How to Fully Configure Chinese Language Support and Install Fcitx 5 on Ubuntu

06. Chinese Environment Configuration and Input Method

Installing Ubuntu with Chinese language does not guarantee full Chinese experience. The guide addresses three tasks: completing language packs, selecting an input method framework, and fixing font compatibility.

1. Complete Chinese language packs

If the installer ran offline, language packs may be incomplete.

Open Settings → System → Region & Language.

Click “Manage Installed Languages”.

If a prompt “The language support files for your selected language are not completely installed” appears, click “Install”.

Ensure “Keyboard input method system” is set to IBus (default) or Fcitx 5 (recommended).

2. Option 1 – default IBus

Ubuntu ships with IBus and the “Intelligent Pinyin” engine.

Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources.

Press “+”.

Select “Chinese”.

Choose “Chinese (Intelligent Pinyin)” and add.

Switch with Super + Space.

Drawback: smaller dictionary and average suggestion quality.

3. Option 2 – install Fcitx 5 (recommended)

Fcitx 5 provides richer skins and stronger extensibility.

Installation steps

Install core components :

sudo apt install fcitx5 fcitx5-chinese-addons fcitx5-frontend-gtk4 fcitx5-frontend-gtk3 fcitx5-frontend-qt5 kde-config-fcitx5

Set Fcitx 5 as default : open “Language Support” and change “Keyboard input method system” to Fcitx 5.

Log out or reboot .

Configure the input method :

After reboot, a small keyboard icon appears in the top‑right.

Right‑click → “Configure”.

In the list, locate “Pinyin”. If missing, uncheck “Only Show Current Language”, search for “Pinyin”, and add.

Keep “Keyboard – English (US)” and “Pinyin”.

Default switch shortcut is Ctrl + Space (modifiable).

Sogou vs. Fcitx 5

Sogou Linux edition is based on the older Fcitx 4 and depends on outdated libraries, leading to variable stability. The modern stack “Fcitx 5 + Pinyin + appropriate dictionary” delivers fast, stable, and controllable input.

4. Fix common font display issues

Windows fonts such as Microsoft YaHei and SimSun are not preinstalled on Ubuntu, causing missing glyphs.

Solution:

Copy fonts from Windows C:\Windows\Fonts (files with .ttf or .otf extensions).

Install fonts :

Double‑click the file and click “Install”.

Or place the files in ~/.local/share/fonts (create the directory if needed).

Refresh the font cache :

fc-cache -fv

5. Quick troubleshooting

Input method icon missing or switch not working

Confirm “Fcitx 5” is selected in Language Support.

Log out and log back in.

If the icon is still absent, start the daemon:

fcitx5 -r

Cannot type Chinese in some applications

Some applications have inconsistent support for input‑method frameworks. Update the software and ensure GTK/Qt front‑ends are installed (included in the installation command above).