when using the Chinese language setting, I can't type in proper [Chinese] punctuation (English punctuation shows up); how do I fix it?

hipleasehelpmethankyou wrote:

when I try to type it in chinese: [.]

what it is supposed to look like: [。]

(it's the wrong shape and doesn't have the correct spacing either)

It sounds like you have accidentally checked the box for "Use Halfwidth Punctuation" in the Preferences:

Exactly what setting are you talking about -- which Chinese IM are you using?

Could you illustrate your problem by typing something right here which shows the wrong punctuation?

What version of MacOS are you using?