Chinese

Group of languages spoken primarily in China.

Mandarin Chinese language

Chinese refers to a group of languages spoken primarily in China, with Mandarin being the most widely used dialect and serving as the official language of the country.

Pronunciation

/ˈtʃaɪ.nɪz/

Etymology

Chinese derives from the name China, which is believed to originate from the Qin dynasty.

Explain Like I’m 5

Chinese is a group of languages spoken by many people in China, and it's like having different dialects that can be tricky to understand if you don't know them.

Fun Facts

Chinese uses logograms, where each character represents a word or concept
The Chinese writing system has been around for over 3,000 years
There are many different dialects of Chinese, some of which are not mutually intelligible

FAQ

What is Chinese? It is a group of related languages spoken in China
How many people speak Chinese? Over 1
1 billion people speak some form of Chinese
What is Mandarin? Mandarin is the most widely spoken variety of Chinese

Hypernyms — Broader Categories

language Sino-Tibetan languages

Hyponyms — Specific Examples

Mandarin Cantonese Wu Chinese Min Chinese

Holonyms — Wholes or Groups

Sino-Tibetan languages

Indexes

language family official language

Built by Tim Jones