Format Chinese, Japanese, or Korean text

You can enter text in many different languages, including several different writing systems for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, using the international keyboards available on your Mac. Numbers provides some language-specific text-formatting features, including emphasis styles, list styles, and phonetic guides. The formatting options that are available depend on the language you’re using.

For best results, use these recommended fonts:

Simplified Chinese: Heiti SC
Traditional Chinese: Heiti TC
Korean: Apple Gothic
Japanese: Hiragino Kaku Gothic for sans serif or Hiragino Mincho for serif fonts

These instructions assume you enabled at least one Chinese, Japanese, or Korean keyboard on your Mac. To enable international keyboards, open System Preferences, click Keyboard, then click Input Sources.

Add Chinese, Japanese, or Korean emphasis marks

You can add emphasis marks that are commonly used with Chinese, Japanese, or Korean text. For example, using a Chinese keyboard, you can apply Boten dots below or above the text, or a wavy underline. With Japanese text you can add plain dots or sesame dots.

Switch your keyboard to a Chinese, Japanese, or Korean keyboard.
Select Chinese, Japanese, or Korean text (one or more characters), then click Style in the Text pane of the Format inspector.
To apply a formatting mark to the selected text, click an emphasis mark.
The formatting options that are available depend on the current keyboard.

Use a Chinese, Japanese, or Korean list style

Chinese, Japanese, and Korean list styles can be applied to a list written in any language. Only the bullets or the numbering system is affected.

For a list with English text, type the first list identifier (for example, 1 or A).
For a list with Chinese, Japanese, or Korean text, switch your keyboard to the language you want, then type the first list identifier (for example, 가).
Enter a period or parenthesis followed by a space.
Enter the first list item, then press Return.
Numbers automatically detects that you’re typing a list. You can continue using a Chinese, Japanese, or Korean keyboard to finish your list.
If you’re entering a list with English text but a Chinese, Japanese, or Korean list style, click a list style in the Text pane of the Format inspector.
Click the disclosure triangle next to Bullets & Lists to reveal more options.
The styles available depend on which keyboards are enabled.

Provide a phonetic guide alongside text

If you enabled a Chinese, Japanese, or Korean keyboard, you can apply phonetic guides to words written in any language. Phonetic guides provide pronunciation information to help readers.

Select the text, including one or more characters.
Don’t include any trailing paragraph breaks or punctuation in your selected text.
Control-click the selected text, then choose Phonetic Guide Text from the shortcut menu.
You can also choose Format > Phonetic Guide Text (from the Format menu at the top of your computer screen).
A phonetic guide appears with the selected text.
To change the phonetic guide text, choose one of the options.
The phonetic options depend on which keyboards are enabled.
Click anywhere outside the Phonetic Guide Text window to apply the text you chose and close the window.

Change or remove phonetic guide text

After you add phonetic guide text, you can change its language or remove it.

Control-click the word with phonetic guide text, then choose Phonetic Guide Text from the shortcut menu.
You can also select the word, then choose Format > Phonetic Guide Text (from the Format menu at the top of your computer screen).
Enter the text you want to use, or choose one of the options.
The phonetic options available depend on which keyboards are enabled.
To remove the guide text, click Remove.

You can also double-click the text, then edit it; the phonetic guide text is automatically removed.