漢語

Chinese

Pronunciation

Noun

漢語

1. the Chinese language (usually spoken Chinese)

   說蹩腳漢語／说蹩脚汉语  ―  shuō biéjiǎo hànyǔ  ―  to speak terrible Chinese

   沉浸式漢語教學／沉浸式汉语教学  ―  chénjìnshì hànyǔ jiàoxué  ―  teaching of Chinese by immersion

   聲調在漢語音節感知中的作用 [MSC, trad.]
   声调在汉语音节感知中的作用 [MSC, simp.]

   shēngdiào zài hànyǔ yīnjié gǎnzhī zhōng de zuòyòng

   the role of tone in Chinese syllable perception

   你會說漢語嗎？／你会说汉语吗？  ―  Nǐ huì shuō hànyǔ ma?  ―  Can you speak Chinese?

   她既會說英語又會說漢語。 [MSC, trad.]
   她既会说英语又会说汉语。 [MSC, simp.]

   Tā jì huì shuō yīngyǔ yòu huì shuō hànyǔ.

   She can speak both English and Chinese.

   學習漢語發音一定要分清楚調類。 [MSC, trad.]
   学习汉语发音一定要分清楚调类。 [MSC, simp.]

   Xuéxí hànyǔ fāyīn yīdìng yào fēn qīngchǔ diàolèi.

   It is essential to distinguish different tones when studying Chinese.

Usage notes

漢語／汉语 (Hànyǔ) usually refers to spoken Chinese, however since 古代漢語／古代汉语 (gǔdài hànyǔ, “Old Chinese”) is only accessible to modern people in the written form, it can also refer to written Chinese depending on context. 漢語／汉语 (Hànyǔ) can also imply 普通話／普通话 (pǔtōnghuà, “Standard Mandarin Chinese”), especially in the term 現代漢語／现代汉语 (xiàndài hànyǔ, “Modern Chinese”). Ethnic minorities in China often refer to Standard Mandarin as 漢語／汉语 (Hànyǔ) in order to contrast it with their respective ethnic languages.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

• 國語／国语 (guóyǔ)
• 普通話／普通话 (pǔtōnghuà)
• 中國話／中国话 (Zhōngguóhuà)
• 中文 (Zhōngwén)

Japanese

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

漢語

Wikipedia ^ja

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Sino-Japanese vocabulary

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 漢語 (MC xanH ngjoX, “Han, Chinese + speech, language”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) かんご (Heiban – )
• IPA^(key):

Noun

漢(かん)語(ご) • (kango) 

1. kango, a Japanese word of Chinese origin, or a Japanese word coined along Chinese lines (a Sino-Japanese word)

   Antonym: (Japanese word of native Japanese origin) 和語 (wago)

2. (less commonly) the Chinese language

   Synonym: 中国語 (Chūgokugo)

3. the ancient Chinese language, the language of the Han (漢／汉 (hàn)) ethnicity

Usage notes

Kango are usually written in kanji, and read with the on'yomi (音読み). Contrast with wago (和語), which may be written in kanji read with the kun'yomi (訓読み) or in kana only.

Kango are derived from Classical Chinese. They are composed of words that:

1. retained their original meanings in Classical Chinese, such as 天 (ten, “heaven”), 天下 (tenka, “the world”) or 菩薩 (bosatsu, “bodhisattva”)
2. were repurposed to translate Western concepts, such as 社会 (shakai, “society”), 文化 (bunka, “culture”), 過渡 (kato, “transition”) or 博士 (hakushi, “doctor”)
3. were newly coined from Classical Chinese syllables, morphemes or graphemes, such as 出超 (shutchō, “trade surplus”) or 腺 (sen, “gland”), where words coined from more than one syllable are called wasei kango (和製漢語) and coined kanji are called kokuji (国字)

Note that some words of Chinese origin are not considered kango, such as 北京 (Pekin, “Beijing”)(a gairaigo (外来語) borrowed from a modern Chinese language), 銭 (zeni, “money”) or 博士 (hakase, “doctor”) (both of which have undergone irregular shifts from their original Chinese pronunciation).

See also

• 音(おん)読(よ)み (on'yomi)

References

Korean

Noun

漢語 • (haneo) (hangeul 한어)

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

Vietnamese

Noun

漢語

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