Chinese word

繁体字

Pronunciation

Pinyinfán tǐ zì

Meaning

  • nountraditional Chinese characters

Example

很多大陆人看不懂繁体字。hěn duō dà lù rén kàn bù dǒng fán tǐ zì

Many people in mainland China cannot read traditional Chinese characters.

Illustration for 繁体字 (traditional Chinese characters)

More examples

在台湾的路牌上常看到繁体字。zài tái wān de lù pái shàng cháng kàn dào fán tǐ zì

Traditional Chinese characters are often seen on road signs in Taiwan.

Core concept

The older, more detailed visual form of a Chinese character, preserved as a writing system across several Chinese-speaking communities.

Common phrases

  • 阅读繁体字文章yuè dú fán tǐ zì wén zhāng

    read articles written in traditional Chinese characters

  • 识别繁体字和简体字shí bié fán tǐ zì hé jián tǐ zì

    tell traditional and simplified Chinese characters apart

  • 辨认繁体字biàn rèn fán tǐ zì

    identify traditional Chinese characters

Similar words

简体字jián tǐ zì: Chinese character forms simplified in shape and structure, used mainly in mainland China.
繁体中文fán tǐ zhōng wén: Written Chinese expressed with traditional Chinese character forms.
异体字yì tǐ zì: A different historical or regional written form of an existing Chinese character.

Definition in Chinese

指与简体字对应的传统汉字书写体系，字形未被系统简化，常见于台、港、澳及海外华人使用的文本。zhǐ yǔ jián tǐ zì duì yìng de chuán tǒng hàn zì shū xiě tǐ xì zì xíng wèi bèi xì tǒng jiǎn huà cháng jiàn yú tái gǎng ào jí hǎi wài huá rén shǐ yòng de wén běn

Word origin

繁体字 (fántǐzì, "traditional Chinese characters") was formed to distinguish character forms not included in mainland Chinese simplification reforms from the newer simplified forms.

Usage tips

  • A phone, website, or book may offer a setting called Traditional Chinese; in that context, the label normally selects the written character set, not a different spoken language.

Opposites

Related words

  • 繁体fán tǐtraditional formnoun

Word lists with this word