Introduction of the Chinese Language Study Guide

Where is "guóyŭ" still being used?

"Guóyŭ" is still being used in taiwan.

What dialect does "guóyǚ" take as the standard for pronunciation?

"Guóyǚ" takes the beijing dialect as the standard for pronunciation.

What does "pŭtōnghuà" mean? And when was it adopted as the official language in Mainland China?

"Pŭtōnghuà" means common speech in China but it is also referred to as Modern Standard Chinese. It was adopted as the official language in Mainland China ever since it was founded in 1949.

Chinese characters are roughly what shape and formed by what?

Chinese characters are roughly square shaped characters and each of them are formed by a number of strokes.

When was Chinese characters created and when was the earliest use of a fully developed form of Chinese?

Chinese characters were created 5000 years ago by Cang Jie. The earliest use of a fully developed form of chinese was 3,300 years ago in the Shang Dynasty.

Chinese dictionaries are usually grouped by what, and then what?

Chinese dictionaries are usually grouped by radical then tone.

Why Chinese is called "Hànyǚ"?

Chinese is called "Hànyǚ" because it is spoken by the Han people which is the largest ethnic group in china.

What is Chinese referred to locally in Singapore?

Chinese is referred to Huawen locally in Singapore.

Chinese is spoken by how much of the world's population?

Chinese is spoken by a quarter of the world's population.

What is pinyin based on? What does it literally mean? Any why was it created?

Pinyin is based on Latin alphabet, meaning 'spell the sound'. It was created to be used as a tool to teach Standard Mandarin Chinese.

When was pinyin developed and officially adopted in Mainland China?

Pinyin was developed in Mainland China in 1958 and officially adopted in 1979.

What do radicals do?

Radicals provide clues to the meaning of the character.

How many characters are commonly used in daily life by Chinese people?

3,500 characters are used in daily life by chinese people.

In the West, what is the common term for Chinese?

In the West, the common term for Chinese is "Manderin Chinese".

What does the meaning of a Chinese sentence rely on?

The meaning of a Chinese sentence relies heavily on the context and word order.

When was the simplified version of the Chinese characters introduced in Mainland China and why?

The simplified version of the Chinese characters was introduced in 1949. It was introduced because it has fewer strokes and is easier to remember/understand.

How many basic tones are there for Mandarin?

There are 4 basic tones for Mandarin.

How many major dialect groups are there in China?

There are 8 major dialect groups in China.

Chinese dictionaries are also grouped by what?

They are also grouped by pinyin order.

What were Chinese characters originally?

They were originally pictograms.