<p>「硅」(Pinyin <code>guī</code>) is the Mainland Chinese word for <em>silicon</em>, while「矽」(Pinyin <code>xī</code>) is the Taiwan and Hong Kong word for <em>silicon</em>. This difference in the word for <em>silicon</em> transfers over to their respective names for <em>Silicon Valley</em> as well.</p>

<hr>

<p>From <a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%83%E7%B4%A0%E3%81%AE%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E8%AA%9E%E5%90%8D%E7%A7%B0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Japanese Wikipedia</a>; top character is PRC chemical element name, bottom character is Taiwan chemical name.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/25qeQ.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/25qeQ.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<ol>
<li>ランタノイド: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanthanide" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Lanthanide series</a></li>
<li>アクチノイド: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actinide" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Actinide series</a></li>
</ol>

<p>(<em>Don't know why English and Chinese Wikipedia doesn't provide this naming difference periodic table between PRC and Taiwan</em>)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-06T07:01:45.887Z
Thanks and now I got confused. So is 矽 traditional character?
Blaszard
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-06T08:36:34.953Z
@Blaszard no,「硅」and「矽」are different words that are synonyms. (1)「硅」came from a larger effort to turn all characters representing solid non-metal elements at room temperature and standard pressure to have the「石」radical (a similar change occurred with phosphorus, 燐 -> 磷).「硅」was originally written「珪」(Japanese `kei`, Pinyin `guī`), which was an ancient unused Chinese character repurposed by Japan to phonetically transcribe the Dutch word ***kei**aarde*, the early 19th century Dutch name for silicon. (2)「矽」was an invented character to phonetically match the English word ***si**licon*.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-06T08:47:08.417Z
@Blaszard PRC and Taiwan just use entirely different words for *silicon*,「硅」and「矽」are not traditional/simplified character variants of each other. Modern chemistry was introduced not that long before the Chinese civil war, and continued to be developed by PRC and Taiwan separately after the ROC fled to Taiwan, so it's natural that they would have different words for some of the chemical elements.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-06T04:58:12.750Z
2018-03-06T05:10:51.783Z
2018-03-06T05:10:51.783Z
dROOOze
<p>On Pleco, there are two entries for the word Silicon Valley, 硅谷 and 矽谷.</p>

<p>One is 硅谷, the other is 矽谷. </p>

<p>What is the difference between the two?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-06T08:12:09.920Z
If you have purchased KEY for Pleco it would show too that 矽谷 is `{TW usage} Silicon Valley`.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-06T08:13:55.280Z
@user3306356 What is the *KEY*?
Blaszard
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-06T08:15:48.690Z
A dictionary add-on https://store.pleco.com/products.php?ios=1 `KEY Chinese-English Dictionary - $19.99 (version 3 only)
Up-to-date and very comprehensive Chinese-English dictionary with over 280,000 entries (but no examples); adapted from the PC software of the same name.` Probably better to purchase it in app though.
Mou某
<word-choice><difference>
The word for Silicon Valley in Chinese
# The word for Silicon Valley in Chinese

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-03-06)

On Pleco, there are two entries for the word Silicon Valley, 硅谷 and 矽谷.

One is 硅谷, the other is 矽谷.

What is the difference between the two?

**Tags:** word-choice, difference

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: If you have purchased KEY for Pleco it would show too that 矽谷 is `{TW usage} Silicon Valley`.  
> **username_0**: @user3306356 What is the *KEY*?  
> **username_1**: A dictionary add-on https://store.pleco.com/products.php?ios=1 `KEY Chinese-English Dictionary - $19.99 (version 3 only) Up-to-date and very comprehensive Chinese-English dictionary with over 280,000 entries (but no examples); adapted from the PC software of the same name.` Probably better to purchase it in app though.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-03-06. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

「硅」(Pinyin `guī`) is the Mainland Chinese word for *silicon*, while「矽」(Pinyin `xī`) is the Taiwan and Hong Kong word for *silicon*. This difference in the word for *silicon* transfers over to their respective names for *Silicon Valley* as well.

---

From [Japanese Wikipedia](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%83%E7%B4%A0%E3%81%AE%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E8%AA%9E%E5%90%8D%E7%A7%B0); top character is PRC chemical element name, bottom character is Taiwan chemical name.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/25qeQ.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/25qeQ.png)

1. ランタノイド: [Lanthanide series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanthanide)
2. アクチノイド: [Actinide series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actinide)

(*Don't know why English and Chinese Wikipedia doesn't provide this naming difference periodic table between PRC and Taiwan*)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks and now I got confused. So is 矽 traditional character?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 no,「硅」and「矽」are different words that are synonyms. (1)「硅」came from a larger effort to turn all characters representing solid non-metal elements at room temperature and standard pressure to have the「石」radical (a similar change occurred with phosphorus, 燐 -> 磷).「硅」was originally written「珪」(Japanese `kei`, Pinyin `guī`), which was an ancient unused Chinese character repurposed by Japan to phonetically transcribe the Dutch word ***kei**aarde*, the early 19th century Dutch name for silicon. (2)「矽」was an invented character to phonetically match the English word ***si**licon*.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 PRC and Taiwan just use entirely different words for *silicon*,「硅」and「矽」are not traditional/simplified character variants of each other. Modern chemistry was introduced not that long before the Chinese civil war, and continued to be developed by PRC and Taiwan separately after the ROC fled to Taiwan, so it's natural that they would have different words for some of the chemical elements.  

---

