Study Area

You want to learn Chinese to travel, to find a job abroad or to enhance your professional skills? You need to know which language you wish to study exactly. In China, each region has its own dialect, although there are usually seven major languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Wu, Min, Xiang, Hakka and Gan. Between Mandarin and Cantonese, which language is better to learn?

Mandarin, the most spoken language in the world

If you want to learn to speak Chinese so you can communicate with as many speakers as possible, bet on Mandarin. Indeed, Mandarin is spoken by more than 950 million people in the world, not to mention that it is the official language of China and Taiwan and one of the four languages ​​spoken in Singapore. In addition, there are only 4 tones in Mandarin, unlike Cantonese.

It should be noted, however, that there are many Mandarin dialects, and that Mandarin taught abroad (and seen as standard "Mandarin") will not be the same as that spoken in some areas, but a variant.

Cantonese, more complex to learn

Cantonese is more difficult to learn because it has between 6 and 9 pronunciation tones, against 4 for Mandarin. Some phonemes can be pronounced in nine different ways, with different meanings depending on the intonation and inflection given to the voice.

However, it is the most spoken Asian dialect abroad, which could be of benefit to you. Note that Cantonese is considered more as an oral language than a written language.

The main differences between Mandarin and Cantonese

There are also many Cantonese expressions that can not be translated into Mandarin, and vice versa. Some terms are preferred in Mandarin compared to Cantonese.

Finally, Mandarin is harder to listen to with a predominance of sounds in "ch", "zh", "r" and "h" while Cantonese is a softer and singing language, in which there are many vowels like the "a".

Mandarin or Cantonese: which language to learn first?

Even if you are more interested in learning Cantonese, it is often recommended to start with Mandarin first, in order to learn good grammar. The sounds will seem more clear to understand and pronounce. It will then be easier to look at Cantonese.

You must also think about the use you will make of Mandarin and Cantonese! If you want to work in Hong Kong or make yourself understood by the Asian population in North America, it is more interesting to learn Cantonese. If you want to travel to China, it will be more useful to learn Mandarin and try to adapt according to local variants.

In any case, you can turn to Global Lingua to take Mandarin or Cantonese classes.