Cantonese vs Mandarin language – which one should you learn? Discover the main differences between the two here.
For people who are not familiar with China’s many languages and dialects, the distinction between Mandarin and Cantonese may be unknown.
While Mandarin is the official state language of China (and the second most spoken language in the world), it is just one of many different languages and dialects that fall under the “Chinese” umbrella. In fact, there are several hundred languages in China which fall into a commonly accepted set of seven dialect groups:
Cantonese is probably the most widely known and influential Chinese language group after Mandarin, and is commonly regarded to be harder to learn than its more prevalent sibling due to its complex tone system.
If you’re one of the millions of people who have decided to take up Chinese, then the question of Cantonese vs Mandarin language will surely have come up. In this article, we will address the similarities and differences between the two languages to help you make the right decision for you and your goals. Keep reading as we endeavor to answer the age-old question: How different is Cantonese from Mandarin?
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Mandarin is the most commonly spoken Chinese language with an estimated 955 million speakers in China alone. Mandarin is spoken all over Mainland China and Taiwan and is also one of the four official languages of Singapore. Although specific regions will have their own dialect such as Hangzhou and Beijing, they are still mutually intelligible amongst other Mandarin speakers.
Cantonese, on the other hand, is not as commonly spoken, despite being the second-most spoken Chinese variety, with more than 80 million speakers. Cantonese is only spoken in a very limited number of regions, including Hong Kong, Guangdong (which used to be called Canton, originating the term “Cantonese”), Macau, and the Southern Guangxi province.
As you’re probably aware, the Chinese written language is based on characters rather than the Roman alphabet. Though Mandarin and Cantonese characters derive from the same origin, Ancient China, and share the same meaning, they have slight differences when it comes to their written style. The Cantonese writing system favors traditional Chinese characters which are normally more complex and made up of a greater number of strokes, while Mandarin uses simplified Chinese, as set by the Chinese government in the 1950’s.
Those who are able to read traditional characters are able to understand simplified characters quite easily. But for non-native learners, it can be a steep uphill climb to learn traditional characters.
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So just how different is Cantonese from Mandarin? Well, you might be surprised to learn that there are close to zero similarities between spoken Mandarin and spoken Cantonese. Despite both being tonal languages, they are not mutually intelligible.
This means that while Cantonese speakers would be able to decipher Mandarin writing, they would not be able to understand the spoken language, and vice versa.
Why is this? Because of the tones.
Unlike English, Mandarin is a tonal language which means that the same sounds pronounced with different pitches can have totally different meanings.
For example, in Mandarin, while mā 妈 (begins high and stays high) means “mother”, mǎ 马 (begins mid-range, drops low, ends mid-range) means “horse”.
The wrong tones can totally change the meaning of your sentences, which is why many argue that mastering the tones is the hardest part of the Chinese language learning process.
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Mandarin arguably is easier to pick up as it has just four main tones and one neutral tone (or, as some say, five tones).
There’s debate over just how many tones there are in the Cantonese language. Most argue that there are 6 tones, purists that there are 9, and then there are still some who count several more.
Nowadays, the following are accepted as the 6 main tones:
Plus, 3 “entering tones”:
The last three tones in the image above are called “entering tones” or “checked tones” which are short and stopped. These tones are usually used by Cantonese words that end in p, t or k.
When learning Chinese, a lot of thought should be put into the decision of whether studying Cantonese or Mandarin would be more suited or useful to you. The first step to take is to assess where you’ll predominantly be speaking it. If you’re interested in conducting business in Mainland China then Mandarin is more suited to you because all business and government activities in China are conducted in Mandarin. If you’re going to Hong Kong or Macau, then learning Cantonese would be a good fit for you. Another aspect to take into consideration is that there are a lot of Cantonese speakers living internationally in countries like the US, the UK, and Canada due to immigration from Hong Kong and Guangzhou, so there’s plenty of people to communicate with no matter where you are in the world.
Similarities between the two:
Differences between the two:
| Mandarin | Cantonese | |
| Places spoken | Mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore | Hong Kong, Guangdong, Macau and Southern Guangxi province |
| Written Chinese | Simplified | Traditional |
| Spoken Chinese | Mutually unintelligible | Mutually unintelligible |
| Tones | 4 Tones | 6 Tones and 3 entering tones |
| Usefulness | Used across Mainland China for business and government activities. Also used in Singapore and Taiwan. | Mainly used in Hong Kong, Guangdong, and Macau. |
Now you know the main differences between the Cantonese and Mandarin language. While Cantonese is definitely far more challenging to learn as it has 6 to 9 tones, it’s definitely worth the effort – especially if you live in Hong Kong. It will also help you learn Mandarin later on down the line! But if you’re living in China or overseas and have business on your mind, then definitely consider giving Mandarin and its less intimidating 4 tones a go! Readers can get a 2-week free trial of Mandarin Matrix’s Online classroom here.
Feature Photo courtesy of Shutterstock, Photo 1 courtesy of Shutterstock, Photo 2 courtesy of Tutorming Mandarin Learning Tips Blog, Photo 3 courtesy of Superprof, Photo 4 courtesy of Quora, Photo 5 courtesy of Shutterstock
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