華語

See also: 华语

Chinese

		flowery; flourishing; magnificent flowery; flourishing; magnificent; your; grey; corona; time; essence; China; Chinese; name of a mountain	speech; language; dialect speech; language; dialect; tell to
trad. (華語)		華	語
simp. (华语)		华	语

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): Huáyǔ

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄨㄚˊ ㄩˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): waa⁴ jyu⁵
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): fà-ngî
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): hôa-gí / hôa-gú / hôa-gír / hôa-ú

  (Teochew, Peng'im): hua⁵ ghe²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: Huáyǔ
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄨㄚˊ ㄩˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: Huáyǔ
    • Wade–Giles: Hua²-yü³
    • Yale: Hwá-yǔ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Hwayeu
    • Palladius: Хуаюй (Xuajuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xu̯ä³⁵ y²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: waa⁴ jyu⁵
    • Yale: wàh yúh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: waa⁴ jy⁵
    • Guangdong Romanization: wa⁴ yu⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /waː²¹ jyː¹³/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: fà-ngî
    • Hakka Romanization System: faˇ ngi´
    • Hagfa Pinyim: fa² ngi¹
    • Sinological IPA: /fa¹¹ ŋi²⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung, Philippines, Jinjiang, Penang)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hôa-gí
    • Tâi-lô: huâ-gí
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hoa'gie
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hua²³⁻³³ ɡi⁴¹/
    • IPA (Philippines, Jinjiang): /hua²⁴⁻²² ɡi⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Penang): /hua²³⁻²¹ ɡi⁴⁴⁵/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /hua¹³⁻²² ɡi⁵³/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Taipei, Penang)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hôa-gú
    • Tâi-lô: huâ-gú
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hoa'guo
    • IPA (Xiamen): /hua²⁴⁻²² ɡu⁵³/
    • IPA (Penang): /hua²³⁻²¹ ɡu⁴⁴⁵/
    • IPA (Taipei): /hua²⁴⁻¹¹ ɡu⁵³/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hôa-gír
    • Tâi-lô: huâ-gír
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /hua²⁴⁻²² ɡɯ⁵⁵⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Penang)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hôa-ú
    • Tâi-lô: huâ-ú
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hoa'uo
    • IPA (Penang): /hua²³⁻²¹ u⁴⁴⁵/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: hua⁵ ghe²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: huâ gṳ́
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hua⁵⁵⁻¹¹ ɡɯ⁵²/

---

• Middle Chinese: hwae ngjoX

Rime
Character	華	語
Reading #	1/3	1/2
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)	疑 (31)
Final (韻)	麻 (99)	魚 (22)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Closed	Open
Division (等)	II	III
Fanqie	戸花切	魚巨切
Baxter	hwae	ngjoX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦˠua/	/ŋɨʌX/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦʷᵚa/	/ŋiɔX/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣua/	/ŋiɔX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦwaɨ/	/ŋɨə̆X/
Li Rong	/ɣua/	/ŋiɔX/
Wang Li	/ɣwa/	/ŋĭoX/
Bernard Karlgren	/ɣwa/	/ŋi̯woX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	huá	yǔ
Expected Cantonese Reflex	waa4	jyu5

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*N-qʷʰˤra  ŋ(r)aʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡʷraː  ŋaʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	華	語
Reading #	2/3	1/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	huá	yǔ
Middle Chinese	‹ hwæ ›	‹ ngjoX ›
Old Chinese	/*N-qʷʰˁra/	/*ŋ(r)aʔ/
English	flower (v.); flowery (adj.)	speak
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	華	語
Reading #	2/3	1/2
No.	5312	13159
Phonetic component	華	五
Rime group	魚	魚
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	華	語
Old Chinese	/*ɡʷraː/	/*ŋaʔ/
Notes	說文於聲

Noun

華語

1. (chiefly Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia) Mandarin Chinese; (standard) Chinese

   你會說華語嗎？／你会说华语吗？  ―  Nǐ huì shuō huáyǔ ma?  ―  Do you speak Mandarin?

   講華語運動 [Singaporean Mandarin, trad.]
   讲华语运动 [Singaporean Mandarin, simp.]

   Jiǎng Huáyǔ Yùndòng [Pinyin]

   Speak Mandarin Campaign

   • 汝覺得呾潮州話在新加坡應唔應該流傳下去？啊是華人呾華語就夠了？ [Teochew, trad.]
     汝觉得呾潮州话在新加坡应唔应该流传下去？啊是华人呾华语就够了？ [Teochew, simp.]

     From: 2015, Li Wei, Multilingualism in the Chinese Diaspora Worldwide: Transnational Connections and Local Social Realities, Routledge →ISBN, page 209

     Do you think Teochew language should be preserved in Singapore or is Mandarin good enough? ^[sic]

2. (historical, pre-modern) the language of China (華夏／华夏); Chinese
   • 1677, “序 [xù, Preface]”, in 朴通事諺解:

     自此習華語者不患無良師 [Korean Literary Sinitic, trad.]

     jacha seup hwaeo ja bul hwan mu yangsa [Sino-Korean]

     henceforth, those who learn Chinese need not worry about lacking a good teacher

   • 1775, “跋 [bá, Afterword]”, in 譯語類解補:

     物類有萬方言不一以我人而習華語者苟未能周知而徧解宐有所齟齬而扞格此譯語類解之所由作也 [Korean Literary Sinitic, trad.]

     mullyu u man bang'eon buril i ain i seup hwaeo ja gu mineung juji i pyeonhae ui u so jeoeo i hangyeok cha yeogeo yuhae ji so yu jak ya [Sino-Korean]

     There are myriad types of things, and dialects are diverse. If any of us learns Chinese without being able to fully understand and interpret-it-all, there will probably be some incompatibilities and inconsistencies. This is why yeogeo yuhae is written.

3. (Classical) words of praise

Usage notes

• In Mainland China, Standard Mandarin is usually called 普通話／普通话 (pǔtōnghuà), while 國語／国语 (guóyǔ) may also be used colloquially.
• In Taiwan, it is often called 國語／国语 (guóyǔ), while 華語／华语 (Huáyǔ) is often used to distinguish it from other languages, such as 臺灣閩南語／台湾闽南语 (táiwānmǐnnányǔ), or when used in a foreign-facing context.
• In Hong Kong and Macau, it has usually been called 國語／国语, but 普通話／普通话 is becoming more common.

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 普通話 (“Modern Standard Chinese; Putonghua”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	國語, 中文
	Malaysia	華語, 華文
	Singapore	華語, 華文
	Olginsky (Mikhaylovka)	中國話
Southwestern Mandarin	Guilin	普通話
	Oudomxay	中國話
Cantonese	Guangzhou	普通話, 普語
	Hong Kong	國語, 普通話
	Macau	普通話
	Nanning	普通話
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	華語
	Singapore (Guangfu)	華語
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	普通話, 國語 dated
Gan	Nanchang	國語 dated
Hakka	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	華語
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	華語
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	華語
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	華語
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	華語
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	華語
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	普通話, 國語 dated
	Sitiawan (Gutian)	華文
Southern Min	Xiamen	普通話, 國語 dated
	Quanzhou	普通話
	Jinjiang	國語
	Zhangzhou	普通話
	Tainan	華語, 國語 GT
	Penang (Hokkien)	華語, 唐儂話
	Singapore (Hokkien)	華語, 唐儂話
	Manila (Hokkien)	國語, 國語話, 華語, 普通話
	Longyan	普通話
	Chaozhou	普通話
	Shantou	普通話
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	普通話
	Singapore (Teochew)	華語, 唐儂話
Wu	Shanghai	普通閒話
	Suzhou	普通閒話
	Ningbo	普通閒話
Note	GT - General Taiwanese (not particular region identified)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (華語):

• → Japanese: 華語(かご) (kago)
• → Korean: 화어(華語) (hwa'eo)
• → Vietnamese: Hoa ngữ (華語)

See also

• 中文 (Zhōngwén)
• 中國話／中国话 (Zhōngguóhuà)
• 華文／华文 (Huáwén)
• 漢語／汉语 (Hànyǔ)
• 國語／国语 (guóyǔ)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
華	語
か Grade: S	ご Grade: 2
on'yomi

Noun

華(か)語(ご) • (kago) 

1. (uncommon) the (standard) Chinese language, Mandarin

   台(たい)湾(わん)華(か)語(ご)

   Taiwan kago

   Taiwanese Mandarin

Synonyms

• (Chinese language (generic)): 中(ちゅう)国(ごく)語(ご) (Chūgokugo)
• (Mandarin Chinese): 北京(ペキン)語(ご) (Pekingo)

Korean

Hanja in this term
華	語

Noun

華語 • (hwa'eo) (hangeul 화어)

1. Hanja form^? of 화어 (“Chinese language”).

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
華	語

Noun

華語

1. chữ Hán form of Hoa ngữ (“Chinese language”).