Is there a Difference Between Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese?

When companies need to translate documents into Chinese, there is often confusion between Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. Although minor differences exist between word choices, the real difference lies in the written form.

In 1949, the government of the People’s Republic of China decided to implement the Simplified Chinese writing system to increase literacy. Simplified Chinese characters were created by decreasing the number of strokes and simplifying the forms for each character. Today, the Chinese government utilizes the simplified form as the standard script and reserves the traditional form for ceremonies and cultural purposes.

Ideographs is the name given to the characters used in writing Chinese. There are approximately 50,000 characters found in the standard Chinese dictionary. The majority of Chinese characters involve two elements: a signific, which is the meaning of the word; and a phonetic, which is the sound.

To identify whether you need Traditional Chinese or Simplified Chinese translations, you must first identify the countries of your target audience. Generally speaking, Simplified Chinese is used in Mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia, and the United Nations. Traditional Chinese is used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Overseas, Chinese communities generally use traditional characters, but simplified characters are used among mainland Chinese immigrants. Keep in mind, however, that a majority of the Chinese-speaking world does use the simplified characters. Foreign Translations, Inc. will assist you to determine the correct form to use, and will ensure an accurate translation of the chosen form.

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