Table of Contents
What is Chinese Language?
The Chinese language is a diverse family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken by the Han Chinese people, featuring a logographic writing system, tonal nature (especially in Mandarin), and historical variations like Old Chinese and Middle Chinese. Mandarin is the official language, with dialects such as Cantonese and Hokkien. Chinese characters are logograms, and the writing system includes Simplified and Traditional variants. The Pinyin system aids pronunciation. Chinese holds cultural significance and global influence, with growing interest in learning Mandarin worldwide.
Discover about Chinese Numbers
History of Chinese Language
1. Ancient Roots (Shang Dynasty – 16th to 11th Century BCE):
- The earliest linguistic evidence of spoken Chinese dates back around 4,500 years.
- Writing system examples were found on bronze vessels and oracle bones during the late Shang dynasty (c. 1250 – 1050 BCE).
2. Sino-Tibetan Ancestry:
- Chinese is part of the Sino-Tibetan language family.
- Reconstruction of Chinese languages using a 2019 linguistic database by Laurent Sagart.
3. Old Chinese (Shang to Zhou Dynasty – 1766–256 BCE):
- Old Chinese, is genetically related to all current Chinese languages.
- Development of the Chinese writing system during the Shang dynasty.
- Phonetic elements in characters provide hints to Old Chinese pronunciations.
4. Middle Chinese (Sui to Song Dynasty – 6th to 10th Century CE):
- Form of the language during the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties.
- Early and late periods are reflected in dictionaries and rime tables.
- Evidence from dialect variations, dictionaries, transliterations, and phonetic translations.
5. Spoken Chinese (Historical to Modern Times):
- Complex development of spoken Chinese from historical times to the present.
- Mandarin dialects are widely used in northern China, influenced by geography.
- Nanjing Mandarin dominated during the Qing dynasty.
- Introduction of Standard Mandarin in the 20th century, replacing regional varieties.
- Adoption of Mandarin in mainland China and Taiwan due to educational reforms.
6. Written Chinese (Dynasties to Modern Standard Chinese):
- Guanhua (officials’ speech) during dynasties.
- Efforts to standardize writing for official documents.
- Guoyu (national language) during the Kuomintang era.
- Standardization of written Chinese for national unity and political purposes.
- Simplification of characters in 1956 to increase literacy rates.
7. Global Influence and Written Forms:
- Despite variations, Standard Chinese has seen widespread use and promotion.
- The government’s influence on promoting a common language.
- The sinification of foreign words, incorporating Japanese and Mongolian vocabulary.
- Widespread adoption of Mandarin in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Chinese Speaking Countries
| Chinese Speaking Countries | Number of Speakers (Approx.) |
|---|---|
| China | 1,311,617,000 |
| Taiwan | 20,633,000 |
| Thailand | 8,819,000 |
| Hong Kong | 6,964,000 |
| United States | 3,000,000 |
| Singapore | 2,864,000 |
| Malaysia | 2,511,000 |
| Philippines | 2,311,000 |
| Vietnam | 1,375,000 |
| Australia | 727,000 |
| Cambodia | 520,000 |
| Canada | 467,000 |
| Japan | 250,000 |
| New Zealand | 113,000 |
| South Korea | 52,000 |
| Brunei | 42,000 |
| North Korea | 26,000 |
| Reunion | 20,000 |
| Costa Rica | 10,000 |
| French Polynesia | 8,000 |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 3,000 |
| Aruba | 2,000 |
| Palau | 400 |
| Nauru | 300 |
Different Dialects of Chinese Language
| Chinese Dialect | Regions | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Mandarin (普通话) | Northern and southwestern China, Taiwan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan | Standardized official language; basis for Standard Chinese (Putonghua or Guoyu); four tones |
| Wu (吴语) | Shanghai, Zhejiang, southern Jiangsu and Anhui | Hundreds of distinct forms; Suzhou dialect as representative; retains voiced or murmured obstruent initials |
| Gan (赣语) | Jiangxi and neighboring areas | Representative dialect: Nanchang; historically viewed as related to Hakka |
| Xiang (湘语) | Hunan, southern Hubei | Two varieties: New Xiang (Changsha dialect) influenced by Southwest Mandarin, Old Xiang (Shuangfeng dialect) retains voiced initials |
| Min (闽语) | Fujian, eastern Guangdong | Originated in mountainous terrain; most diverse; divided into inland and coastal groups; offshoots in Hainan, Leizhou Peninsula, and Southeast Asia (Hokkien, Taiwanese) |
| Hakka (客家话) | Guangdong, Fujian, southern China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia | Hakka (guest families) living in hills; Meixian dialect as prestige form; retains nasal and stop endings |
| Yue (粤语) | Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau, Southeast Asia | Varieties include Cantonese (Guangzhou), Taishanese (Jiangmen); not all mutually intelligible; retains full complement of Middle Chinese word-final consonants and rich tone inventories |
| Jin (晋语) | Shanxi and adjacent areas | Formerly included in Mandarin; retains Middle Chinese entering tone category |
| Huizhou (徽州话) | Southern Anhui | Shares features with Wu, Gan, and Mandarin; difficult to classify |
| Pinghua (平话) | Guangxi | Descended from earliest Chinese migrants; some treat as a mixture of Yue and Xiang |
| Unclassified | Various regions | Danzhou dialect (northwestern Hainan), Waxiang (northwestern Hunan), Xiangnan Tuhua (southern Hunan), Shaozhou Tuhua (northern Guangdong), Shehua (She people), Miao language (Miao people) |
| Bai Language | Yunnan | Relationship to Chinese debated; potential early branching or distantly related Sino-Tibetan language with loans |
Interesting Facts about Chinese Language
- One of the hardest languages to master is Chinese.
- Mandarin Chinese is spoken by more than a billion people.
- One of the earliest languages still in use is Chinese.
- Sanskrit is where the word “Mandarin” first appeared.
- The only contemporary pictographic language is Chinese.
- There is no alphabet for the Chinese language.
- More than fifty thousand different Chinese characters exist.
- There are no articles, verb tenses, or plurals in Chinese.
- Two sets of Chinese characters are used.
- Every year, more Chinese characters are added.
- The official language of the UN is Chinese.
- In Chinese, gender is nonexistent!
- Biang is the most difficult character in Chinese.
- Not just Chinese people use Chinese characters.
- English words have been borrowed into Chinese.
- Texts from antiquity in China were written from upper left to lower right.
- The most well-known individuals in the planet are studying Chinese as a second language!
- There are numeral symbols in Chinese.
- Gaining knowledge of Chinese enhances your intelligence!
How to Learn Chinese Fast?
To learn Chinese quickly, practice with the fundamental Chinese vocabulary available on our ToolsNepal blogs. You can begin by learning the Chinese alphabet, numbers, and important words. Then move on to common phrases, create sentences, and improve your written and spoken skills. Once you’ve got the basics, you can use our Chinese translation tool, Chinese typing tool, and Chinese Keyboard for extra practice.