 on the printer 15. Do this.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart showing an example of the Chinese sentence creation process performed by the processing unit 12. When inputting Chinese text, the operator sets the device shown in Figure 3 to document creation mode and presses keyboard 1.
The Chinese pinyin that is to be created from scratch is continuously input using the keys.The input pinyin is added to the processing unit 12 via the keyboard control unit 11, and the processing unit 12 determines that the input information is pinyin. Then (Sl), conversion 2 display and storage processing is performed (32). In this processing S2, the input pinyin is displayed on the monitor M18, and the pinyin string is automatically converted into Chinese characters with reference to the conversion dictionary file 19. Conversion, conversion results are displayed on a monitor on display device 18, and stored in working memory 13, etc. are performed. At this time, in this embodiment, the pinyin is stored in the working memory 13 in correspondence with the Chinese characters that are the conversion results.

When the operator finishes inputting a Chinese sentence consisting of several lines, the operator interrupts the key input of a new Pinyin and issues a check start instruction from the keyboard 10 in order to check the converted Chinese sentence corresponding to the currently input Pinyin. Enter. When this check start instruction is determined in process S3 of the processing unit 12, the processing unit 12 executes a check process S4, which will be explained in detail later. In this checking process S4, the operator corrects words that have not been converted into objects into objects, and if there is another Chinese sentence to be input, the operator returns to the Pinyin input operation after completing the check. Furthermore, when the end key is input from the keyboard 10 since input of the Chinese sentence has been completed, the processing section 12, which has determined this in step S5, ends the Chinese sentence creation process.

Next, an example of the check process S4 will be described.
Before that, the key input method adopted in this embodiment will be explained. Although there are generally many types of key information to be input, it is disadvantageous in terms of space and operation to associate all key information with individual physical keys. Therefore, it is preferable to implement keys other than frequently used keys as so-called virtual keys, and this embodiment also employs such a virtual key system. In addition, the M-type (Morita-type) input method is adopted so that pinyin can be entered at high speed by alternately pressing left and right keys, and the left-hand key group is arranged in 3 rows and 5 rows on each of the left and right sides of the keyboard 10.

The right-hand key group is associated with the vocal initial key group and the rhyming final key group. Then, each of the left hand key group and right hand key group is virtualized,
For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper row of the left-hand key group 51 provides processing phase selection keys for forward table, backward table, and forward secondary table;
The middle row provides a key for specifying the four-tone or light tone, or tone, for one-syllable words, and the bottom row provides keys for specifying the final syllable for words of two or more syllables (including bisyllabic, trisyllabic, and tetrasyllabic words). It provides a key to specify the tone. Here, a light tone is one in which four tones have disappeared in a word or sentence, and can be specified as one of the tones that include four tones. In addition, the right-hand key group 52
is virtualized as a key for selecting a candidate word corresponding to the designation of the virtualized left-hand key group 51 described above.

Now, FIG. 6 shows an example of the check process S4 in the embodiment employing the key input method as described above.The processing unit 12 performs the process shown in FIG. First, the current check target word (abbreviated as C in the drawing) is set as the first word of the currently converted Chinese sentence, and in order to notify the operator of this, the first word of the Chinese sentence of the converted word is displayed on the display device 18. The cursor is positioned at (311), and whether the current check target word is a one-syllable word or a multi-syllable word is determined by the conversion result. Then, in processes 312 to 315, the next key information is determined.

Suppose that the first word is a one-syllable word and has not been converted to the target word. For example, when inputting Pinyin, [z
Let's consider a case where uoJ is input and the converted word is ``Zu6 (zu6) J, so it is replaced with the object word ``Zuo (zuo) J.' At this time, the operator inputs the word ``Zu6'' of the current check target word. " is a one-syllable word, so use the middle row of the left-hand keys to input the fourth tone, which is the tone of "za." The processing unit 12 that has determined in process S13 that the tone has been input,
Since the middle key group is used and the current check target word is a one-syllable word, processing 322 is performed after processing 317 and 318.
, the pinyin "zuoJ" stored in the working memory 13 corresponding to the current check target word "last" is satisfied, and the final syllable (in this case, it is a one-syllable word, so the syllable itself) is input. Candidate words satisfying the tone "fourth tone" are searched from the conversion dictionary file 19 and displayed on the virtualized right-hand key group 52 of the display device 18. At this time, if there are a large number of candidate words displayed on the display device 18, the number of keys in the right-hand key group is 15 at most, so the candidate words are displayed across the numerical table. At this time, the operator presses the left hand key group 5.
Candidate words from different tables can be called up on the display r1118 by key-inputting the 9th table in the upper row of 1.
Such processing is performed in processing S16. The operator sees the above display and selects a candidate word by pressing one of the right-hand keys 52 that corresponds to the target word "za". In the processing unit 12, the conversion result portion corresponding to the current check target word with the selected candidate word "za" is determined in step S14.
"Yesterday" is replaced (323).

Then, move the current check target word forward by one (S24)
. This causes the cursor on the display device 18 to point to the next word.

When the current check target word indicated by the cursor is the correct word, the operator can advance the check target words one after another by keying in the "forward" key in the upper row of the left hand key group 51. , and if you want to use the previous word as the target word, click "backward" in the upper row of the left-hand key group 51.
These current check target words can also be changed in step 816 by key inputting.

Also, the current check target word is a polysyllabic word, such as “actual ff(s
hl jian)J, and this can be expressed as,
jiin) If the operator wants to correct the tone to J, the operator inputs the tone using the lower keys of the left hand key group 51. In the above example, the tone of the final syllable of "additional amount" is the first tone, so it is entered using the key. The processing unit 12 determines in process 313 that the key input of tone has been performed, and since the tone has been input with the lower key of the left hand key group and the current check target word is a polysyllabic word, the process SIT, 320 The process proceeds to step S22, where the Pinyin rshi j stored in the working memory 13 corresponding to the current check target word "practical" is
Dictionary file 19 for converting candidate words that satisfy ianJ and the tone of the final syllable that satisfies the input tone "first voice"
and displays it on the display device 18. The operator looks at this display and selects a candidate word by pressing one of the keys in the right-hand key group 52 that corresponds to the desired word "zaima". Then, the conversion result part "Practice" corresponding to the current check target word is replaced by 5& (S23).

In addition, in this embodiment, when the current check target word is a one-syllable word, when a tone is input using the lower multi-syllable key of the left hand key group 51, the current check target word is combined in process 319. Conversely, when the current check target word is a polysyllabic word and a tone is input using the middle syllable key of the left hand key group 51, the current check target word is divided in process S21. After that, processing 322 is executed for the new current check target word. Here, the combination of the current check target word performed in process 319 means that the current check target word is a word that combines the current check target word, which is a one-syllable word, and the one-syllable word immediately after it. Processing S22
Then, candidate words are found based on the pinyin of the combined disyllabic words and the input tone. Furthermore, the division of the current check target word performed in process S21 is to divide the current check target word, which is a multisyllabic word, into syllable units, and use the word of the first syllable as the current check target word. 3
At step 22, a candidate word is determined based on the pinyin of the first syllable and the input tone.

In this way, in this embodiment, when specifying the tone, a key for specifying the tone of a one-syllable word and a key for specifying the tone of a multi-syllable word are provided separately, and for a multi-syllable word, the tone of the final syllable is specified,
Although we have made it possible to specify the division or combination of words at the same time as the tone, we have provided only a key for inputting the - set of tone, and that key is always used to input the tone regardless of whether it is a monosyllabic word or a multi-syllable word. Of course, it is also possible to input .

Now, by repeating the above operations, the operator finishes checking the converted Chinese sentences and making necessary corrections, and then inputs an instruction to end the check from the keyboard 10, and inputs Pinyin for the remaining Chinese sentences or ends the process. Processing part 1
When the check completion input is determined in step 515, the checked conversion result stored in the working memory 13 is stored in the output file 25, and the process returns to step S5 in FIG.

In the above embodiment, when checking a Chinese sentence, candidate words are searched and displayed on the display device F1B only after the tone is input.Next, candidate words are displayed without waiting for an operation from the operator. An embodiment configured as follows will be described.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are flowcharts of an example of the check process S4 in such an example. The difference between the processing in FIG. 7 and the processing in FIG. 6 is that processing 311°, 316
' , 319°, S21'.

S22' and S24''. That is, in these processes for changing the current check target word, an operation for generating a current check target word change interrupt is added, and the process shown in FIG. 8 is started. In the figure, each time a current check target word change interrupt occurs, the currently executing candidate word extraction 5 display process is terminated (531), and a candidate word with the same Pinyin as the new current check target word after the change is Conversion dictionary file 19
, and displays it on the display device 18.

Therefore, when a check start instruction is input, when moving forward,
When the back key is pressed or a candidate word is replaced, the process of extracting and displaying a candidate word that has the same Pinyin as the next specified current check target word is performed immediately, increasing processing efficiency. becomes possible. In addition, since the candidate words are displayed immediately in this way, the operator can immediately operate the right-hand key group 52 to select a candidate word without inputting the four tones, and this makes the operation easier when the number of homophones is small. Speed can be increased.

Further, in process 322'' of FIG. 7, candidate words whose final syllable does not satisfy the input tone of the candidate words displayed on the display device 18 are deleted from the display.
The number of homophones can be reduced, and candidate words can be easily selected when there are many homophones. Note that by extracting the candidate word and its tone information in the process S32 of FIG. 8, the candidate word to be deleted can be extracted in the process 322° of FIG. 7 without accessing the conversion dictionary file 19. You can ask for it.

As described above, according to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, it is possible to provide the operator with the optimal selection method in each case, whether the number of homophones is small or large.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described in detail above, according to the Chinese input method of the present invention, it is not necessary to specify four tones at the same time when inputting phonetic characters using keys, thereby facilitating the operator's key input operation. Therefore, it is possible to expect high-speed input by utilizing the operator's ability to memorize sentences.

Furthermore, since it is possible to maintain alternate left and right keystrokes when inputting phonetic characters, it is possible to adopt an input method that takes advantage of the high speed of the M-type input method.

Furthermore, since it is only necessary to specify four tones for about 20% of the syllables, the burden on the operator can be reduced compared to the case where four tones are specified for the entire text.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are explanatory diagrams of the principles of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a device that detours the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the Chinese sentence creation process of the processing unit 1. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a virtual key, FIG. 6 is a flowchart of one embodiment of the check process S4, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are flowcharts of another embodiment of the check process S4. In the figure, 1... Key input means 2... Display means 3... Conversion dictionary 4... Conversion means 5... Check target word selection means 6... Phonetic/concave matching replacement candidate word Extraction means 6-1...
・Phonetic matching replacement candidate word extraction means 6-2...Replacement candidate word reduction means 7.7゛...N conversion means

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In a Chinese text input method in which Chinese text is entered using phonetic characters, the following components are provided: a key input means, a display means, a conversion dictionary that shows the correspondence between phonetic characters and four tones, and Chinese characters; a conversion means for sequentially automatically converting a phonetic character string input from the key input means into a Chinese sentence while ignoring the four tones in a conversion dictionary, and displaying the converted text on the display means; and a check from the key input means. In response to a start instruction, a word at a predetermined position in the Chinese sentence converted by the conversion means is set as the current check target word, and a check target word instruction is displayed on the display means, and key information is input from the key input means. advance the check target word instruction display according to the
a check target word selection means for changing the current check target word by moving backward; phonetic/four-tone matching replacement candidate word extracting means for obtaining a word corresponding to the same phonetic character as the four-tone and the current check target word from the conversion dictionary and displaying the word on the display means as a replacement candidate word; replacement means for replacing the current check target word with a replacement candidate word selected by an instruction from the key input means from among the replacement candidate words displayed on the display means by the phonetic/four-tone matching replacement candidate word extraction means; A Chinese text input method characterized by the following features. (2) In the Chinese sentence input method according to claim 1, the key input means provides a group of keys for specifying four tones of a monosyllabic word and a group of keys for specifying four tones of a polysyllabic word. The phonetic/four-tone matching replacement candidate word extracting means determines whether the current check target word is a monosyllabic word or a multi-syllable word, and whether the key group in which four tones have been specified is selected from the key input means. Based on whether the key group corresponds to a syllabic word or a polysyllabic word, the current check target word is divided or the current check target word is combined with adjacent words to create a new current check target word. the set new current check target word, and a word corresponding to the same phonetic characters and the input four tones as the set new current check target word is obtained from the conversion dictionary and displayed as a replacement candidate word on the display means. Chinese text input method. (3) In a Chinese text input method in which Chinese text is key-input using phonetic characters, a key input means, a display means, a conversion dictionary showing the correspondence between phonetic characters and four tones and Chinese characters; a conversion means for sequentially automatically converting a phonetic character string input from the key input means into a Chinese sentence while ignoring the four tones in a conversion dictionary, and displaying the converted text on the display means; and a check from the key input means. In response to a start instruction,
The word at a predetermined position in the Chinese sentence converted by the conversion means is set as the current check target word, and the check target word instruction is displayed on the display means, and the check target word is designated according to the key information from the key input means. a check target word selection means for changing the current check target word by moving the display forward or backward; and searching from the conversion dictionary for words having the same phonetic characters as the check target word for which the check target word instruction display is made. a phonetic matching replacement candidate word display means for displaying a replacement candidate word on the display means as a replacement candidate word; a replacement candidate word reducing means for reducing the number of replacement candidate words by deleting from the display means replacement candidate words other than the replacement candidate words that match the four tones, and the key input of the replacement candidate words displayed on the display means A Chinese text input method, comprising a replacement means for replacing the current check target word with a replacement candidate word selected according to an instruction from the means. (4) In the Chinese sentence input method according to claim 3, the key input means provides a group of keys for specifying four tones of a monosyllabic word and a group of keys for specifying four tones of a polysyllabic word. The phonetic matching replacement candidate word extracting means determines whether the current check target word is a one-syllable word or a multi-syllable word, and whether the key group for which four tones are specified by the key input means corresponds to a one-syllable word. Based on whether the key group is a key group corresponding to a polysyllabic word or a key group corresponding to a polysyllabic word, a new current check target word is set by dividing the current check target word or combining the current check target word with adjacent words, A Chinese sentence input method characterized in that a word corresponding to the same phonetic character as the set new current check target word is obtained from the conversion dictionary and displayed as a replacement candidate word on the display means.