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I know Chinese language is very rich, and there are different dialects. But which one is the easiest for beginner to learn and the most understood by Chinese people all over the world? I just need a base for me to communicate in the shops or talking to people on the street, nothing like reading newspaper or writing presentation. Is it Mandarin?

2007-01-21 17:38:16 · 15 answers · asked by Speck Schnuck 5 in Society & Culture Languages

15 answers

Yes, Mandarin is the way to go.

Mandarin is understood by most Chinese though Hong Kongers prefer to converse in Cantonese.

2007-01-21 17:55:32 · answer #1 · answered by warasouth 4 · 3 0

Pretty much everyone in China will know some Mandarin from some schooling, even if they usually speak a different dialect. So that choice is obvious unless your concentrating on a specific region which your not. As for the written language, it's the same for all dialects of Chinese. One you learn how to read/write Chinese, you can communicate with anyone with any different dialect. That's because Chinese characters represent the same things in all dialects, the only difference is how the characters are pronounced.

2007-01-21 17:46:14 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2 0

There is no "most understood" dialect for Chinese languages.
However perhaps you meant, "most recognised".

Mandarin is the "most" official language for Chinese. It is the language most commonly used for subtitles, signboards, official government documents, education, etc.

Some other main dialects include Hokkien and Cantonese. Mandarin is something like the modernised, simplified version of traditional chinese languages, a standardized version for people to follow. It has a phonic system called "Han Yu Pin Yin(g)".
Mandarin as it is spoken is known as "Hua yu", spelt as "华语".
The writen form of mandarin is known as "Hua wen"/"华文".

However, if you are worried that Mandarin is very different from the other Chinese dialects, don't be. You might have to stress your pronounciations and accent differently when communicating with people who speak different dialects to be understood, but along with the correct structure in your sentences and some common sense on everyone's behalf, you will be understood.

Ultimately, you will end up adopting the language of the region where you have been practising it.

2007-01-21 17:52:30 · answer #3 · answered by lkraie 5 · 0 1

Yes, you should learn Mandarin. As a chinese myself, there are far too much dialects that it's almost impossible for me to learn all dialects. But normally a chinese of different dialect group will know how to speak Mandarin.

2007-01-21 18:09:21 · answer #4 · answered by Tan D 7 · 1 0

Mandarin, Beijing dialect, is the standard. Much of the south speaks Cantonese however. There are many dialects, within Mandarin and Cantonese, to the extent that people from distant regions can't undertsand one another. In school, you will likely be taught the Mandarin. It is rich and unique.

2007-01-21 17:44:38 · answer #5 · answered by poorsias 4 · 3 0

It is mandarin...There are many many languages in china...saying you speak chinese is like saying you speak european....what YOU want to learn is Putonghua(common peoples language). Most people can understand this. It was declared the official language by China and therefore everyone supposedly has to speak it....It is now being spoken more in Hong Kong and has always been spoken in most of mainland china, Taiwan and Singapore...It's a tough language to learn...but you'll really enjoy the ride.

2007-01-21 18:04:03 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2 0

As a Chinese person, our tongues a lot, in fact, not be able to understand the native Chinese dialect, Mandarin is the first to learn your first step, I can teach you for free, if you wish.my mail: liusifen88@yahoo.com

2016-02-18 19:17:44 · answer #7 · answered by liu 1 · 0 0

We learn by way of memorizing characters and associating them with pictures, very like what kindergarten teenagers do. We additionally ought to memorize the pinyin. Pinyin refers back to the intonation is which the be conscious is study. In Mandarin chinese language, there are 4 pinyins for each be conscious, and in Cantonese chinese language, there are as much as eight. i can't say the comparable for different chinese language dialects as i do no longer talk all of them. different than for that, chinese language characters have countless "ze phang" to symbolize countless categories of words. Say case in point, the character water has its unique ze phang. something linked with water will contain this ze phang in its character, which includes ice. That makes it much less annoying for us to memorize hundreds upon hundreds of chinese language characters

2016-10-07 13:03:18 · answer #8 · answered by sather 4 · 0 0

Absolutely it is Mandarin!! That is EXEL Chinese Mandarin.

2007-01-22 15:59:17 · answer #9 · answered by Big Digger 2 · 0 0

yes you should learn Mandarin

It is the national language and the most widely spoken one

2007-01-21 17:46:50 · answer #10 · answered by sm bn 6 · 1 1

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