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Simplified ↔ Traditional Chinese

Convert between Simplified (Mainland) and Taiwan, Hong Kong/Macau, or general Traditional presets using OpenCC phrase rules—good for copy migration.

Direction
Traditional preset

Pick the preset that matches your audience—the same Simplified word may map differently (e.g. 台湾 → 臺灣 vs 台灣).

Up to 30 conversions per minute; please avoid rapid automated requests.

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A brief history

  • Before the 20th century, Chinese was generally written in forms we now call “Traditional.” From the late 19th century, many communities explored stroke simplification to spread literacy and cut printing costs.
  • From the 1950s, Mainland China rolled out schemes such as the Character Simplification Plan, shaping today’s Simplified Chinese; Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau kept Traditional (standard) habits with stable glyph and word differences.
  • “Traditional” is not one global standard: Taiwan, Hong Kong/Macau, and older Mainland forms differ on characters like 台/臺 and 面/麵/麪—the three presets on this page reflect those patterns.

Where Simplified and Traditional are used

  • Simplified: promoted across Mainland China from 1956 in education and publishing; Singapore also uses Simplified for Chinese teaching and official Chinese text.
  • Traditional (standard): Taiwan has used standard Traditional characters since 1949 without Mainland-style simplification.
  • Traditional: Hong Kong and Macau rely on Traditional Chinese, with some glyphs influenced by Cantonese and British Chinese usage.
  • Overseas Chinese communities: Malaysia, North America, Europe, and others historically favored Traditional; mixed Simplified–Traditional use is common today.
  • Elsewhere in East Asia: Japan (shinjitai) and Korea (occasional simplified hanja) retain many Traditional-like forms, but their systems are not the same as Chinese Simplified/Traditional—do not treat them as interchangeable.

Presets on this page

  • Simplified: default for Mainland publications and websites.
  • Taiwan Traditional: e.g. 軟體, 臺灣, 裡 for “inside”.
  • Hong Kong / Macau Traditional: e.g. 台灣, 裏, 方便麪.
  • General Traditional: when you need Traditional glyphs without picking a locale.

Common differences

  • 台 vs 臺: Taiwan often uses 臺灣; HK/Mac presets may output 台灣.
  • 面 / 麵 / 麪: food “noodles” may be 麵 in Taiwan and 麪 in HK rules.
  • Wording: 软件/軟體, 信息/資訊, 鼠标/滑鼠 are lexical choices—match your readers’ region, not just glyphs.
  • Traditional → Simplified: pick the preset closest to your source (Taiwan → Taiwan, HK → HK).