Are there any Taiwanese members here?

I can certainly help out as I have been in Taiwan for more than 10 years, but not Taiwanese.

What is Taiwanese language?

You may know the official language here is Mandarin. But there are other languages spoken.

Taiwanese as a language, is normally related to the dialect commonly spoken in the Fujian province of China. Fujian is located nearby Taiwan and is where many immigrants to Taiwan have come from. Taiwanese has however developed a little separately to the language now spoken on the mainland Fujian province, in much the same way American English and English in the UK are different.

There is the aboriginal Taiwanese, which make up nine main tribes and do not have Chinese ancestry, instead having Polynesian roots, these languages are not widely used at all outside of the tribes.

I would suggst going to www.forumosa.com , you will find all answers you need regarding Taiwan there.

Reply to Micheal_S


Hi and thank you.

I'm interested in and am doing research on Taiwanese youth, street and college slang (slang used in Taiwan-Taiwanese Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien). I'd like to know what are Taiwanese slang terms and expressions for

tough guy

besides 硬漢 壯漢 男子漢 流氓, meng nan and sio1-phah4-ke1 or sio1-phah4-kue1 ?

A tough guy can be:

a guy prone to fighting
a physically strong and/or emotionally strong male
a powerfully-built male
a male who can endure a lot

Please let me know and please list as many Taiwanese slang terms as possible. Thank you