A number of
Chinese characters
Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represe ...
are simplified-traditional multipairings (), which do not have a one-to-one mapping between their
simplified and
traditional
A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...
forms.
This is usually because the simplification process merged two or more distinct characters into one.
In most cases, these traditional characters are
homonym
In linguistics, homonyms are words which are either; '' homographs''—words that mean different things, but have the same spelling (regardless of pronunciation), or '' homophones''—words that mean different things, but have the same pronunciat ...
s, having the same pronunciation but different meanings. As a result, converting text from simplified to traditional characters is difficult to automate, especially in the case of common characters such as ⇄ (behind, empress), ⇄ (table, clock), ⇄ (traitor, rape) and more.
In a smaller number of cases, a single traditional character is mapped to multiple simplified characters as the character is only simplified in one of its usages.
The following is an exhaustive list of all characters whose simplified and traditional forms do not map in a one-to-one manner. Simplified characters are marked with a background, and traditional characters with .
1 to 2
1 to 3
1 to 4
2 to 1
Special cases
* , : is both the simplified character for ''níng'' (peaceful, traditional: ) and traditional character for ''zhù'' (to store, simplified: ).
* , : is both the simplified character for ''níng'' (
limonene
Limonene () is a colorless liquid aliphatic hydrocarbon classified as a cyclic monoterpene, and is the major component in the essential oil of citrus fruit peels. The (+)-isomer, occurring more commonly in nature as the fragrance of oranges, ...
, traditional: ) and traditional character for ''zhù'' (
boehmeria
''Boehmeria'' is a genus of 47 species of flowering plants in the nettle family Urticaceae. Of the species, 33 are indigenous to the Old World and 14 to the New World; no species is indigenous to both the Old and New Worlds. The species include ...
, simplified: ).
* , :
** ''le'' (completed action marker) is written in both simplified and traditional.
** ''liào'' (to watch from a height or distance) is written in both simplified and traditional.
** ''liǎo'' (bright, understand) is written in simplified and in traditional.
* , :
** ''shí'' (ten, miscellaneous) is written in both simplified and traditional.
** ''shèn'' (extremely, exceed) is written in both simplified and traditional.
** ''shén'' (what) is written in simplified and or in traditional.
* , :
** ''huǒ'' (meals) is written in both simplified and traditional.
** ''huǒ'' (many) is written in both simplified and traditional.
** ''huǒ'' (partner, combine) is written in simplified and in traditional.
* , :
** ''jí'' written in both simplified and traditional.
** ''jiè'' written in both simplified and traditional.
** ''jiè'' written in both simplified and traditional.
** ''jiè'' written in simplified and in traditional.
* , :
** ''yāo'' is written (variant: ) in both simplified and traditional.
** ''mó'' is written (variant: ) in both simplified and traditional.
** ''me'' is written in simplified and in traditional.
References
*{{cite web, url=http://ytenx.org/byohlyuk/KienxPyan, title=現代漢語常用簡繁一對多字義辨析表, trans-title=Common simplified Chinese characters that correspond to multiple traditional Chinese characters, website={{lang, zh, italics=no, 韻典網, url-status=live, archive-date=28 April 2025, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250428133826/https://ytenx.org/byohlyuk/KienxPyan, language=zh
External links
Simplified to Traditional Chinese Conversion Table
Homonymy in Chinese
Simplified Chinese characters