Simplified to Traditional Chinese: characters vs vocabulary

Two levels of difference

Simplified Chinese (mainland China, Singapore) and Traditional Chinese (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau) differ first in characters: 网 → 網, 软 → 軟. But everyday vocabulary also differs: “software” is 软件 in the mainland and 軟體 in Taiwan; “network” is 网络 versus 網路.

One Simplified character, several Traditional ones

Some Simplified characters stand for more than one Traditional character, and only the context tells which is right. 发 is 髮 in 头发 (hair) but 發 in 发展 (development); 干 can be 乾 (dry), 幹 (to do) or 干 (to concern); 后 is 后 in 皇后 (empress) but 後 in 后面 (behind). The converter uses OpenCC's phrase dictionaries, which handle these common cases: 头发和发展 becomes 頭髮和發展, and 干净的干部在干活 becomes 乾淨的幹部在幹活.

Characters only, or Taiwan phrases?

“Simplified → Traditional” changes characters but keeps mainland vocabulary: 打印机的内存不足 becomes 打印機的內存不足. “Simplified → Traditional (Taiwan phrases)” also swaps common terms: the same sentence becomes 印表機的記憶體不足, and 鼠标点击这个视频 becomes 滑鼠點選這個影片, 出租车 becomes 計程車 and 信息 becomes 資訊. Use the Taiwan option for readers in Taiwan, and the characters-only option for Hong Kong or when the text must stay close to the original.

What a converter cannot know

Dictionaries cover common phrases, not every word or style choice. Some terms are left as they are — for example 质量 becomes 質量, while Taiwanese writers often say 品質 — and names, slogans and technical terms need a human check. Taiwan phrases also use the standard form 臺灣; change it to 台灣 if you prefer.

A quick proofreading checklist

Read headings and product names first; search for words that differ by region (software, network, video, program, quality, information); check people's and brand names; and keep the original file until the converted version has been reviewed.

Tools used in this guide