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你好

'Hello' in Chinese

Photo by Nuno Alberto

Language

Chinese

Sino-Tibetan Family

Left to Right Script

Romanization Enabled

Non-Gendered Language

Mandarin, a Sino-Tibetan language, is the most widely spoken language globally, with over 1 billion native speakers, primarily in China, Taiwan, and Singapore. It uses Chinese characters (hanzi) in writing, with simplified characters in mainland China and traditional characters in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Mandarin is tonal, with four main tones that change word meanings. Its grammar is relatively simple, lacking verb conjugations, tenses, and grammatical gender, but word order is crucial. The vocabulary draws from ancient Chinese, with influences from Mongolian, Manchu, and modern loanwords. As the official language of China and Taiwan, and one of Singapore’s official languages, Mandarin is central to East Asian culture, business, and global communication. Romanization is enabled for Chinese on this platform in addition to the original script. Romanization is the representation of a non-Latin script language in the Latin alphabet to aid pronunciation and understanding for those unfamiliar with the original script.

Flashcards

happy

CMN Adjective 563

快乐

kuàilè

happy

Feeling or showing pleasure, contentment, or joy.

doctor

CMN Noun 590

医生

yī shēng

doctor

A qualified practitioner of medicine; a physician.

food

CMN Noun 371

食物

shí wù

food

The nutritious substances that people and other living beings eat to maintain life and growth.

show

CMN Noun 432

展示

zhǎn shì

show

A display or demonstration.

Stories

Shared Table, New Friend

In a crowded Beijing noodle shop near campus, a student is seated with Martín, a traveler from Chile. Over noodles th...

Intermediate 12 sentences

Mooncakes at Grandma's

A child and family visit Grandma for Mid-Autumn Festival, help make mooncakes, drink tea, and later go to the park to...

Beginner 13 sentences

Moonlight and Mooncakes

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, a family goes to the market to buy mooncakes, tea, and a red lantern. At night they brew ...

Beginner 12 sentences

First Day at the New Office

Li Na begins her first day at a Chinese company, meets friendly coworkers, and learns basic tasks. A welcoming lunch ...

Elementary 12 sentences

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Agents

Li Wei

Chinese

Li Wei

Negotiating a deal over tea

Male

42

Beijing, China

Business owner

Driven

tai chi, calligraphy, traveling

Chen

Chinese

Chen

Studying Chinese linguistics

Male

19

Beijing, China

Student

Introverted

gaming, calligraphy, biking

Mei

Chinese

Mei

Teaching Mandarin tones in class

Female

35

Beijing, China

Language teacher

Focused

tai chi, cooking, reading

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