Which Chinese Is Used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore?

In Taiwan, the Chinese you will read and be taught is Mandarin written in Traditional characters. Hong Kong writes the same Traditional script but speaks Cantonese. Singapore and Malaysia teach Mandarin in Simplified characters, and mainland China uses Mandarin in Simplified as well. Two separate questions sit inside “which Chinese”: what people speak, and what script they write. The answer to each differs by place.

The Quick Map

Place	Everyday spoken Chinese	Standard written script	Notes
Taiwan	Mandarin (國語), with Taiwanese Hokkien widely spoken and Hakka regionally	Traditional	Zhuyin is the phonetic system taught in schools
Hong Kong	Cantonese	Traditional	Chinese and English are both official languages
Macau	Cantonese	Traditional	Chinese and Portuguese are official
Singapore	English dominates daily life; Mandarin is one of four official languages	Simplified	Traditional characters still appear on some signs
Malaysia	Mandarin among Chinese Malaysians; Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka and others regionally	Simplified in Chinese schools	Script usage outside schools varies
Mainland China	Mandarin (普通話), with regional languages	Simplified

Taiwan

Taiwan’s standard language is Mandarin, known there as 國語 (guóyǔ). It is the language of schools, workplaces, national media and the TOCFL. Taiwan writes Traditional characters, and the Ministry of Education maintains a standard list of 4,808 common characters. Children learn Zhuyin (also called Bopomofo) first, then characters. Most people in Taiwan type with a Zhuyin keyboard.

Mandarin is not the only language of daily life. Many Taiwanese people also speak Taiwanese Hokkien (台語) or Hakka, and older relatives often prefer them. You will meet Hokkien loanwords in everyday Mandarin, such as 歹勢 (pháinn-sè, a casual “sorry” said in 台語 even within Mandarin speech). The Indigenous languages are spoken in their own communities. Taiwan’s Development of National Languages Act (2019) says that all national languages are equal, and Hakka and the Indigenous languages are named as national languages in their own laws, the Hakka Basic Act and the Indigenous Languages Development Act. For the learner this changes little: Mandarin is what you study, and the other languages are things you will recognise by ear. The guide to 台語 for Mandarin learners covers the most common one.

Hong Kong and Macau

Hong Kong’s everyday spoken language is Cantonese. Its two official languages are Chinese and English, and the Basic Law does not specify which form of Chinese, although in practice that means Cantonese in speech and standard written Chinese in writing. Hong Kong’s census recorded Cantonese as the usual language of about 88% of residents aged five and over in 2021, with Mandarin at about 2%.

The script is Traditional, so a learner who reads Traditional characters in Taiwan can read most Hong Kong text. Hong Kong’s formal writing follows standard Mandarin-based written Chinese, read aloud in Cantonese. Informal writing often uses written Cantonese, which includes characters and words that Mandarin readers do not use. A few standard forms differ slightly between Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Macau follows a similar pattern, with Cantonese spoken and Traditional characters written. Chinese and Portuguese are its official languages.

If you are wondering whether Mandarin or Cantonese suits you, the Mandarin vs Cantonese guide compares them.

Singapore

Singapore has four official languages: English, Mandarin Chinese, Malay and Tamil. English is the language of administration, education and much daily life. Mandarin is the official “Mother Tongue” for most Chinese Singaporeans, and the government has long encouraged it in place of regional varieties such as Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese.

Singapore used Traditional characters until 1969, when its Ministry of Education issued a table of Simplified characters. By 1976 the table matched the mainland’s Simplified set. Simplified is used in official documents and schools, but the government does not forbid Traditional, so you will see Traditional characters on some signs, in advertising and in calligraphy.

Linguists describe Singaporean Mandarin as a distinct variety, with a standard form and a colloquial spoken form.

Malaysia

Malay is Malaysia’s national language, and English is widely used. Mandarin is the language of Chinese-medium schools and a common shared language among Chinese Malaysians, whose families came from different southern regions. Hokkien is common in Penang, Malacca and Johor, Cantonese in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Seremban, and Hakka in Sabah.

Chinese-language schools teach Simplified characters, using a set Malaysia adopted in 1981 that matches the mainland’s. Outside school, script usage is mixed and varies by publication and business, so the script on a shopfront can differ from the one taught in the classroom.

Mainland China

Mainland China’s standard spoken language is Mandarin, called 普通話 (pǔtōnghuà). It uses Simplified characters and pinyin. Regional languages such as Cantonese, Shanghainese and Hokkien are spoken widely in daily life. Mandarin is promoted as the shared language in schools and media.

What This Means for You

• If you are moving to Taiwan, study Mandarin in Traditional characters. That is what the TOCFL tests and what signs, menus and contracts use.
• If you want to read across Taiwan and Hong Kong, Traditional characters take you most of the way. The spoken language is the separate part.
• If your resources are from Singapore, Malaysia or the mainland, expect Simplified. Switching to Traditional is manageable, and the Traditional vs Simplified guide explains how the two relate.
• If you want the history of the script itself, what Traditional Chinese is covers where it comes from and why it persisted in some places.

Related Reading

• What Is Traditional Chinese?
• Traditional vs Simplified Chinese: Key Differences
• Mandarin vs Cantonese: Differences and Which to Learn
• Taiwanese vs Mainland Mandarin: The Differences No One Warns You About