台湾(tái wān) - Taiwan in Mandarin

台湾 (tái wān) is Taiwan, the island in East Asia. 台 (tái) is a shortened form used in the standard place name (the older, more formal character is 臺 (tái), which is why the traditional script writes it 臺灣 (tái wān)), and 湾 (wān) means "bay, gulf", from the shape of the coastline.

Its Mandarin is a first-language variety in its own right, not a dialect learners can ignore: 台湾国语 (tái wān guóyǔ), "Taiwan Mandarin", keeps some vocabulary, tones and grammar the mainland has shifted away from, and it is written in traditional characters rather than the simplified set used across the strait.

Note the political sensitivity around the word: mainland sources will usually call it 中国台湾 (zhōngguó tái wān), "China's Taiwan", or 台湾地区 (tái wān dìqū), "the Taiwan region", where Taiwan-based sources simply say 台湾 (tái wān). Plain 台湾 (tái wān) is the neutral, everyday form used in this course.