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Do You Need to Speak Chinese to Go to Taiwan?

ByTeagan Kane

When you think about moving to another country to live or teach the first question that comes to mind is “What if I don’t speak the language?”. This is a very good question and one that you should be thinking about before moving to most places, but what about Taiwan? 

You do not need to speak Chinese to teach or live in Taiwan, especially Taipei. At all major transportation hubs, public facilities, and tourist attractions they have English signs and or someone who speaks a bit of English. If not the Taiwanese are so kind someone will help you out if you need.  

Park outside my house.

While you don’t need to speak Chinese to be able to live in Taiwan There are some good reasons to learn it, or at least know how to get by without knowing how to read/write it.

Living in Taiwan Without Speaking Chinese

I moved to Kaohsiung for my first time living in Taiwan, which was back in 2014. It was a bit harder as down south (basically outside Taipei) they don’t speak English as well as they do in Taipei. I did learn a few phrases and numbers, but that was all. I got by and had minimal problems, I didn’t even have a smartphone for translations. I got a job with no issues, I  just made sure I stood out in another way. If you want to learn how to stand out getting a job in Taiwan check out my article here. 

The second time I moved back to Taiwan I lived in Taipei. There was really no problem with not speaking the language and only had issues at smaller shops and asking for directions on trails. One time I asked for 13 dumplings and got 33, I wasn’t upset at all. Besides using an app to study basic words I got by just fine. 

I did come back to study at the Mandarin Learning Center in Taipei to learn properly but quit as I hate writing characters. 

Now I just use Memerise when I think about it and practice when I get a chance. English is improving even in Kaohsiung now as Taiwan wants to become a bilingual country by 2030. I don’t see this happening but the effort is what counts. 

Should I study Chinese in Taiwan?

I would study Chinese in Taiwan over any other Chinese-speaking country. Taiwanese have a clearer accent and are more forgiving when you make a mistake compared to China. They also have a higher level of English so you don’t have to speak Chinese if you do not want to. 

While you should study Chinese to fit in and acclimate into the culture you don’t have to.  I know people that have lived here for over 30 years and their Chinese is dreadful. With the rise of translators and everyone having a smartphone, it is extremely easy to get by without reading, writing, speaking Chinese. I studied for a few months at The Mandarin Learning Institute in Taipei. It was a good experience with great teachers. 

If you do plan to come to Taiwan I have made a Guide to move to Taiwan with ease and all that is involved check it out here  The Ultimate Guide For Moving to Taiwan to Work or Live 

What are the best apps for translating and learning Chinese?

  • Pleco- This is the best app for you to translate and figure out the word in Chinese. It has features that allow you to scan words and pictures as well as write the characters. This is really helpful when it is writing and the app can’t read the photo. It also has local dialects and words that are used in each region as they differ from one to another. Get the pay version, it is a lifetime purchase and well worth it. Here is the site Pleco
  • Google Translate- Make sure you download it and have it in traditional and simplified. It does the job but is not as accurate as Pleco. The voice option is much better on here though. 
  • Memrise- Is the app that I enjoy using the best. It has many different courses and you are able to download ones that people created. Most of the courses are made from Mainland China, so not all of the Chinese is spoken in Taiwan. You can also learn to read by using  Memrise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=troxvPRmZm8

The Best Podcasts and Online Courses to Learn Chinese

  • Talk Chineasy-  It is a quick podcast and only around 8 minutes a day. She brings on guests and also has a course if you want to further your learning. She does repeat and there are not always new podcasts each day, it is why I stopped listening to them a while ago. She is also from Taiwan as well. 
  • Learn Chinese- Easy Situational Mandarin- Great podcast from someone else who lives in Taiwan. He goes over situations and uses them as you would in real life. Lives in Taiwan as well so understands the differences between the two dialects.  The website link is here  Learn Chinese
  • Cecilia Chen Chinese-  She has great online courses that focus on learning Taiwanese Mandarin. I have spoken with her and she is really passionate about her courses. She also has an IG page for daily tips. Her website link is here  Cecilia Chen Chinese 

Is speaking Chinese enough, or do I need to read and write?

You can get by speaking Chinese and not read it (though it would be very helpful). Even if you speak a little, it goes a long way. Learn to use the basic questions and answers (food, money, numbers, directions). Learning to read in Taiwan means that you would need to learn Traditional characters. 

I asked Forrest Waters a foreign computer programmer that has lived here for over 9 years and speaks fluently what he thought. “I can speak my way out of anything I don’t understand. When I can’t read what it says I can ask enough questions so that they will understand. My partner is Taiwanese and her English isn’t great so we usually speak in Chinese and haven’t had any major issues.” 

My students and I

The issue with learning to read Traditional Chinese is that it takes a lot of time. In a mainland Chinese newspaper for example you would need to know around 3,000 simplified characters to read the paper. In Taiwan, they use Traditional Characters which are more difficult and you would need around 5,000 characters to read a paper here. 

I for one have very poor handwriting and when I tried to learn the Taiwanese couldn’t get it. I would say it is not hard to learn to read and write, just extremely time-consuming. You can use your own signature for everything here and I send mail in English with no problems. 

Are Mandarin and Chinese the same language? 

All Mandarin is Chinese but not all Chinese is Mandarin. There are seven to ten major dialects of Chinese. The biggest are Mandarin (Putonghua), Yue (Cantonese), Wu, Hakka, Xiang, Min, and Gan. In Taiwan, they speak Mandarin, Taiwanese, and Hakka. 

The dialect is very different from the mainland and the writing is as well.

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