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Languages of China

Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience

A map showing different language groups in China from 1967.

China is home to hundreds of languages, making it one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world. The most widely spoken language is Standard Chinese, based on the Beijingese dialect, and it is used by about 92% of the population. This language is part of a larger family known as Hanyu, which includes many related languages that differ greatly from each other but share a common writing system.

There are also around 300 minority languages spoken by the remaining 8% of China's people. Some of these, like Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur, and Zhuang, receive special support from the government. These languages appear on Chinese money, showing their importance.

Standard Chinese, called Putonghua in China, is the official language used across the country. It helps people from different regions communicate with each other. Some areas, like the Tibet Autonomous Region and Inner Mongolia, also have their own official languages. Places such as Hong Kong and Macau have additional official languages, including English and Portuguese, which makes communication there even more diverse.

Spoken languages

The spoken languages of nationalities that are a part of China belong to at least nine families:

Sino-Tibetan

Kra–Dai

Turkic

Mongolic

Para-Mongolic

Tungusic

Ethnolinguistic map of China

Koreanic

Hmong–Mien

  • Hmong
  • Mien
  • She

Austroasiatic

Austronesian

Indo-European

Yeniseian

  • Jie (Kjet) (extinct) (?)

Mixed

Unclassified

Written languages

Main article: Written Chinese

Many different languages in China have their own special ways of writing. Some languages use their own special letters or symbols instead of the usual Chinese characters. For example, the Tai Lü language uses the Tai Lü alphabet, and the Kazakh language uses the Kazakh alphabets.

Some languages, like Cantonese and Shanghainese, use Chinese characters but add special marks to show how words are pronounced. Even some languages not related to Chinese, like Korean and Vietnamese, once used Chinese characters in their writing. There are also old scripts from past cultures, like the Jurchen script and the Tangut script.

During special times in history, important places like palaces and temples were written in many different scripts. Today, Chinese money shows words in several different writing styles so everyone can read it. Some groups in China who did not used to have a way to write their language have created their own alphabets with help from the government.

Language policy

Main article: Language policy in China

Before the Qing dynasty ended in 1912, Mandarin was chosen to be the main language for China's first public schools. Some people say that Cantonese almost became the main language instead.

Today, Standard Mandarin, also called Putonghua, is the main language spoken in China. It is based on the way people speak in Beijing. It uses special writing rules called pinyin to help with pronunciation. Some people worry that pinyin might replace the old way of writing.

China also has policies to support languages spoken by different ethnic groups. These groups are taught in their own languages when they have one. But in practice, Mandarin is used most often, and sometimes other languages are not protected as well as they should be. For example, in 2020, some people in Inner Mongolia protested when the government decided to use Mandarin instead of Mongolian in schools. Leaders in China have encouraged more use of Mandarin among all ethnic groups.

Study of foreign languages

Indo-European

English

English is the most commonly taught foreign language in China and is required for students who want to attend university.

After the Reform and opening up in 1988, English was introduced in public schools in the third year of primary school. Reports say that up to one fifth of China's population was learning English. English is used in many areas, like business and teaching Standard Mandarin to people who are not Chinese citizens. It is also an official language in Hong Kong.

German

Welcome signs in various languages at Beijing Capital International Airport. Front to back: French, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, and Korean.

About 170,000 people in China have studied the German language as of 2015.

Spanish

Because of growing interest in Latin America, around 20,000 people in China have studied the Spanish language. There are about 120 Spanish-language departments across the country.

Portuguese

Interest in Portuguese has grown, especially because of Chinese investments in African countries. Portuguese is also an official language in Macau. Today, there are about 40 Portuguese-language departments nationwide.

Russian

A German-language inscription on the Christ's Church, Qingdao

Many middle and high schools in China teach Russian-language courses. For example, a school in Shenzhen has offered Russian classes since 2011.

Urdu

More students are choosing to learn Urdu because of interest in Pakistani culture and job opportunities.

Arabic

More people in China are studying Arabic because of cultural interest and beliefs about job opportunities. It is also studied by the Hui people.

Esperanto

A handwritten Russian-language sign on a window in Beijing

Main article: Esperanto in China

Esperanto was popular in some groups in the early 1900s and peaked in the 1980s, but its popularity has since decreased.

Japanese

As of 2012, over one million people in China were studying Japanese. People learn Japanese because of interest in Japan's culture and society.

Korean

Main article: Korean language in China

There are about 2 million Korean language speakers in China.

Korean language education began in 1945. Some families learn Korean hoping for better education or business connections with South Korea.

Images

Map showing where Turkic languages are spoken across Eurasia.

Related articles

Standard Chinese
English language
Portuguese language
Hong Kong
Macau
Uyghur language

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Languages of China, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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