The Mandarin of Mainland China and that of Taiwan are fundamentally very similar.

That said, there are several differences related to vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.

For now, let’s focus on the third area.

Pronunciation differences between Mainland Mandarin and Taiwanese Mandarin

1. Words with Tonal Differences

There’s a number of words that officially have different tones. Check out the video below to see what I mean!

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The Words From the Video

Mainland Mandarin Chinese	Taiwanese Mandarin Chinese
星期 xīng qī week	星期 xīng qí week
炸鸡 zhá jī fried chicken	炸雞 zhà jī fried chicken
微波炉 wēi bō lú microwave	微波爐 wéi bō lú microwave
期待 qī dài to look forward to	期待 qí dài to look forward to
阿姨 ā yí aunt / housekeeper	阿姨 ǎ yí aunt / housekeeper
相亲 xiāng qīn blind date	相親 xiàng qīn blind date
亚洲 yà zhōu Asia	亞洲 yǎ zhōu Asia
质量 zhì liàng quality	質量 zhí liàng quality
危险 wēi xiǎn dangerous	危險 wéi xiǎn dangerous
俄罗斯 é luō sī Russia	俄羅斯 è luō sī Russia
法国 fǎ guó France	法國 fà guó France
成绩 chéng jì achievement / grades	成績 chéng jī achievement / grades
攻击 gōng jī to attack	攻擊 gōng jí to attack
冲击 chōng jī to batter / impact	沖擊 chōng jí to batter / impact

2. The Neutral Tone

The neutral tone, which is common in Mainland Mandarin, rarely appears in Taiwanese Mandarin.

The words in the table below show how the tone on the second syllable becomes neutral in Mainland Mandarin, but not in Taiwanese Mandarin.

Mainland Mandarin Chinese Neutral tone on final syllables	Taiwanese Mandarin Chinese No neutral tone (syllables retain original tone)
漂亮 piào liang beautiful	漂亮 piào liàng beautiful
东西 dōng xi thing/ stuff	東西 dōng xī thing/ stuff
意思 yì si meaning	意思 yì sī meaning
先生 xiān sheng Mr.	先生 xiān shēng Mr.
学生 xué sheng student	學生 xué shēng student
喜欢 xǐ huan blind date	喜歡 xǐ huān to like

3. Sound Changes

In an earlier video we saw that some sounds in standard Mainland Mandarin are pronounced differently by many Taiwanese Mandarin speakers. For example, zh/ch/sh sound like z/c/s.

Challenge: Listen to the two audio clips below. In which clip do you hear the sounds zh, ch, sh change to z, c, s?

wǒ yào chī shí kuài qiǎo kè lì， hái yào hē shí bēi guǒ zhī 我要吃十块巧克力，还要喝十杯果汁。I want to eat ten bars of chocolate and drink ten glasses of juice.

wǒ yào cī sí kuài qiǎo kè lì， hái yào hē sí bēi guǒ zī 我要吃十块巧克力，还要喝十杯果汁。I want to eat ten bars of chocolate and drink ten glasses of juice.

(Correct answer: The sound changes appear in clip #2)

4. “Erhua” (儿化)

Another key difference is the use of "Erhua".

This is a feature of Mainland Mandarin that’s largely absent from Taiwanese Mandarin.

To illustrate the “erhua difference”, let’s use the word 好玩 (fun).

Pronunciation of the word 好玩 (fun) With Erhua: hǎowánr Without Erhua : hǎowán

There’s a general perception that the Mandarin you hear in Taiwan (and southern mainland China) sounds softer than that spoken in northern China. The fact that northerners use a lot more “Erhua” is a big part of the explanation for that perception.

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The Missing Guide to the Sounds of Southern Accented Mandarin Chinese