Learn the set used where you'll read Chinese most. Traditional characters are the standard in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; simplified characters are the standard in mainland China and Singapore. The spoken language doesn't change with the script, and reading the other set later is much less work than it looks, because most of the differences follow a handful of patterns. Here's what actually differs, what each choice costs you, and how to read both.
Two ways to write one language
Traditional and simplified Chinese are two ways of writing the same characters, not two languages. 你好 is 你好 in both; 謝謝 becomes 谢谢. Grammar and pronunciation stay the same. (Taiwan and the mainland do use some different everyday words, but that's a separate story, told in Taiwan Mandarin vs mainland Mandarin.)
The split is a 20th-century one. In 1956 mainland China's State Council approved a simplification scheme that put its first 230 simplified characters into general use in print that February, together with a table of 54 simplified components. The mainland's current standard list dates from 2013. Taiwan never simplified: its Ministry of Education's list of standard common characters, announced in 1982, has 4,808 characters, all in traditional form (Ministry of Education).
- 繁體字fántǐzì · ㄈㄢˊ ㄊㄧˇ ㄗˋTraditional characters
- 正體字zhèngtǐzì · ㄓㄥˋ ㄊㄧˇ ㄗˋStandard characters (the ministry's term for traditional)
- 簡體字jiǎntǐzì · ㄐㄧㄢˇ ㄊㄧˇ ㄗˋSimplified characters
In Taiwan you'll hear traditional characters called 繁體字, "complex-form characters". The Ministry of Education prefers 正體字, "standard characters": its dictionary defines 簡體字 as forms with fewer strokes than the 正體字 (Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary).
Same, patterned, or one-to-many
Characters fall into three groups, and knowing which is which is most of the work of reading both.
Identical. Many common characters never changed: 人, 大, 中, 你, 好, 我 are the same in both sets.
Patterned. Many simplified characters replace one component with a simpler one, and the swap carries through to the characters that contain it. Learn the swap once and you can read dozens of characters in the other set.
| Component swap | Traditional | Simplified | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 言 → 讠 | 說, 謝, 語 | 说, 谢, 语 | speak, thank, language |
| 門 → 门 | 門, 們, 問 | 门, 们, 问 | door, plural ending, ask |
| 馬 → 马 | 馬, 嗎, 媽 | 马, 吗, 妈 | horse, question word, mom |
| 見 → 见 | 見, 現 | 见, 现 | see, now |
| 金 → 钅 | 錢 | 钱 | money |
| 糸 → 纟 | 紅 | 红 | red |
The pairs come from Unicode's Unihan database, which records the traditional form of every simplified character.
One-to-many. A few simplified characters stand for two or more traditional ones. 发 is both 發 (to send or issue, as in 發票, a receipt) and 髮 (hair, as in 頭髮). 面 is both 面 (face, side) and 麵 (noodles). Reading from traditional to simplified, these are easy: both forms collapse into one. Going the other way, you have to know which word is meant, so this is the direction that takes more care.
Where each is used
Taiwan writes traditional characters: signs, menus, books, subtitles. It also teaches sounds with zhuyin rather than pinyin, which we compare in zhuyin vs pinyin.
Hong Kong and Macau write traditional characters too. But in Hong Kong the everyday spoken language is Cantonese, not Mandarin: 88.2% of people aged 5 and over speak Cantonese as their usual language, and 2.3% Putonghua, the mainland name for Mandarin (GovHK). Traditional characters will help you read in Hong Kong, but Mandarin isn't what you'll hear on the street.
Mainland China writes simplified characters and teaches sounds with pinyin.
Singapore writes simplified characters. Its Ministry of Education issued its first list of simplified characters in 1969, and its school character lists have used simplified forms since.
What each choice costs
Simplified characters have fewer strokes, often far fewer (體 is 体, 邊 is 边), so they're quicker to write by hand. Traditional characters keep their components whole: the 言 ("speech") in 說, 語 and 謝 looks like the character 言 on its own, which can help you remember what a character is about.
Handwriting matters less than it used to, though. You'll type far more Chinese than you write, and typing works by sound: Apple's Chinese input methods, for example, let you type pinyin for simplified, or pinyin or zhuyin for traditional, then pick the character from a list (Apple Support). Extra strokes cost you at the pen. When you read, what counts is recognizing the shape, in either set.
Tests don't force the choice either: Taiwan's own proficiency test, the TOCFL, is available in both traditional and simplified versions (Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles).
So which should you learn?
Choose by place and by people, not by stroke count:
- Taiwan (a trip, a move, a partner's family, Taiwanese shows): traditional.
- Hong Kong or Macau: traditional, knowing that in Hong Kong the language you hear will mostly be Cantonese.
- Mainland China or Singapore: simplified.
- A class, textbook or exam that uses one set: that set, at least until you finish it.
- No particular place: pick either. Neither choice locks you out of the other.
Whichever you pick, stay with it until you can read a few hundred characters comfortably, then add the other. Switching back and forth at the start mostly means learning the same characters twice.
Bopomo is an iPhone app for speaking Mandarin with Lin, your AI tutor, on a trip around Taiwan. The first 500 on the waitlist get the founding price. Join the waitlist.
How to read both
Once one set feels solid, adding the other is mostly recognition, not new learning:
- Keep one set active. Read and write in your main set; aim only to recognize the other.
- Learn the component swaps. Start with the six in the table above. Each new swap you notice unlocks every character that contains it.
- Keep a short list of the one-to-many characters. 发 for 發 and 髮, 面 for 面 and 麵 are two you'll meet early. You'll meet a few more; note them as they come.
- Read real text in the other set. Context does a lot of the work: in a sentence about lunch, 面 is going to be noodles.
The sounds don't change
Characters are only half of reading Mandarin. The other half is knowing how each one sounds, and that doesn't change with the script. Our guide to learning Taiwanese Mandarin lays out where to start and a first month of practice. If you go the Taiwan way, the zhuyin chart has all 37 signs with their sounds.
In Bopomo you speak with Lin, your AI tutor, on a trip around Taiwan: every line is in traditional characters, with zhuyin or pinyin for the sound, and she replies to what you actually said. It doesn't score each tone yet, so listen to her and repeat out loud.
Questions
Is traditional or simplified Chinese harder to learn?
Traditional characters have more strokes, so they take longer to write by hand. For reading, the gap is smaller than it looks: many characters are identical and most of the rest follow regular patterns.
Does Taiwan use traditional or simplified Chinese?
Traditional. Taiwan never adopted simplified characters, and its Ministry of Education's list of standard common characters is in traditional form.
Is Mandarin traditional or simplified?
Neither: Mandarin is a spoken language, and both sets write it. Taiwan writes Mandarin in traditional characters; mainland China and Singapore use simplified.
If I learn traditional, can I read simplified?
With some practice, yes. Learn the common component swaps (言 to 讠, 門 to 门) and most simplified text becomes readable. The reverse takes a little more care, because a few simplified characters stand for several traditional ones.
What does Hong Kong use?
Traditional characters. The everyday spoken language is Cantonese rather than Mandarin.
Keep reading
- How long does it take to learn Mandarin?The US FSI plans 2,200 class hours for professional Mandarin. What that means, how long conversational Chinese takes, and Taiwan's TOCFL hour estimates.
- How to say hello in Mandarin, beyond ni hao你好 always works, but Taiwan also says 哈囉, 嗨 and 早安. The everyday ways to say hello in Mandarin Chinese, and what to say back, with audio.
- Numbers in Mandarin: counting, prices and money in TaiwanChinese numbers the Taiwan way: count from 一 to 萬, pick 兩 or 二, use measure words like 個 and 杯, and say prices with 元, 塊 and 多少錢.
