In this series of articles we overview languages present in any given country. This time we are looking at the languages spoken in China
The biggest languages present in China include:
- Chinese (Han) – 1.32 billion speakers;
- Yue (Cantonese) – 57.57 million speakers;
- Wu (Shanghaiese) – 71.97 million speakers;
- Min – 71.97 million speakers;
- Xiang – 28.79 million speakers;
- Gan – 14.39 million speakers;
The sole official language of the country is Chinese.
Below you will find summaries for the languages supported by our translation services.
Chinese
Chinese is a Sinitic language spoken by 1.20 billion people both in China and abroad. It is the sole official language of China.
| Number of speakers worldwide | 1.20 billion |
|---|---|
| Language family | Sino-Tibetan |
| Writing | Hanzi logograms |
| Major Chinese-speaking populations in: | 6 countries |
Demographics and geographic distribution
Approximately 1.20 billion people in more than 6 countries speak Chinese as either the first or a second language. Countries with a significant number of people speaking the language include:
- Singapore
- China
- Malaysia
- Taiwan
- Hong Kong
- Macau
More than 1.32 billion residents of China understand Chinese.
Writing
Chinese employs the Hanzi script, which in itself is a sub-type of the Chinese character script. It is written in the left-to-right or top-to-bottom-to-left fashion.
Translation services
If you intend to expand to the Chinese market via the Chinese language, you might be interested in the following services:
- Chinese Document Translation
- Chinese Desktop Publishing and InDesign Translation
- Chinese E-Commerce Translation
Related services
We hope you have found the answers to the question about what languages are spoken in China“. If you wish to know more about these languages or would like to inquire about our translation services, please contact us at [email protected].
