Simplified vs Traditional Chinese: Three Patterns to Read Both, and 18 Merged Characters

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Reading the other script comes down to three patterns and one list of exceptions. Here is the same sentence in both:

Six of the eight characters are different, and each change follows a pattern explained below: 說, 問 and 題 swap a component, 這 and 個 are whole-shape abbreviations, and 難 uses the stand-in 又.

Which one should you learn first?

Learn the script used where you plan to live, work or read. Mainland China and Singapore use simplified characters, and the HSK syllabus is written in them. Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau use traditional characters. If you have no particular place in mind, either choice is fine: the language is the same, and once you know one script, the second comes much faster than the first did. How to learn Chinese characters describes a method that works for both.

Pattern 1: swap the component

China's Table of Simplified Characters (简化字总表, 1986 edition) works by rules. Its second list gives simplified components, and its third list, by far the longest at 1,753 of the table's 2,235 characters, contains characters made simply by applying those components. That is good news for a reader: learn one swap and it works in dozens of characters.

Here are six swaps you will meet constantly. Our guide to Chinese radicals explains what each component means:

Six more you will see on every page

The catch: 讠, 饣, 纟 and 钅 only work on the left

The 1986 table notes that these four short forms are generally used only as the left-hand part of a character. Standing alone, or anywhere else in a character, the full form stays in simplified Chinese too. So 言 is still 言 in 语言 (yǔyán, language), 信 (xìn, letter) keeps its 言 on the right, and 警察 (jǐngchá, police) keeps it at the bottom. 金 (jīn, gold) and 食物 (shíwù, food) are written the same way in both scripts. When you meet 言 or 金 in a traditional text, check its position before assuming the character changed.

Pattern 2: one stand-in, many originals

Some complicated parts were replaced with a simple placeholder. The most common is 又, which stands in for at least five different shapes. Seeing 又 tells you that a character was simplified, but not what it used to be.

The way through is to learn the 又 characters in families that share an original. 欢 歡, 观 觀, 权 權 (quán, right, power) and 劝 勸 (quàn, to persuade) all hide 雚, while 汉 漢, 难 難 and 叹 嘆 (tàn, to sigh) share another block. A second placeholder, 㐅, does the same job in 区 區 (qū, district) and 风 風 (fēng, wind).

Pattern 3: short forms to learn as whole shapes

A small group of very common characters was shortened as a whole, many of them to shapes people already wrote by hand. There is no rule to apply, but you meet these in almost every sentence, so the repetition comes for free.

Four of these (东, 长, 为 and 来) also work as components, according to the same 1986 table. 东 turns up in 陈 陳 (Chén, a common surname) and 冻 凍 (dòng, to freeze), 长 in 张 張 (Zhāng, another surname) and 涨 漲 (zhǎng, to rise), 为 in 伪 偽 (wěi, false, as in 伪造 偽造, wěizào, to forge), and 来 in 莱 萊 (lái, as in 莱茵河 萊茵河, Láiyīn Hé, the Rhine). Learn 東, 長, 為 and 來 once and you can read those as well.

The real trap: one simplified character, two traditional ones

Simplification sometimes merged characters that sounded the same, or nearly the same, into one shape. Simplified 发 covers both 發 (fā, to send out, to set off) and 髮 (fà, hair). Reading from traditional into simplified is easy, because both collapse into 发. Going the other way, you have to know which word you are in.

The appendix to China's 2013 official character list separates out 96 groups in which one simplified character corresponds to two or more traditional ones, sometimes including itself, as 干 does. You do not need all 96. The eighteen below are the ones you will meet in everyday text, and most of them carry a clue in the traditional shape.

Why converters write 頭發 and 皇後

If you have ever pasted simplified text into an automatic converter and got 頭發 or 皇後, this is why. A converter that works one character at a time has to choose a single traditional form for 发, and the obvious choice is the more common 發. It does the same with 后, which becomes 後 even in 皇后, and 干 can come out as the wrong one of 乾, 幹 and 干.

Here is what a converter that always picks the more common form does to an ordinary sentence:

Better converters look up whole words first and only fall back to single characters when a word is not in their list. That fixes common words, but not every phrase, name or new expression. Two habits keep you safe:

1. After converting simplified to traditional, search the result for the merged characters above and read each word they appear in.
2. When you write traditional yourself, type with a traditional pinyin keyboard instead of converting afterwards. The keyboard suggests whole words, so 頭髮 arrives as one unit. How to type Chinese covers the keyboard settings; on iPhone and Mac, choose Chinese, Traditional instead of Chinese, Simplified.

The other direction, traditional to simplified, is much safer, because two characters merging into one loses information instead of having to guess it. It is not fully automatic, though. The case you will meet most is 著. Taiwan writes 看著 (kànzhe, looking at) and 睡著 (shuìzháo, to fall asleep), which become 看着 and 睡着 in simplified Chinese, while 著名 (zhùmíng, famous) keeps 著. The 1986 table also notes characters that keep their traditional form in one reading: 乾 read qián, as in 乾坤 (qiánkūn, heaven and earth), stays 乾, and 瞭解 (liǎojiě, to understand; Taiwan also writes 了解) becomes 了解, while 瞭望 (liàowàng, to keep watch) keeps 瞭.

A plan for reading the other script

1. Learn the component swaps first. The twelve in Pattern 1 sit inside hundreds of common characters, so each one pays off immediately.
2. Memorise the whole shapes as you meet them. 這, 個, 來, 為 and 麼 are so frequent that a few pages of reading give you plenty of repetition.
3. Learn merged characters inside words. Learn 頭髮, 以後, 麵條 and 乾淨, not 髮, 後, 麵 and 乾 on their own.
4. Review words you already know in the other script. The meaning and sound are familiar, so all your attention goes to the shapes.

Frequently asked questions

Should I learn simplified or traditional Chinese first?

Learn the script used where you plan to live, work or read. Mainland China and Singapore use simplified characters, and the HSK syllabus is written in them; Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau use traditional characters. The skills transfer, so your second script comes much faster than your first.

How do I learn traditional characters if I already know simplified?

Start with the component swaps (讠 is 言, 钅 is 金, 马 is 馬, 页 is 頁), memorise the short list of whole-shape abbreviations such as 书 書, 东 東 and 这 這, and learn the merged characters inside words: 頭髮, 以後, 麵條, 乾淨. Reviewing words you already know in the other script works well, because the sound and meaning are already familiar.

Why is hair written 頭髮 and not 頭發 in traditional Chinese?

Because simplified 发 replaced two different characters. 髮 (fà, or fǎ in Taiwan) means hair and has 髟, the long-hair component, on top. 發 (fā) means to send out or to set off, as in 出發. 頭發 is a typical error from converting one character at a time.

Is inside written 裡 or 裏?

Both. They are the same character. Taiwan's standard form is 裡 and Hong Kong's is 裏, while China's 2013 official table lists 裏 as the traditional form and 裡 as a variant. Simplified Chinese writes 里 for both inside and the distance unit.

Can I trust automatic simplified-to-traditional conversion?

Mostly, but check the merged characters. A converter has to choose between 發 and 髮, 後 and 后, 面 and 麵, and 乾, 幹 and 干, and it can choose wrong, especially one that converts character by character. Converting traditional to simplified is much safer, though 著 still has to become either 着 (看著 → 看着) or 著 (著名).

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