Have you ever heard a Taiwanese friend look at your Chinese textbook and say, “Who talks like this? It’s so strange!” You may be puzzled as to why textbooks often lack practical spoken expressions. During language exchanges, you might find useful vocabulary that textbooks don’t cover. I hope that after reading this article, you will know how to improve your ability to speak Chinese.
Understanding the Gap: Spoken vs. Written Chinese
Chinese spoken and written forms differ significantly. Spoken language is highly context-dependent, changing based on the situation and the person you’re speaking to. Generally, spoken Chinese can be categorized into casual and formal expressions. For example, with friends, you might say, “隨便啦！都可以 (Whatever, anything’s fine),” while with elders, you’d say, “由您決定 (It’s up to you).”
Spoken Chinese can be divided into casual and formal expressions.
It’s essential to choose appropriate expressions depending on the person you’re speaking with. For example, when chatting with friends, you might casually say, “隨便啦！都可以 (suíbiàn la! dōu kěyǐ. Whatever, anything’s fine).” However, when speaking to elders, it is more respectful to say, “由您決定 (yóu nín jué dìng. It’s up to you).”
Written Chinese can also be categorized as casual and formal.
The same distinctions apply to written language, which varies in tone, vocabulary, and structure. A letter to a friend differs greatly from a formal invitation. Formal writing tends to be concise, especially in government announcements. This clarity helps reduce misunderstandings that can arise in spoken Chinese due to homophones. Here are examples:
Indeed, there is some overlap between casual spoken and written language, but the structure and length of the sentences still differ. In spoken language, there are also more sentence-final particles like ‘ah啊,’ ‘lo囉,’ ‘oh哦,’ and ‘yeah耶.’ If you don’t know how to use these sentence-final particles, you can watch this video.
Bridging the Gap in Learning
Most textbooks start distinguishing spoken and written Chinese around the B1 level, but the separation is challenging in practice. Textbooks aim to cover all four aspects of language—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—which can overwhelm learners trying to master tones, usage, and characters.
Personal Insights
No single textbook can meet every student’s needs. Each learning stage brings new insights. It’s essential to balance in-class and out-of-class resources, using textbooks as a foundation for grammar and supplementary materials for vocabulary. Adjustments should be made to enhance effective learning experiences.
