Recognize a shape. Find a root. Type a character.

How to type Chinese with Cangjie.

Type your first Chinese characters using Cangjie. Follow a working code example, choose a candidate, and learn the shortcuts in the i2Bopomo keyboard.

Your first character

Type ab.
Choose 明.

日 is A and 月 is B. Enter those letters in the small Cangjie input box, then choose the character in the candidate strip.

The letter code describes the shape. You do not need to enter a pronunciation or a tone number.

Open the Cangjie keyboard →

明日 + 月 · ABbright · choose the character after typing

01
Focus the Cangjie input box
Open the keyboard and click the small code box above the keys. Use an English letter layout on your device, or click the on-screen root keys.
02
Enter ab
Press A for 日, then B for 月. Suggestions appear above the keyboard. Check the character itself; a code can return more than one result.
AB明
03
Select 明 and continue
Click 明 to put it in the large editor. The code box clears for the next character. Try vnd for 好, then use Copy when your text is ready.

Useful controls on this keyboard

Space selects the first candidate when the code is active and the caret is at its end.
1–5 select the corresponding visible candidate under the same conditions. Cangjie uses ordinary number keys for this.
Page Up and Page Down move through candidate pages. You can also use the candidate arrows.
Backspace edits the active code; the clear control empties it.
Enter inserts a new line in the editor. Select a candidate first when you want to commit a character.

The Undo and Redo controls below the editor help you revise your text. Candidate numbers refer to the current page, not a fixed rank that you need to memorize.

If the character is missing

Check the code order. AB and BA search different shapes.
Try the complete code. A Quick alias can have many more results to inspect.
Check the character form. Traditional, Simplified and regional glyph forms may have different codes.
Compare the edition. Some Cangjie 3 and Cangjie 5 codes differ. This keyboard combines sources and compatibility entries.

Type one character at a time for these lessons. Joining several full character codes is not a phrase-coding rule on this keyboard.

A quick keyboard check

1You typed ab and can see 明. What reliably selects that exact character?

Click 明 in the candidate strip. Press Enter. Add its pronunciation.

2You know the full code VND for 好. Which input uses that full code?

hao3 vnd vdn

Reference checks: Hong Kong Education Bureau · input methods, Chu Bong-Foo's Cangjie handbook and Unicode · Cangjie codes. Lessons and diagrams are original i2Bopomo material; example codes are checked against this site's dictionary.

Keep going

Learn Cangjie

Cangjie practiceRecall full Cangjie codes for 24 beginner characters. Start with single roots, use key hints, check your answers, and review the shapes you have learned. Cangjie root chartExplore the 24 basic Cangjie roots and their letter keys, with a separate guide to X. Search examples and print a compact study chart. Cangjie & QuickCompare full Cangjie codes with Quick first-and-last-key input. See worked examples and understand the tradeoff between fewer keys and more candidate choices.

Type ab. Choose 明.

Focus the Cangjie input box

Enter ab

Select 明 and continue

Useful controls on this keyboard

If the character is missing

A quick keyboard check

Keep going

Type ab.
Choose 明.