台灣中文和中國中文

Taiwan Mandarin and Mainland Mandarin

Mandarin is used in both Taiwan and Mainland China, and people from both places can usually understand each other. But some characters and daily words are different.

In Taiwan, people use Traditional Chinese characters. In Mainland China, people use Simplified Chinese characters. Sometimes the pronunciation is the same, but the characters look different. Tap the speaker icon next to each example to hear it.

國家guó jiācountry — written as 国家 in Simplified Chinese, same pronunciation

老師lǎo shīteacher — written as 老师 in Simplified Chinese, same pronunciation

捷運jié yùnmetro — used in Taiwan. In Mainland China, people usually say 地鐵/地铁 (dìtiě)

計程車jì chéng chētaxi — used in Taiwan. In Mainland China, people usually say 出租車/出租车 (chūzūchē)

影片yǐng piànvideo — used in Taiwan. In Mainland China, people usually say 視頻/视频 (shìpín)

鳳梨fèng lípineapple — used in Taiwan. In Mainland China, people usually say 菠蘿/菠萝 (bōluó)

These differences are normal — a little like the differences between American English and British English. The words may be different, but people can still understand each other most of the time. They are simply different ways people use Chinese in daily life.

If you are planning to spend time in Taiwan or Hong Kong, Traditional Chinese will be more useful. If you are going to Mainland China, Simplified Chinese will be more useful. For speaking, it is best to learn the everyday words used in the place where you will spend the most time.