Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world, with over a billion native speakers. The official language of the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China, Chinese has many different dialects, many of which are not mutually intelligible. “Mandarin” refers to a group of dialects spoken mainly in northern and southwestern China, and is also the name of official Standard Chinese, which derives largely from the Beijing dialect.
Mandarin Chinese Fun Facts
The Chinese language has over 20,000 characters, but the average Chinese only learns about 5,000 of these in the lifetime. A knowledge of 3,000-4,000 is enough to read the newspaper.
Spoken Chinese grammar is relatively simple compared to Latin- and Greek-based languages. There are no verb conjugations, and verbs aren’t modified by tense. Also, nouns are not gendered – the word “they” denotes both sexes and the Chinese word “ta” indicates both “he” and “she.”
Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language. It has 4 basic tones: flat, rising, falling then rising, and falling. The meaning of a word can dramatically change depending on the tone. For example, by saying “ma” in different ways, you can ask “Did mother scold the horse?” (mā mà mă ma?)
The Great Wall of China. Photo submitted by Janneke.
The Forbidden City in Beijing, once the Imperial palace of the Ming Dynasty. Photo submitted by Zelene.
The Old Town of Lijiang in China's Northwest Yunnan Province. Photo submitted by wtt9018.
Pandas are considered one of China's national treasures (and often also national obsession!). Photo submitted by 翊晗.LJ.
Mandarin Chinese and the Livemocha Community
- Almost 7% of Livemocha members are learning Mandarin
- Nearly 70% of Chinese members on Livemocha are learning English. The next most popular language is Japanese, which nearly 10% of Chinese Livemocha members are learning.
- The top 5 countries with members learning Chinese on Livemocha are the US, Brazil, China, Colombia, and the Philippines
- The majority of Chinese speakers on Livemocha are from China (85%) but there are also large populations of Chinese-speaking Livemocha members in the US, Taiwan, and Malaysia.