TeddyChineseSimplified vs Traditional Chinese
Simplified vs traditional Chinese: how they differ, where each is used, and which to learn first.
Simplified and traditional Chinese are two ways of writing the same language. Learn simplified for mainland China and most learning resources. Learn traditional for Taiwan, Hong Kong or calligraphy.
What is the difference?
Simplified characters were standardized in mainland China in the 1950s and 60s to cut stroke counts. Traditional characters are the older forms.
- 学 vs 學: study
- 国 vs 國: country
- 马 vs 馬: horse
Where is each used?
- Simplified: mainland China, Singapore, most apps and textbooks.
- Traditional: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, calligraphy.
Which should you learn first?
- Business, travel or study in mainland China: simplified.
- Living in Taiwan or Hong Kong: traditional.
- Not sure: simplified, since most resources use it.
About two thirds of characters are identical, and speech and pinyin stay the same. In TeddyChinese, switch character sets in Settings to read the same story both ways.
Put it into practice
Read a short graded story with pinyin, audio and tap-to-define words.
Open the story library