Can Chinese people understand traditional characters?
A small subset of this population—mostly older generations—can still understand Traditional Chinese. However, for the majority of Chinese-speakers in mainland China, texts translated into Traditional Chinese are likely to spark confusion.
Do Chinese people use Traditional Chinese?
Traditional Chinese is used by Chinese speakers in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, as well as the majority of Mandarin and Cantonese speakers who live in other countries. Simplified Chinese is used by both Mandarin and Cantonese speakers living in mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore.
Can Mandarin speakers read Traditional Chinese?
A Mandarin speaker who recognises Traditional Chinese is perfectly capable of reading written Cantonese – provided the writing is fairly formal. If the writing is a transcript of casual, spoken Cantonese, which is peppered with slangs and expressions not commonly used in Mandarin, then it might be much more difficult.
Do more people read simplified or Traditional Chinese?
Based on mainland alone, simplified wins hands down. Mainland population: 1.4 billion vs. overseas Chinese 50 million.
Is traditional Chinese Cantonese?
In Hong Kong, Cantonese is the predominant dialect while people write in Traditional Chinese. The exception is Taiwan where people speak Mandarin and write in Traditional Chinese….
| Target Market | Written | Spoken |
|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong | Traditional | Cantonese |
| Taiwan | Traditional | Mandarin |
| Singapore | Simplified | Mandarin |
Is Chinese Mandarin or Cantonese?
Mandarin is the official state language of China and the most widely spoken Chinese dialect in the country. Mandarin is spoken widely in Singapore and Taiwan. Cantonese, however, is spoken largely in Hong Kong, as well as in Macau and the Guangdong province, including Guangzhou.
Why Chinese is called Mandarin?
The word “Mandarin” originated from the portuguese word “Mandarim”, which means “Chinese Officials / Court Officials / Government People”. When Europeans Jesuit visited China in 1500s, they noticed that the Chinese Court Officials spoke a common official language that is different from other commoner’s languages.