Mandarin Chinese
Most spoken language
Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken variety of Chinese, serving as the official language of China and Taiwan and one of four official languages of Singapore.
It's the native tongue of roughly a billion people, concentrated in northern and southwestern China.
When people say they're "learning Chinese," they usually mean Mandarin—specifically Standard Mandarin, based on the Beijing dialect.
The name Mandarin originally referred to imperial bureaucrats and their administrative language.
Distinct sound qualities
- pinyinChinese-to-alphabet conversion system
- charactersPersons in a narrative
- dialectRegional language variety
- calligraphyOrnamental handwriting art
hanzi · simplified · traditional · radicals · strokes · pronunciation · fluency · immersion
Citrus with segments
- tangerineSmall, loose-skinned citrus
- clementineSeedless citrus hybrid
- satsumaSeedless mandarin variety
- peelOuter fruit layer
segments · zest · juice · vitamin C · citrus · fruit · grove · harvest
Government administrative official
- courtTrial venue or sports surface
- imperialRelating to supreme rule
- Qing dynastyLast Chinese imperial regime
- scholarLearned, studious person
civil service · examination · rank · nobility · robes · hat · colonial administration · government
tones
Distinct sound qualities
- pinyinChinese-to-alphabet conversion system
- charactersPersons in a narrative
- dialectRegional language variety
calligraphy · hanzi · simplified · traditional · radicals · strokes · pronunciation · fluency · immersion · vocabulary
orange
Citrus with segments
- tangerineSmall, loose-skinned citrus
- clementineSeedless citrus hybrid
- satsumaSeedless mandarin variety
peel · segments · zest · juice · vitamin C · citrus · fruit · grove · harvest · sweet
bureaucrat
Government administrative official
- courtTrial venue or sports surface
- imperialRelating to supreme rule
- Qing dynastyLast Chinese imperial regime
scholar · civil service · examination · rank · nobility · robes · hat · colonial administration · government · elite
- Standard Languagesstandard language, High German, BBC English, Oxford English, Queen's English
- Asian languagesThai, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Hindi, Japanese
- pekingForbidden City, Great Wall, Tiananmen, Tiananmen Square, Temple of Heaven