More evidence of just how diverse the state of Hawaii is: The Department of Transportation on Thursday announced that the written driver’s license test is now being offered in simplified Chinese.

I checked the Internet, and it tells me that simplified Chinese uses fewer strokes than traditional Chinese. Taiwan and Hong Kong, it seems, prefer traditional, while mainland China and Singapore prefer simplified.

According to a press release, “The test had already been offered in Traditional Chinese, and the translation into Simplified Chinese will accommodate and help more people safely learn the rules of Hawaii’s roads.”

The release adds, “Applicants will still need to learn key symbols and words that are common on American roadways.”

With the latest translation, Hawaii’s written driver’s test is now available in 14 different languages: English, Hawaiian, traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, Chuukese, Ilocano, Japanese, Korean, Marshallese, Samoan, Spanish, Tagalog, Tongan and Vietnamese.  

Good luck with the tests, everyone!

The simplified Chinese for “east.”