My Taiwanese Language Learning History
2026-07-01
About Taiwanese
Taiwanese is a variety of Minnan (Southern Min), a branch of the Sinitic languages. It is often referred to internationally as Hokkien, especially in Southeast Asia. However, “Hokkien” is a broad term that includes several regional varieties spoken in Fujian, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese communities.
Taiwanese specifically developed from the Quanzhou and Zhangzhou varieties brought to Taiwan by migrants from Fujian during the 17th century. Over time, it evolved independently in Taiwan and absorbed influences from Japanese (during the colonial period) and, to a lesser extent, from Mandarin. Because of this history, Taiwanese today has distinctive vocabulary, pronunciation, and expressions that set it apart from other Minnan varieties.
Studying Taiwanese in Japan
There is a long history of research on Taiwanese in Japan dating back to the period of Japanese rule in Taiwan. Because of this academic accumulation, Japanese speakers may actually be in a relatively advantageous position when studying the language.
How I Began Studying Taiwanese
I honestly don’t remember exactly when I started learning Taiwanese. I believe I began before my first trip to Taiwan in 2009.
In fact, I did not use this book very much. The book I studied most intensively was the following, written by Wang Yude, an activist and a student of Hattori Shirō at the University of Tokyo:
Although it calls itself an “introduction,” it is not introductory at all. If you could speak at the level presented in this book, you would probably be at a solid beginner-to-intermediate level.
Lin² chi¹ koe¹-nng⁷ chit¹ liap⁸ go·7 kak⁴, oe⁷ chhut⁴ tot⁰ boe⁷?
Eggs at your place are 50 cents each—can you give me a discount?
Wang Yude (1982), Introduction to Taiwanese, Nichū Publishing, p.64
Wang Yude also published another book with the same publisher titled Elementary Taiwanese. It is no longer available on Amazon, but in reality it is more of an intermediate-to-advanced level book.
chit⁸-e⁷ tong³-soan² koan⁷-gi⁷-oan⁵ / liau²-au⁷, / tai⁷-chi³ / chiok⁴ choe⁷, / bo⁵-hoat⁴ to·7 / poah⁴ si⁵-kan¹ / oat⁴ lai⁵ ka⁷ li² khoaN⁸.
Ever since being elected as a county councilor, I’ve been so busy that I can’t spare the time to come see you.
Wang Yude (1983 [1993]), Introduction to Taiwanese, Nichū Publishing, p.11
In terms of standardized Chinese proficiency tests, the level of these passages would correspond roughly to Level 3 to Level 2.
Very few foreigners speak Taiwanese. When you speak it in Taiwan, people are often pleasantly surprised. However, in northern Taiwan—especially in Taipei—many young people cannot speak it and tend to associate it with older generations. In contrast, in southern Taiwan, even young people commonly speak Taiwanese.
In the Taiwanese film Soul of Bread, the language spoken by the older man is Taiwanese.