Chinese is spoken more than any other language in the world. The geographical area where it is spoken covers mainland China, and branches out to include Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Like many largely used languages, Chinese includes many dialects. Of these, Mandarin is the most standard.

In Chinese there is no relation between the spoken languages and the written scripts (characters). For instance, two areas may both speak Mandarin, but they may write in either Simplified or Traditional Chinese script (see reference table below). For this reason, when you are targeting a Chinese speaking audience it is important to know who it is you are addressing and to incorporate the correct written script.

Since it is important to know your audience and to reach them effectively, it becomes critical to define precisely what script to use when translating. We always recommend researching your target audience to discover all that you can in order to meet them where they are at. To assist you, the following reference chart can be used as a guideline:

	Spoken Language	Written Script
Most of mainland China	Mandarin	Simplified Chinese
Hong Kong (China)	Cantonese	Traditional Chinese
Taiwan	Mandarin	Traditional Chinese
Singapore	Mandarin	Simplified Chinese