The official language of Taiwan is Mandarin Chinese, referred to locally as Guóyǔ（國語）, meaning “National Language” . It is a term that distinguishes it slightly from the Pǔtōnghuà（普通話） spoken on the mainland, though the two are mutually intelligible. Taiwan uses Traditional Chinese characters rather than the Simplified characters used in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau also uses Traditional characters. This distinction matters if you are using translation apps or studying signage: Simplified characters look noticeably different and if you have learned Simplified, you will find Traditional characters take some adjustment.

Romanisation in Taiwan uses the Mandarin Phonetic Symbols system (Bopomofo, or Zhùyīn fúhào) in educational contexts, but for street signs and public romanisation, Taiwan has officially adopted Hanyu Pinyin since 2009, though older Wade-Giles romanisations and a variety of idiosyncratic local spellings remain widely visible. This means you will see “Taipei” (Wade-Giles), “Taibei” (Pinyin), and various hybrid romanisations coexisting on the same street. It is simply Taiwan’s history rendered in roman letters.

If you would like to know more about Mandarin Chinese, feel free to read another post written by us, which explains Chinese in detail.