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汉语 (Hàn yǔ) — Chinese language

Definition

汉语 means 'the Chinese language.' Compared to 中文, it sounds slightly more formal and is common in academic or official contexts; 汉字 refers to the written characters, not the spoken language.

noun
Chinese language
Measure word · 门

Examples

  • 汉语？
    Nǐ xué Hàn yǔ ma?
    Do you study Chinese?
  • 汉语。
    Wǒ xǐ huan shuō Hàn yǔ.
    I like speaking Chinese.
  • 汉语。
    Tā de Hàn yǔ hěn hǎo.
    His Chinese is very good.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

汉hànHan
语yǔlanguage

汉 names the Han people and 语 means language, together Chinese language.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 汉 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 語; 语 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
吾
吾wú語yǔ
Same sound today

The form 語 pairs 言 (speech) with 吾, which gives the sound; this note is about 語, not 语.

Open 语 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 1HSK 2.0 Level 1Language

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