What are the 8 dialects in China?

Chinese Languages China has eight major dialect groups: Putonghua (Mandarin), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan and Hakka and many sub-dialects. The language spoken in Beijing is often referred to as Mandarin or Putonghua.

What are the top 3 languages or dialects spoken in China?

Top Dialects of the Chinese Language

• Mandarin. Of course, it would be remiss to leave Mandarin out of any list about Chinese dialects.
• Wu. Spoken in the coastal area around Shanghai, the Wu has over 80 million native speakers, and is the second-most common variety of Chinese.
• Yue.
• Min.
• Xiang.
• Hakka.
• Gan.

Is Mandarin and Chinese two different languages?

Here’s the short answer: Mandarin is a form of the Chinese language. Some call it a dialect. Chinese is an umbrella language term that encompasses multiple dialects/languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, and more. Don’t worry, Mandarin is the most widely spoken.

How many dialects of Chinese are there in China?

The Many Dialects of China. The point of all this is that Mandarin is one of many dialects, and it is important to understand the diversity of dialects within China. Linguists have split Chinese into somewhere between seven and ten main language groups—the largest being Mandarin (also known as Northern), Wu, Min,…

Is Mandarin a dialect of Chinese?

In fact, Mandarin itself is only a dialect—albeit a widespread one—of the overarching language group of “Chinese,” which itself comes from the Sino-Tibetan family of languages.

What is the official language of mainland China?

Standard Chinese is the official language in mainland China, as well as in Taiwan, and is also known as Standard Mandarin or Modern Standard Mandarin. Wu Chinese is a dialect of Chinese that is predominantly spoken in the eastern region of China. The language exists in six main subgroups, which are geographically defined.

What is the difference between Standard Chinese and Taiwanese Mandarin?

Standard Chinese, a form of Mandarin, takes its phonology from the Beijing dialect, with vocabulary from the Mandarin group and grammar based on literature in the modern written vernacular. It is one of the official languages of China . Taiwanese Mandarin is one of the official languages of Taiwan.