汉语

hàn yǔ

standard chinese language

HSK Level 1

Example Sentences

你好,你会说汉语吗?

Nǐ hǎo, nǐ huì shuō Hànyǔ ma?

Hello, can you speak Chinese?

我正在学习汉语。

Wǒ zhèngzài xuéxí Hànyǔ.

I am learning Chinese.

汉语很难,但我喜欢它。

Hànyǔ hěn nán, dàn wǒ xǐhuān tā.

Chinese is difficult, but I like it.

Synonyms

中文 (zhōngwén)

Chinese language

华语 (huáyǔ)

Chinese language

国语 (guóyǔ)

National language

Antonyms

英语 (yīngyǔ)

English

日语 (rìyǔ)

Japanese

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Etymology & Components

The Chinese word "汉语" (Hànyǔ) is a compound word consisting of two characters: "汉" (Hàn) and "语" (yǔ). The character "汉" refers to the Han dynasty, which ruled China from 206 BCE to 220 CE. During this time, the Chinese language underwent significant development and standardization, and the term "汉语" came to be used to refer to the language spoken by the Han people. The character "语" (yǔ) means "language" or "speech."Therefore, the term "汉语" literally means "the language of the Han people" and is used to refer to the Chinese language as a whole. It encompasses all the various dialects and variations of Chinese spoken throughout China and beyond.