Hànyǔ

Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language [→ [(Modern Standard) Mandarin]] 汉语 漢語) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

This is the expression commonly used by normal people, and also linguists 😁 (just kidding, linguists are great, especially for informing a language-oriented blog like this), to refer to (Modern Standard) Mandarin.

The expression “Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language [→ [(Modern Standard) Mandarin]] 汉语 漢語)” is so commonly used and officially recognized that it shows up in the longer, more official names for Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音):

• Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin] 汉语 漢語) Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)
• Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin] 汉语 漢語) Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Fāng’àn (Fāng’·àn {Direction → [Method]} · {Long, Narrow Table Or Desk → [Plan]} 方案)

“Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language [→ [(Modern Standard) Mandarin]] 汉语 漢語)” literally means “Han language”. Who are the Han, and how do they relate to China and things Chinese?

Wikipedia gives us the following summarizations about the Han:

The Han Chinese,^{[source][source][source]} Hanzu,^{[source][source][source]} or Han people^{[source][source][source][source]} (UK: /hæn/,^[source] US: /hɑːn/;^[source] simplified Chinese: 汉人; traditional Chinese: 漢人; pinyin: Hànrén^{[source][source]} or simplified Chinese: 汉族; traditional Chinese: 漢族; pinyin: Hànzú)^{[source][source][source]} are an East Asian ethnic group and nation, historically native to the Yellow River Basin region of modern China.^{[source][source][source][source][source]} They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive varieties of the Chinese language.^{[source][source]} The estimated 1.4 billion Han Chinese people are mostly concentrated in mainland China, where they make up about 92% of the total population.^[source]

The Han dynasty is considered to be one of the first great eras in Chinese history, as it made China the major regional power in East Asia and projected much of its influence on its neighbours, comparable to the contemporary Roman Empire in population size, geographical and cultural reach.^{[source][source][source]} The Han dynasty's prestige and prominence influenced many of the ancient Huaxia to begin identifying themselves as "The People of Han".^{[source][source][source][source][source]} To this day, the Han Chinese have since taken their ethnic name from this dynasty and the Chinese script is referred to as "Han characters".^{[source][source][source]}

Being by far the largest ethnic group in China, while not being the only one, the Han are the dominant cultural force in China. When people think of Chinese culture, they are generally thinking of Han culture. (Note that “ethnic group” is defined as “a community or population made up of people who share a common cultural background or descent”, so culture figures heavily in what makes an ethnic group what it is.)

Unfortunately, politics sometimes raises its ugly head in language matters, and so it is worth noting that in some situations, there may be political implications of using “Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language [→ [(Modern Standard) Mandarin]] 汉语 漢語)” or one of the other ways to refer to (Modern Standard) Mandarin in Mandarin. For more information, see these posts on the excellent Language Log blog:

• The ethnopolitics of National Language in China
• "National Language" in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region

Posts on this Mandarin Expression of the Week blog about other Mandarin expressions used to refer to (Modern Standard) Mandarin can be viewed using the link for the Mandarin tag.