Abstract: Based on the comparison between cross-strait synonyms, this paper concludes that Mainland-Taiwan synonyms differ in the following aspects: (1) distance between literal meaning and the referents; (2) focus points; (3) morpheme selection; (4) choice between tradition and modernity, written and spoken language, dialect and standard language; (5) choice between abbreviations and original forms; (6) word order; (7) difference in translations.

Key words: synonyms, motivation, cognition, culture discrepancy