
NTU doctoral graduate creates site for learning Taiwanese through TV
Many people find it hard to study Taiwanese. But now there’s a new website that aims to make it easy. Called “TaigiTube,” users of the ad-free and cost-free site can search for a word or phrase, and it will find a video clip that uses the word. The creator is recent NTU doctoral graduate Chang Kai-wei. When he was little, he would often watch dramas with his grandma, which gave him the idea to learn Taiwanese through TV shows. After being up for just two weeks, the site has already had hundreds of thousands of visits.
Lin Yung-chi
FTV reporter
“Going out for a walk in the late afternoon, the sun is so bright that I can hardly open my eyes.” I want to express this in Taiwanese, but my Taigi isn’t fluent enough. Now there’s no need to worry. I can find a clip from a drama to learn how.
Ah, that’s how you say it! Just open this website and type your search into the searchbar, and it’ll find a few YouTube clips for you to watch that use the phrase.
The actors become teachers, reading it out for you to hear in the way that people would actually say it. This is TaigiTube, which went online earlier this month. In less than two weeks, the site has already had hundreds of thousands of hits. The creator is 26-year-old Chang Kai-wei, who just earned his PhD in communication engineering from NTU.
Chang Kai-wei
TaigiTube creator
Someone abroad created the YouGlish website. Before when I was studying English, I used it to study pronunciation. There was nothing like that for Taiwanese, so I figured I could make it. I scoured YouTube for videos. If it has subtitles, I can add it to my database.
Chang spent three months building a search engine using subtitles provided by YouTube. The finished site has over 10,000 links, all from dramas or news programs. It includes 10 million phrases, all inspired by memories of watching TV with his grandmother.
Chang Kai-wei
TaigiTube creator
When I was little, I watched TV dramas with my grandma to study Taiwanese, like Night Market Life. They’re beloved memories I have with her. I figured I could share these memories with others.
These moments spent with his grandmother have been compiled into TaigiTube. His professors also encouraged him to do research that can benefit people. In July, Chang plans to go to MIT in the US to do postdoctoral research.
Chang Kai-wei
TaigiTube creator
What I’m looking forward to more is for people in Taiwan to interact with the functions on the site, on TaigiTube. I’m still creating functions, like adding songs in Taiwanese.
Chang plans to add more than 200,000 Taiwanese songs to the catalogue. Hopefully by making learning fun, the language can be passed down to new generations of speakers.
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2025-05-26