Chinese vs. Taiwanese Mandarin
How Chinese is Taiwanese Mandarin? 🇨🇳 🇹🇼
Idiom of the week: 一脉相承 (yí mài xiāng chéng)
Meaning: to come from the same origin, to be in the same line of descent
“国语”和大陆“普通话”虽然一脉相承，渐渐形成了不完全相同的用语系统。Although “Guoyu” and mainland “Putonghua” share the same origin, they have gradually developed into somewhat different language systems.
As you may know, China and Taiwan use different character systems. However, this is not the only difference between them when it comes to language—and we’re not even talking about accents! While Mandarin is spoken in both Taiwan and China, Taiwan has several words and expressions that are not used in China.
If you are considering moving to or studying in Taiwan, we recommend learning some of these. The first one to learn is 「国语」(guó yǔ), the Taiwanese term for 「普通话」(pǔ tōng huà).
For more information about studying in China vs. Taiwan, read our recent guestpost for Kaohongshu. We explore some differences in teaching methods, writing, and life in general.
Let’s see why is Taiwanese Mandarin different and what are some words that we could learn prior to going to Taiwan:
“国语”和大陆“普通话”虽然一脉相承，但是由于历史原因造成的长期阻隔，两者在不同社会中隔离发展，渐渐形成了不完全相同的用语系统，尤其在词汇方面体现得最为明显。
国语 (guó yǔ) – national language (refers to Mandarin as spoken in Taiwan)
普通话 (pǔ tōng huà) – standard Chinese (Mandarin as spoken in mainland China)
一脉相承 (yí mài xiāng chéng) – to come from the same origin, to be in the same line of descent
阻隔 (zǔ gé) – obstruction, separation
隔离 (gé lí) – to isolate, separation
用语系统 (yòng yǔ xì tǒng) – vocabulary system, usage system
词汇 (cí huì) – vocabulary, lexicon
体现 (tǐ xiàn) – to embody, to reflect
"Guóyǔ" (Taiwanese Mandarin) and Mainland China's "Pǔtōnghuà" (Standard Mandarin) may share the same roots, but due to historical reasons and long-term separation, they developed independently in different societies. Over time, they gradually formed not entirely identical vocabulary systems, with the differences being most noticeable in the lexicon.
有些词语两岸皆有，意义虽完全一样，可是在日常使用中却往往具有不同的使用习惯。例如：「痛」本是比较锐利的意义，可是台湾却更常说「头痛」「肚子痛」，很少选用「疼」，大陆则更倾向用「疼」。临时显差异都非常明显，也无碍交流。
两岸 (liǎng'àn) – both sides of the Taiwan Strait (Mainland China and Taiwan)
皆有 (jiē yǒu) - both have
意义 (yìyì) – meaning, significance
痛 (tòng) – pain, ache (sharper or more intense connotation)
锐利 (ruì lì) - sharp or acute
疼 (téng) – ache, pain (more commonly used in Mainland Chinese)
大陆 (dàlù) – mainland (Mainland China)
倾向 (qīngxiàng) – to tend toward, be inclined to
临时 (línshí) – temporary, at the time
无碍 (wú’ài) – not hinder, not obstruct
Some words are used on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and share the same meaning, but in daily usage, they often have different habits. For example, the word "痛" (tòng – pain) originally carries a sharper connotation, but in Taiwan, people more commonly say “头痛” (headache), “肚子痛” (stomachache), and rarely use the word “疼” (téng – ache). On the mainland, people are more inclined to use “疼.” Although these subtle differences are quite noticeable, they don’t hinder communication.
Here is a short list of words that differ between China and Taiwan (note that there are many more!). The Chinese term 「普通话」 is listed first, followed by the Taiwanese term 「國語」. To ensure accuracy, we’ve kept the Taiwanese terms in Traditional Chinese.
软件 (ruǎnjiàn) — 軟體 (ruǎntǐ) — Software
网络 (wǎngluò) — 網路 (wǎnglù) — Network
消息 (xiāoxī) — 訊息 (xùnxī) — Message
数据 (shùjù) — 資料 (zīliào) — Data
发邮件 (fā yóujiàn) — 寄信 (jì xìn) — Send email
视频 (shìpín) — 影片 (yǐngpiàn) — Video
幻灯片 (huàndēngpiàn) — 投影片 (tóuyǐngpiàn) — Slide, PPT
打印 (dǎyìn) — 列印 (lièyìn) — Print
复印 (fùyìn) — 影印 (yǐngyìn) — Copy
三文鱼 (sānwényú) — 鮭魚 (guīyú) — Salmon
芝士 (zhīshì)/ 奶酪 (nǎilào) — 起司 (qǐsī) — Cheese
薯片 (shǔpiàn) — 洋芋片 (yángyùpiàn) — Crisps
酸奶 (suānnǎi) / 優格 (yōugě) — 優酪乳 (yōuluòrǔ) — Yogurt
传统风味 (chuántǒng fēngwèi) — 古早味 (gǔzǎowèi) — Traditional flavored
幼儿园 (yòu'éryuán) — 幼稚園 (yòuzhìyuán) — Kindergarten
小学 (xiǎoxué) — 國小 (guóxiǎo) — Primary school
初中 (chūzhōng) — 國中 (guózhōng) — Junior high, middle school
地铁 (dìtiě) — 捷運 (jiéyùn) — Subway, metro
摩托车 (mótuōchē) — 機車 (jīchē) — Motorbike
自行车 (zìxíngchē) — 腳踏車 (jiǎotàchē) — Bike, bicycle
出租车 (chūzūchē) — 計程車 (jìchéngchē) — Taxi
垃圾 (lājī) — 垃圾 (lèsè) — Garbage, rubbish, junk (characters are the same but pronounciation is different)
不客气 (bù kèqì) — 不會 (bù huì) — You’re welcome
通过 (tōngguò) — 透過 (tòuguò) — Through
Have you noticed any other differences between Taiwanese and Chinese Mandarin?
We also recommend you check out this article we wrote for Kaohongshu!
Antoine & Dorota
