METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INPUTTING CHINESE CHARACTERS

An electronic apparatus, to which Chinese characters can be input by using a phonetic input method. The electric apparatus comprises a plurality of input keys and a switch circuit. The plurality of input keys are divided into three groups: initial consonant keys, compound vowel keys, and medial vowel keys. The switch circuit is used for switching the function of some of the initial consonant keys into that of tone keys after a user presses any key for a first phonetic symbol of a phonetic symbol combination.