Traditional Chinese vs. Simplified Chinese 

Do you prefer traditional or simplified characters? 🤔 Follow me on Instagram 💥@harrocarmen

I like how you include both Mandarin and Cantonese pronunciations of words instead of just using one in all your videos. I’ve been watching since you first posted on this channel, keep up the great work :)

I will forever be an advocate for traditional Chinese characters!!! it is truly the only way to learn, appreciate, and use Chinese

Wow! This video came in good timing. I had an argument with a coworker yesterday about how simplified is not easier to memorize. I explained how much Chinese character needs the story and history to make more sense. Simplified lost most of it meaning. After I showed him many examples he agreed with me.

Please make more video’s like this. I love having the characters dissected and understand the character through its rules, culture and history.

Simplified 爱 has 友 “friend” in it. So essentially friendzoned.

I basically learned both at roughly the same time, the traditional was much easier to memorize. So not only does it lose some meaning, the simplified one also misses the purpose of being easier to learn. Less strokes is faster to write but it doesn't make it more memorable. Imagine if people's faces had less identifying features, would it be easier or harder to tell people apart and remember them?

Thank you so much for explaining this!!!!! Love your videos!!!!!

I badly need this! Thanks for uploading!

Thank you, Carmen for explaining and storytelling about the characters. I'm illiterate in Chinese but grew up speaking Cantonese.

I love traditional characters! Please, bring more content like this

I love this video. I've been learning both cantonese and mandarin and I've been trying to familiarize myself with traditional characters and simplified.

I found this really interesting! Please do more of these! :D

Great explanation, loving the canto parts that are included.

Awesome upload! Looking forward to more uploads like this one XD

Great to learn about the changes and why... please do more about this!

thanks for sharing, video is great!

I just turned on all notifications bc I never EVER want to miss another live premiere lol.

Thank you!

Perhaps make a video for those wanting to learn Chinese or apps you would recommend! That might be useful!

I am so glad you did a video about this. I'd like to ask two things. First: I was a bad kid and I didn't learn Cantonese while younger and now I pay the price of ignorance. Nowadays I try to learn little by little by listening to sing along songs or rewatching old TVB Series I loved when I was young. The thing is I sometimes get lost because characters I thought I knew the pronunciation are pronounced differently. I'm not talking about Cantonese saying 今日 instead of 今天, but for exemple: 行路 vs 銀行. I thing there is some other characters like this one. I just don't remember. Second: I came across this post in reddit in which the OP was saying that 喜歡上一個人 could mean 4 different things... 🤷‍♂️ I read the debate in the comments section. But yeah... I should have learn my Cantonese younger.

This video is informative. I like the fact that you included both Mandarin and Cantonese pronunciations. As a foreigner learning Mandarin, I prefer the traditional characters. The 道 and 導 connection was very obvious to me the first time I knew about 導. Then I saw the simplified one and it had no connection. The outlier dictionary's entries often bolster my conviction about the beauty and thoughtful nature of traditional characters. There is no real argument to adopt simplified characters now.

Also Simplified Radicals completely re-indexed the dictionary. So memory associations are different

This video is so interesting !!! 👍

leaving a comment to encourage and also to remember: I have already watched this youtube algorithm: quit reminding me to watch things again

Please don't stop making Videos 👍

Awesome, jaiyou 💪🙏

Is there any possibility that PRC shall adopt Traditional Chinese again? Although I'm a strong proponent of Traditional Chinese but I highly doubt of its reintroduction in PRC.

Beautiful as always 🥰. Greetings from India 🙏

Wonderful video! Just thought of much more examples: "产" never "生", "厂" is empty, "儿" doesn't get a head, "义" is none of my business, "穷"人 get much more power, "郎" cannot be found in "乡", "魚" cannot be raised and "禾" cannot be grown in "苏"州.

Thanks, Carmen. Still smart, pretty and funny!

Traditionalllll.. but not all the way. Some simplified characters are easy for me to learn 😅😁 also I speak cantonese too! 😎

Maybe I'm learning too short, but I like simplified more (despite I'm exposed to traditional ones as well). This is because some traditional charaters (some simplified as well) are very complicated and it takes time to recognize them or write them. Actually I write only simplified and some more complex ones are challenging to split into parts and write them somehow readable. With traditional ones it would be much more problematic. This maybe is not a problem writing on computer, but writing on paper seems to work better for me. On computer screen there is also a problem, if font is too small, it's very hard to recognize them. If character is complicated enough, they all look the same :( Perhaps this is matter of learning style, but I'm content how fast I recognize more and more characters. However it might be matter of experience. This is my 6th language.

could you make a future video on how you people type chinese characters on a keyboard? i've always wondered how that's possible. 🤔

Great

For general learners which one traditional/simplified would someone recommend

im from guangzhou and i hate it when people use simplified characters to write cantonese, it just looks so much better in traditional but then it doenst look nice when you've got like 10+ keyboards on your phone....

More Chinese learners need to watch this video!!!

*Traditional Chinese* characters is to *Simplified Chinese* characters as *Giuseppe Verdi* is to *Joe Green*

More Please

Cantonese and mandarin, which come first? Is Cantonese a dialect or language? If we learn chinese, should we learn mandarin or Cantonese?

Brilliant! I love it. And we need to learn Traditional characters because most Karaoke is in traditional. You can't go to Taiwan or 'Mainland' China without at some time having to do 卡拉OK！

Okay, I'm in a tough spot, lol. I'm supposed to study abroad this summer hopefully in Taiwan but though I can read (most) traditional characters, I definitely can not write them lol. I'm more comfortable reading and writing in simplified. No offense to the traditional lovers but I can't sit up here writing all those extra strokes on a timed exam :/

Are you familiar with other languages' efforts with latinisation? Might make for an interesting contrast.

Hello, first of all let me tell you that you explain very well, however I still have a doubt, I was wondering if traditional and simplified chinese sound both the same? do they only change the character or as well the pronunciation? I guess I am a bit concerned due to the fact that I am learning simplified chinese right now and I'm not sure if people who only know the traditional way will understand me If I speak the simplified version :/

Just to add one question, why we read ancient Chinese poetry , it sounds quite similar with Cantonese rather than in putonghua or mandarin? Does it mean in traditional Chinese or ancient dynasty the Chinese speak something sound like Cantonese as a common Chinese language?

Traditional. End of story :P

Daddy Xi says we must only use 简体字 on the mainland

I don't know about erasing the past if both the Nationalists and Communists were all making plans to simplify Chinese. The only reason ROC Taiwan didn't follow through was because PRC China simplified.

Looks like you are using the "Criticizing thinking approach" to discuss the topic. I cannot argue with the words you quote, but it seems you deliberately omit an important point - the context , when we try to understand some written/spoken things. ( I was born and raised in HK in 60', I use Traditional Chinese in writing )

This video not only does it ignore history, but it also ignores the facts. The simplification of Chinese characters has a long history, dating back to the Qin and Han Dynasties when small seal script（小篆） was transformed into Li script（隶书）. During the evolution of Li script, there were many errors and changes in Chinese characters, resulting in the construction of a large number of dropped and confused characters. Actually, in this regard, those who believe that traditional Chinese characters are superior to simplified Chinese characters and vigorously advocate them should use oracle bone inscriptions. In modern times, at the national level, on August 21, 1935, Wang Shijie promulgated Ministry Order No. 11400 of the Ministry of Education of the Nationalist Government, announcing to the whole society the "List of the First Batch of Simplified Chinese Characters", a total of 324. Therefore, it is a manifestation of historical blindness to say that the simplification of Chinese characters was an effort to erase the past promoted by Chinese liberals and communists in the 1900s. Why should we promote the simplification of Chinese characters? Please read more books before talking about the reasons behind it. Otherwise, I can only think that this video is deliberately distorting history to achieve the purpose of smearing. The Chinese character simplification movement enabled the people of this country, who had just been liberated from the feudal dynasty where reading was a privilege for a few, and had experienced years of war, while the original Nationalist Government had plundered all the remaining wealth here and then retreated to that small island, leaving hundreds of millions of illiterate people, to be able to read and receive education, thus unleashing great energy to improve their lives and build their homes. Isn't this a great feat? From a humanitarian perspective. Those who still talk about the superiority of traditional Chinese characters over simplified Chinese characters are nothing more than the arrogance and vanity of the old elite forces who have been defeated and expelled. They always like to add many English words when speaking Chinese. Isn't this very hypocritical? The traditional Chinese characters and simplified Chinese characters each have their own unique value and historical significance, and neither can be simply replaced or eliminated. The traditional Chinese characters have a long history and rich cultural connotations, and are an important part of the traditional culture of the Chinese nation. They contain the essence and wisdom of the ancient Chinese culture and have played an important role in the inheritance and development of the Chinese culture. In addition, the traditional Chinese characters have unique aesthetic value, which can make people feel the beauty and rhythm of the Chinese characters. The simplified Chinese characters are a reform and innovation of the Chinese characters, which is conducive to promoting the popularization and development of the Chinese culture. The simplified Chinese characters are easier to learn and use, which can improve the literacy rate of the Chinese people and facilitate the dissemination and exchange of information. In addition, the simplified Chinese characters are also conducive to promoting the modernization and internationalization of the Chinese culture. Therefore, both traditional Chinese characters and simplified Chinese characters have their own value and significance, and neither can be simply replaced or eliminated. We should respect and inherit the traditional culture of the Chinese nation, while also actively promoting the popularization and development of the Chinese culture. In this way, we can make the Chinese culture more brilliant and contribute to the progress and development of human civilization.

Appreciate the Cantonese

in Korean, when they use it, it's always traditional characters... and it makes easier to read, I say it as a non-Korean nor native Korean-speaker. Same goes with Japanese shinjitai [新字体], almost ever. (Simplifying the really little almost-non-existent amount of yakja [약자, 略字] and ryakuji [略字] and gukja [국자, 國字] and kokuji [国字]) Over all, traditional character are aesthetically pleasing, simplified look awkward and stilted.

Awesome video ! Keep up with the canto! I am learning a lot! Lol

Simplified Chinese characters look like unfinished Kanji.

100% Traditional Chinese, kids should learn Traditional chineses when they're young. If they start learning Simified Chinese at beginning, it's so hard for them to learn Traditional Chinese. Simified chinese just missing alot of truth meaning of the words.

This is the exact resason I prefer traditional chinese characters :)

My professor said he only spoke mandarin.. but he only spoke traditional Chinese... I dont understand how SC and TC are both Mandarin?

いいです

Love this video!! It is so good that you are doing this!! Please also check my video on Classical Chinese poetry. Unfortunately I was educated in mainland Chin, it is just habit to use the simplified characters although I have no to read the traditional characters it is hard for me to write in them.

Traditional. I'm old school and that's what I was taught.

I think traditional is actually make more sense

I think most of the simplifications come from shorthands, am I right?

I definitely understand the reason behind the language simplification. Mainland China was so poor back in the day, it's so hard to start school and teach the kids the read and write with complicated traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese definitely helped the reduction of the illiterate population. Tho I do consider some simplifications are a failure, like 龙and龍, the traditional one is so much prettier. But there are also successes like the word for bugs, 虫and蟲， I personally consider the simplified one much easier to write, better to look at and didn't really lose any meaning.

運->运 why not 辶+军???

2:27，關 is correct instead of 関 in Traditional Chinese

Simplified coz they don’t teach traditional here. I tried to learn both simultaneously but my brain couldn’t keep up :c

I’m learning traditional mandarin please help me!

I’m gonna be a devil’s advocate here: if you simplify existing characters, it makes it easier to form more complex characters down the line by combining different characters together while minimizing the number of strokes. So it leaves more room for future expansion.

💜👍💜👍

traditional

It's like taking the root out of words in English. It doesn't really work.

0:55 not for me bc traditional characters hurt my brain

Using drawing method ㄣ, using L J to draw ㄣ and to add 一，一 to form 与,. To add 乛 ，一 form马. 写鸟与吗妈 勺 鸟乌鸦,呜. ㄣ denote bird leg, or horse, pen .counter check with handphone keyboard If forget use voice input

2:40 是關不是関

3:10 happen?

I wonder what Latinized Chinese would’ve sounded like. Glad that didn’t happen lol.

Ok got it. Learn traditional chinese it's way better simplified chinese

You went to school in Macau? 酷炫

開關的（關）正寫是這樣的

Mandarin is very hard ....... Even English is very hard to write........ So there must a simplified English Sh = Ś ss = ṣ Ship = Śip Boss = Boṣ

It was never entirely about 'erase the past' as you stated - there is also the complexity of teaching, and improving education across a massive land with a large population of poorly educated people especially in the rural areas. While some of the history, or 'missing characters' (actually radicals to be precise), may be gone, the fact is that learning representations of things is basically arbitrary - take the difference between inches and centimetres: an inch being more 'useful' as it's the length of your thumb knuckle, when compared to a centimetre that is readily and easily manipulated being base10. In reality you learn and understand things based on your experiences, not any historical context that hasn't already been learned. Final point - well aware of the traditional chinese writers in the world having somewhat chips on shoulders about simplified, however, consider the educational and development positives of simplifying a complex written language, with all the dialects also, and it was never going to be a non-controversial task, however beneficial.

I suggest you learn Traditional Chinese characters. In addition to the advantages of traditional Chinese mentioned，there is another reason. Although Traditional Chinese is only widely used in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, from these three regions have the highest status in China. You heard that right, even in the actual policy of China Mainland , mainlanders are inferior. It's a sad fact, and I don't want to admit it, but subjective opinions can’t affect objective facts. It's really really disappointing.

當然是繁體啊

simplified Chinese is much easy to learn, and it is the main reason for simplification. You can learn the tradional one later on if you want

✦ 首先，1935年8月ROC民国政府统治时期，已经推出了简体字方案《第一批简体字表》。你提到的几乎所有字，咩“愛無心”啊，“發”啊……当时的简体字版本已经存在。 后来中共推行的简体字方案，和1935年民国方案几乎90%相同。推行简体字是当时汉字文化圈的共识，包括日本，也包括完全采用中国简体字方案的新加坡。后来台湾不采用，完全是阴差阳错，或出于与中共对抗的目的。 ✦ 其次，很多简体字不是凭空捏造的，在历史上都有出处。如“宝（寶）、听（聽）、旧（舊）、医（醫）”等，宋朝就有。囯（國）、为（為）、弥（彌）”等，清朝就有。还有一些是由草书楷化而成。 ✦ 一些港台人喜欢说“残体字” 愛無心、養無食之类的，除了是无知愚笨、历史不精，不知道简体字的历史是贯穿各个朝代的，更是心态幼稚：因为我也可以说，汉字简化后，从此【党（黨）内无黑，团（團）中有才，国（國）含宝玉，爱（愛）因友存，美还是美，善还是善，虽丑（醜）无鬼，穷（窮）不躬，权（權）不佳，巩（鞏）不革，车（車）不行田，坚（堅）不称臣，无鹿亦能丽（麗），无巫亦能灵（靈），无水亦能灭（滅），无火亦能劳（勞），无曲亦能礼（禮），无手亦能击（擊）。】 所以……最后，我的观点是：为什么不学文言文呢？那才是中华文化的正统啊！

Most simplified characters are not invented by the communist but rather from Xinshu and Caoshu, ancient calligraphic writings

Simplify or short form more systematic. Eg If draw method, For those people don't like to write Using tooth- pick sticks to form 人‘ after that add a small stick 一 to 人 became 大 Add 二 to 人 became天 . Add two small sticks to 大 became头....买卖 爱 灾火🔥火灭灾火土 太犬 头. From 人 ，move two sticks apart became 八入 then bend two sticks became 儿, add a small piece

simplified makes it much easier

I hope mainland Chinese are not coming to attacking you……

Simplify mean short form, simplify more systematic. Eg For those people don't like to write Using tooth- pick sticks to form 人‘ after that add a small stick 一 to 人 became 大 Add 二 to 人 became天 . Add two small sticks to 大 became头....买卖 爱 灾火🔥火灭灾火土 太犬 头. From 人 ，move two sticks apart became 八入 then bend two sticks became 儿, add a small piece together to form 又叉 又

no it's because your cantonese. Cantonese use traditional. LOLs.

I think nowadays, the biggest difference between the two writing systems is this "no one wants to talk about too much sociopolitical issue". At least as a simplified Chinese characters user and advocate, every time when I see traditional characters, I know these users aren't my people. And it also implies that I need to stay away a bit or they might attack me. From a linguistic perspective, languages have always undergone changes. Old English is nothing like the English we use today. There just are way too many examples with language changes. However, sadly but true, there aren't many native users outside of mainland China can see this simplifying process logically. One might also argue that oracle bone script is way more traditional than traditional Chinese characters, but we don't learn that do we?

Why would anyone wants to study traditional Chinese in 2020. Even Kanji has been simplified to make it easier for people to learn kanji.

traditional, no殘體字thanks

Bad arguments if you call that arguments. The problem with simplified lies in the lack of a systematic way of simplification, leading to exceptions and many inconsistencies throughout the simplification process. That coupled with nonsense like using a 又 like component to replace several different radicals leads to confusion and lost of meaning. It's sad opinions like yours (how can you love without a heart nonsense)are so widespread. More academic dissections of the cons of simplified Chinese should have more preeminence.

殘體字

Simplified Chinese characters are uglier, they don't look as good.

Can you memorise the complete poem of 'qian zi wen' in traditional Chinese Characters??? If you can , kudos to you then. Most people are unable to do that. So stop your propaganda & confusing the rest of Mandarin Chinese learners.

Language's primary purpose isn't meant to be art; it's a utility that you use daily. Being such, you're going to want the most efficient way of speaking and writing. Simplified characters are a W for Chinese speakers imo