Synonyms for Chinese

[Altair]

What is the difference between the following terms: 华人 Hua1 ren2, 中国人 Zhong1 guo2 ren2, 汉人 Han4 ren2 and 唐人 Tang2 ren2? Can 华人 and 唐人 refer to members of minority ethnic groups? Is 唐人 Tang2 ren2 a proper Putonghua expression?

What about all the words for the Chinese language? Is there much of a difference between the following terms: 华语, 中文, and 汉语?

[林彪]

I believe 汉人 and 华人 refer to ethnic Han Chinese, while 中国人 (although previously synonymous with 汉人 and 华人) now refers to anyone who is a citizen of China.

中文 refers primarily to written Chinese, while 汉语 refers primarily to spoken Chinese.

[pazu]

And Hanyu should mean the spoken form of all Chinese spoken by Han Chinese, including Mandarin, Cantonese, etc. But these days most people refer to Hanyu as Putonghua only (because of the HSK??).

[Altair]

Thanks for the responses.

中文 refers primarily to written Chinese, while 汉语 refers primarily to spoken Chinese.

What about Zhongguohua? Does this have more or less the same connotation as 华语 and 汉语?

If you go to a Chinese restaurant outside of China and want to ask the waiter whether he or she speaks Mandarin, what term should be used?

[shibo77]

This is how I see it...

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LANGUAGE

话(話)hua4 refers to speech, 语(語)yu3 refers to speech, 文wen2 refers to writing. 语(語)yu3 is also the default for "language", speaking, writing, reading, listening abilities combined. Although sometimes, 文wen2 is also used to refer to "language" as a combination of the 4 abilities.

中国话(中國話) Zhong1 guo2 hua4 "China speech"

Foreigners referring to Chinese, conversational ability.

中国语(中國語) Zhong1 guo2 yu3 "China language"

Foreigners referring to Chinese language, speaking, listening, reading, writing abilities.

中文 Zhong1 wen2 "China writing, China language"

A more formal term for Chinese to refer to their own language. Can be used by all ethnicities within China. Outside of China it is used mainly to refer to Chinese writing, but can also mean the language in general.

官话 Guan1 hua4 "Bureaucratic speech"

Outdated term used in census and linguistics to refer to "Mandarin". Can be of any dialect, including 官话:北京Beijing.

普通话 Pu3 tong1 hua4 "Common speech"

Citizens of the mainland referring to their own language, conversational ability.

北京话(北京方言) Bei3 jing1 hua4 "Beijing speech, Beijing dialect"

Citizens of the mainland referring to their own language, conversational ability. "Common speech" is based upon the "Beijing dialect".

汉语(漢語) Han4 yu3 "Han language"

Chinese ethnics referring to their own language, language of the Han(Chinese) ethnicity. This term is probably the most widespread, and used by many international organisations. Mainly used by the Chinese themselves and not by other ethnicities within China.

國語(臺北) Guo2 yu3 "National language"

Citizens of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Chinese communities abroad, to refer to their own language.

华语(華語) Hua2 yu3 "Hua language"

Citizens of Singapore, Malaysia, many southeast Asian Chinese communities, Chinese communities abroad, and Japan, Korea "to refer to their own" language.

Note, "refer to their own language" can be any Chinese, or of a Chinese-influenced nation's citizens referring to "Mandarin".

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ETHNICITY

中国人(中國人) "China people" Zhong1 guo2 ren2

Citizens of the People's Republic. All ethnicities. Also used by patriots from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and in Chinese communities abroad.

汉族(漢族) "Han ethnicity" Han4 zu2

Han(Chinese) ethnicity, about 90% of the total population of the People's Republic. Also used by Han(Chinese) ethnics or who consider themselves Han(Chinese) in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and in Chinese communities abroad. 漢(汉)Han ruled China 206BCE-220CE was/is considered the first of the four great dynasties in China. People's Republic is the fifth great dynasty ...

唐人 "Tang people, Tang subjects" Tang2 ren2

汉族(漢族) is what Hans(Chinese) refer to their own ethnicity, 唐人 is what Hans(Chinese) refer to their own race. 唐Tang ruled China 618CE-907CE was/is considered the second of the four great dynasties in China.

汉人(漢人) "Han people, Han subjects" Han3 ren2

This term is used less. Mostly used by other ethnicities near China proper to refer to the Hans(Chinese). Such as the Huns.

华人(華人) "Hua people"

All who consider themselves Chinese, including mixed blood and those born abroad. Used mainly by Chinese communities abroad to refer to their own race.

国人(國人) "National people, Compatriot(s)"

Used by anyone whowants to express a sense of unity within one's race and ethnicity.

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Happy birthday forum!

-Shibo

[galitonwu]

shibo's answer is very nicety.

[Altair]

Shibo,

Thanks for your comprehensive answer. That is just what I was looking for.

My only remaing question is: If I go to a Chinese restaurant outside of China and want to ask the waiter whether he or she speaks Mandarin, what term should I use for the language that would be the least likely to cause a political problem?

[galitonwu]

可以用普通话吗？

[林彪]

My only remaing question is: If I go to a Chinese restaurant outside of China and want to ask the waiter whether he or she speaks Mandarin, what term should I use for the language that would be the least likely to cause a political problem?

You should probably use the native language of whatever country you're in. 华裔 hate it when they get addressed in Chinese.

[galitonwu]

You should probably use the native language of whatever country you're in. 华裔 hate it when they get addressed in Chinese.

Could you tell me what means about "get addressed", I can't find it in dictionary. Thank you!

[shibo77]

向某某讲话... to address XX...

向华裔讲中文, 使得人们反感...

If you ask in the tongue, they would reply in that tongue. To not involve politics, and to equally represent all the languages of China, 中文 Zhong1 wen2 would be the best, I think. Probably you might be asking a Korean, or Cantonese-speaker. Most people who are asked, in Mandarin, "您说中文吗? Nin2 shuo1 zhong1 wen2 ma5? -Do You speak Chinese?", or "您说汉语吗?Nin2 shuo1 han4 yu3 ma5?" they would either reply affirmatively back in Mandarin, or they wouldn't know what you are saying at all. If you ask in the language of the land, in English in the United States, "Do you speak Mandarin?" or "Do you speak Chinese?" would be best. Then if they spoke only Cantonese or any different varieties of Chinese, it wouldn't take long for the two of you to figure that out. If you want to emphasise Mandarin Chinese when asking in Chinese in a non-Chinese speaking region "您说华语吗?Nin2 shuo1 hua2 yu3 ma5?" would be the least political, but probably the least recognised as well. I think less Chinese know what "华语Hua2 yu3" means than what "Mandarin" means. To Taiwanese, Hong Kongners, Macaens abroad, "您說國語吗?Nin2 shuo1 guo2 yu3 ma5?" To Mainlanders, "您说普通话吗?Nin2 shuo1 pu3 tong1 hua4 ma5?".

-Shibo