{"id":181671,"date":"2020-01-01T22:19:44","date_gmt":"2020-01-02T03:19:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/taiwanese-mandarin\/"},"modified":"2025-01-19T23:43:46","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T04:43:46","slug":"taiwanese-mandarin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/chinese\/taiwanese-mandarin\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Learn Taiwanese Mandarin: Tips, Resources and More"},"content":{"rendered":"

If your goal is to communicate with Taiwanese people and speak the same way, you have to venture beyond textbooks. The primary differences between Chinese and Taiwanese Mandarin are the accents and word choice. Therefore, the best way to learn the dialect of your choice is to immerse yourself in it.<\/p>\n

By putting the following eight methods into practice, your Mandarin will sound more like native Taiwanese in no time.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

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What’s the Difference Between Taiwanese Mandarin and Chinese Mandarin?<\/h2>\n

Regardless of which Mandarin dialect you\u2019ve learned\u2014whether it be Standard Chinese, the Beijing accent or the Taiwanese dialect\u2014you’ll, in nearly all cases, generally be understood.<\/p>\n

However, when speaking with natives, they’ll prefer certain words over others used by the standard dialect of China, and they might use an accent you\u2019re probably not accustomed to yet.<\/p>\n

Are you ready for the good news? You can easily overcome these rather small dialect barriers.<\/p>\n

But first, let\u2019s take a look at the key differences between Standard Chinese Mandarin and Mandarin spoken in Taiwan.<\/p>\n

Pronunciation and Tones<\/h3>\n

If understanding Chinese tones<\/a>\u00a0has been a challenge for you, you\u2019re probably screaming on the inside at the thought of Taiwan putting its own spin on them.<\/p>\n

Well, don\u2019t worry too much because the same four tones exist in Taiwanese Mandarin.<\/p>\n

The difference is that a few words you\u2019ve likely learned from textbooks or courses have a slight tone change in the Taiwanese dialect<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

For example, the word \u661f\u671f<\/strong> (x\u012bng q\u012b)<\/em> means \u201cweek\u201d in Mandarin.<\/p>\n

While \u661f\u671f<\/strong> is pronounced with two first tones in China, in Taiwan, it’s pronounced with a first tone and a second tone: \u661f\u671f<\/strong> (x\u012bng q\u00ed).<\/em><\/p>\n

Taiwanese speakers also change the sounds of words and syllables when speaking.<\/strong> For example, \u201czh\u201d<\/em> becomes \u201cz,\u201d \u201cch\u201d<\/em> becomes \u201cc\u201d<\/em> and \u201csh\u201d<\/em> becomes \u201cs.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Different Vocabulary Words<\/h3>\n

Now it\u2019s time for some bad news: not all words in Mainland (or Standard) Chinese are the same in Taiwanese Mandarin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

While there\u2019s certainly a lot of shared vocabulary, sometimes Taiwanese people simply use their own words or phrases.<\/p>\n

For example, to say \u201cgood morning\u201d in China, you typically say \u65e9\u4e0a\u597d<\/strong> (z\u01ceo sh\u00e0ng h\u01ceo).<\/em> In Taiwan, you say \u65e9\u5b89<\/strong> (z\u01ceo \u0101n).<\/em><\/p>\n

In China, the word for \u201cpotato\u201d is \u571f\u8c46<\/strong> (t\u01d4 d\u00f2u),<\/em> whereas in Taiwan it’s \u9a6c\u94c3\u85af<\/strong> (m\u01ce l\u00edng sh\u01d4).<\/em><\/p>\n

Think of it as how Americans use certain words in English that people from Britain don\u2019t use, and vice versa. However, in the majority of cases, everyone still understands each other.<\/p>\n

Accents Are Different<\/h3>\n

Simply put, the biggest difference between Chinese and Taiwanese Mandarin boils down to the accents.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Going back to our American and Great Britain example, if an American were to travel to Britain, the primary language difference would be accent.<\/p>\n

The biggest accent difference between Taiwanese speakers and Standard Chinese speakers (and Beijing speakers especially) is the \u513f<\/strong> (er)<\/em> sound.<\/p>\n

In most textbooks, learners are taught words like the following:<\/p>\n

\u54ea\u513f<\/strong> (n\u01cer)<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 where<\/p>\n

\u8fd9\u513f<\/strong> (zh\u00e8r)<\/em> \u2014 here<\/p>\n

\u4e00\u70b9\u513f<\/strong> (y\u00ec di\u01cenr)<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 a little<\/p>\n

However, in Taiwan, that final \u513f<\/strong> sound is dropped:<\/p>\n

\u54ea<\/strong> (n\u01ce) <\/em><\/p>\n

\u8fd9<\/strong> (zh\u00e8) <\/em><\/p>\n

\u4e00\u70b9<\/strong> (y\u00ec di\u01cen) <\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s also very common in southern China to drop the \u513f<\/strong> sound as well.<\/p>\n

8 Tips for Learning Taiwanese Mandarin<\/h2>\n

Check Out the “Easy Taiwanese Mandarin” Series on YouTube\"Easy<\/a><\/h3>\n

One of the best resources (and my personal favorite) for learning Taiwanese Mandarin used in everyday life is the “Easy Taiwanese Mandarin”<\/a>\u00a0series by Easy Languages<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The goal of all of Easy Languages\u2019 videos is to teach learners the language by interviewing native speakers on the street and adding subtitles in both the target language and English.<\/p>\n

Each topic is a relevant theme with vocabulary that\u2019s easy to use in conversations<\/strong> and everyday situations. For example, video topics include themes like “What are you doing today?\u201d \u201cWhat do you like about Taiwan?\u201d and \u201cStudent life in Taiwan.\u201d<\/p>\n

See Taiwanese Mandarin Used in Real-world Contexts
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/span><\/h3>\n

FluentU is an excellent resource for seeing and hearing Taiwanese Mandarin used in daily life.<\/p>\n

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

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