CJK

Proper noun

Chinese

1. (uncountable) The Standard Chinese language, written in Chinese characters and spoken and spelled using Standard Mandarin pronunciation.
   • 你好 is read “Nǐ hǎo” and means “Hello” in Chinese.

   Synonyms:

   Putonghua, Guoyu, Huayu, Guanhua, Hanyu, Zhongwen

2. (uncountable) The branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family including Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, Southern Min, and other closely related language varieties and dialects.
   • Suzhounese and Hakka are lesser-known varieties of Chinese.
3. (uncountable) The logographic writing system shared by most Sinitic languages.
   • Hong Kong still uses traditional Chinese.

See all 11 meanings of Chinese