Patent US 6,809,725

An on-screen Chinese phonetic keyboard includes a function key section, an initial consonant key section, a vowel key section and a candidate section. The function key section is configured to allow on-line editing. The initial consonant key section is configured to enter an initial consonant of a desired Chinese character. The vowel key section includes less than 18 compound vowels and is configured to enter a vowel of the desired Chinese character. The candidate section is configured to enter the desired Chinese character. A method of entering a symbol of English keyboard before and after entering a Chinese character via the on-screen Chinese keyboard includes switching automatically to an English display mode in the candidate section of the on-screen Chinese keyboard; and selecting the symbol of English keyboard in the candidate section. A method of entering a Chinese phrase containing at least 3 Chinese characters includes entering the spelling of a first and a second characters of the Chinese phrase, displaying automatically all phrases from the database whose first two characters' spelling is identical to that entered by a user, and selecting the Chinese phrase shown in the candidate section.