Built on a Legendary Foundation
Langou's Chinese input engine is built on RIME (Zhongzhou) — the most respected open-source input engine in the Chinese-speaking world. RIME has been developed over a decade by a passionate community of linguists and developers. Langou extends RIME with modern AI capabilities while preserving everything that makes it beloved: precision, flexibility, and linguistic intelligence.
Pinyin Input Modes
Multiple pinyin input methods to suit your typing style:
- Full Pinyin (全拼): Type complete pinyin for precise character selection. The most accurate mode for users comfortable with standard pinyin.
- Double Pinyin (双拼): Map initials and finals to single keys. Dramatically reduces keystrokes — learn once, type faster forever. Supports all major double pinyin schemes.
- Abbreviated Pinyin (简拼): Type only the first letter of each syllable. "w" for "我", "n" for "你". Ideal for common phrases and fast-paced chatting.
- Mixed Mode: Combine full and abbreviated pinyin in the same phrase. Langou intelligently parses the input.
Million-Word Dictionary
Langou ships with an extensive dictionary covering:
- Modern Chinese: Over 100,000 contemporary Chinese words and phrases
- Technical terms: AI, programming, engineering, medical, legal — domain-specific vocabulary
- Internet slang: 666, yyds, xswl — all the popular internet expressions
- Proper nouns: Celebrity names, brand names, place names
- Classical Chinese: Idioms (成语), classical references, poetry snippets
- User dictionary: Words you add or correct get priority in future predictions
Handwriting Input
When typing isn't convenient — or when you encounter a character you can't type — Langou's handwriting mode lets you draw characters directly on the keyboard area:
- Real-time recognition: Characters appear as you draw, with no lag
- CJK support: Recognizes simplified and traditional Chinese characters
- Multi-character: Draw multiple characters in sequence for phrase input
- Stroke mixing: Works even with imperfect stroke order
Voice Input
Powered by on-device speech recognition, Langou's voice input converts your speech to text with impressive accuracy:
- Mandarin: Standard Mandarin with support for regional accents
- Cantonese (coming soon): Full Cantonese voice recognition planned for Q1 2027
- Mixed-language: Seamlessly handles Chinese-English code-switching (中英混输)
- Punctuation: Auto-adds punctuation based on speech rhythm
- Offline mode: Basic recognition works without internet
RIME Integration & Customization
For power users, Langou exposes RIME's full customization interface:
- Schema editing: Create custom input schemas with custom key mappings
- Dictionary management: Import/export .dict.yaml files, merge with community dictionaries
- Spelling algorithms: Customize fuzzy spelling rules for non-standard pronunciations
- Punctuation mapping: Fully customizable punctuation behavior
Want to see the Chinese engine in different scenarios? Visit our Use Cases page. For customization details, see Tips & Tricks.