SUPER USEFUL – Key Phrases in Mandarin, Shanghainese and Cantonese. Around 30% of the population of China, which equates to 400 million people, only speak Cantonese. Because China’s writing system is so old, the characters aren’t necessarily tied to the pronunciation of any one dialect. After all, the original Chinese immigrants were mainly Cantonese coming to work on the railroads in the 1800's. In much of the country, it is the primary spoken language, including Beijing and Shanghai, although many provinces still retain their own local dialect. Please note that Imperial Palace Restaruant & Even Centre However, in Cantonese it feels like the grammar would be more like: [now do not]打電話被我. In Mainland China, we don’t have this exact word. The characters and grammar are very similar between Mandarin and Cantonese. 0 0. That’s not to say that learning Cantonese is a waste of time, and for some people, it may be the better choice, but for most people wanting to speak "Chinese", Mandarin is the way to go. If you are a non-native speaker, Hong Kongers will certainly prefer to speak to you in English than in Mandarin. The most popular, and thus most widely used Chinese dialect within mainland China, is Mandarin. Rory Boland is a guidebook author and travel writer who has lived and worked in Hong Kong and London. However, it is one of the five major languages in mainland China that also includes Cantonese language. Chinese vs Cantonese. Cantonese (and other dialects) vs Mandarin: what’s the real situation in China? Cantonese is spoken by the people of Hong Kong, Macau and the wider Guangdong province, including Guangzhou (previously Canton in English). Mandarin Vs Cantonese in Writing. Looking at the population of Cantonese vs. Mandarin speakers, we can see that Mandarin is far more commonly spoken. The difference between Chinese and Cantonese food. Hainanese Chicken Rice Chinese food, due to the sheer size of China and its population, has many regional varieties. 现在 不要 给 我 打 电话. In other words, the "target" part of the sentence -- 被 for Cantonese, 给 for Mandarin -- comes at different parts: after the verb for Cantonese, and before the verb for Mandarin. It's hardly surprising that Cantonese cooking was the first Chinese regional cuisine to take hold in the United States. In this video I compare Mandarin and Cantonese!Are you learning Mandarin? Mandarin and Cantonese are two very related languages that people often mistake to be one and the same. Check out ChineseClass101: https://langfocus.com/Chineseclass101. Overall, Chinese (all languages) is spoken in 37 countries, with 1.3 billion people who learn Chinese language as … You can make delicious Cantonese-inspired meals at home with these favorite recipes. Chinese food contains roughly 8 different cuisines, Cantonese is just one of them. 4. Chinese food is complex, versatile, and above all, delicious. so call the mandarin food is a very general term. Foremost, these languages differ because they are used by different groups of people who reside in different locations. The official language of China is mandarin, which is one of the few official languages at UN also. There exists a few Romanized scripts for Cantonese, such as Yale or Jyutping, but none compare in usability to Mandarin pinyin. In much of the country, it is the primary spoken language, including Beijing and Shanghai, although many provinces still retain their own local dialect. Cantonese cuisine tastes quite mild and emphasizes using fresh ingredients or seasonal ingredients to prepare, the cooking methods are boiling, stir frying, steaming, charcoal grilling (roasting), deep frying, long boiling, double boiling (steaming in a steamer for long hours), braising and finely sliced raw ingredients (eg. Children in China are taught Mandarin in school and Mandarin is the language for national TV and radio so fluency is fast increasing. You can, but no one will thank you for it. This page lists the following sentence in Mandarin: . Many other regions in China will also speak their regional language natively and knowledge of Mandarin may be patchy. Cantonese style. The most commonly-found regional cuisines in the U.S. are Cantonese, Szechuan and Hunan. China is a big country, people in the north, west and areas around Yellow River mainly consume wheat products, eg. Peking style - i think this is so call the mandarin style in the U.S. Cantonese is a language within the Chinese language family originating from the city of Guangzhou (also known as Canton) and its surrounding area in Southeastern China.It is the traditional prestige variety of the Yue Chinese dialect group, which has over 80 million native speakers. Cantonese is often described as a dialect of mandarin, but the fact that there are glarin… Most foreign Chinese communities, such as those in London and San Francisco, also speak Cantonese because, historically, Chinese immigrants hailed from Guangdong. However, even amongst these communities, it is becoming more popular to learn Mandarin as a second language. If you plan on doing business in China or traveling around the country, Mandarin is the language to learn. Cantonese is being spoken by fewer children and teenagers in Guangzhou, with locals and defenders of Cantonese heritage concerned that middle-aged and older Cantonese … Mandarin vs Cantonese. As an official spoken “dialect”, Mandarin is widely used in Mainland China, Taiwan area and Singapore. Cantonese cuisine is considered to be the finest of China's regional cuisines. Cantonese and Mandarin are written in the same way, though Cantonese favors traditional Chinese characters rather than simplified. Cantonese has 9. For example, Gwai Lo (鬼佬) in Cantonese refers to a foreigner. Cantonese is specifically targeted to HK audience only. Your idea about Cantonese food is wrong because it is not famous for hot and spicy food, the hot and spicy one should be Szechuan Cuisine. Although each region has its own dialects, Mandarin is widely spoken throughout Mainland China and Taiwan, especially by the younger generations and also for governmental affairs. Thank you very much for your understanding, and we look forward to welcoming you soon. 1. You might consider learning Cantonese if you intend to settle in Hong Kong for a prolonged period of time. 2. sichuan/hunan style. Both Cantonese and Mandarin share the Chinese alphabet, but even here there is some diversion. What a lot of people don’t realize, however, is that it’s highly variable depending on the region in question. Both languages have different tones, but the use of tones in Cantonese is even more challenging due to it having between 6 and 9 different tones. Jillian Dara is a freelance travel writer and fact checker. Regional dialects. Guangdong province has seen an influx of Mandarin speakers and many people there now speak Mandarin. Cantonese has six tones, whereas Mandarin has just four. For many of us, our first introduction to Chinese food came through dining at a restaurant featuring Cantonese cuisine, Yum-cha Your idea about Cantonese food is wrong because it is not famous for hot and spicy food, the hot and spicy one should be Szechuan Cuisine. The diagram below was created to help you understand a little better how various dialects relate to the Chinese language as a whole. Mandarin in China. 3. shanghai style. Mandarin and Cantonese are both spoken varieties of Chinese. Mandarin has 4 tones. Brainscape: The Best Flashcards App | Make Flashcards Online Mandarin is the official state language of China and is the lingua franca of the country. Mandarin vs. Cantonese: They are two SPOKEN styles/dialects of Chinese language. Cantonese and Mandarin are dialects of the Chinese language and are both spoken in China. Cantonese vs. Mandarin, what’s the difference? It's estimated that around half of Hong Kongers can speak Mandarin, but this is due to the necessity of doing business with China. Chinese food can be divided into several major branches: 1. Winnie. Imperial Palace Restaurant & Event Centre. That means that wherever you are there you should be able to find someone to help with directions, timetables or whatever crucial information you need. As far as the taste and spices used in each region I'm not sure what the difference is. Cantonese is known as a more difficult language to learn compared to Mandarin. Mandarin only has 4. However, these languages have major differences that depend on a variety of aspects. Both Cantonese and Mandarin are dialects of the Chinese language, and both are spoken widely in mainland China. These are the major styles you can find in the United States. will be closed for decoration during the following period: 2 July (Monday) to 15 July (Sunday), 2018. Mandarin is the official state language of China and is the lingua franca of the country. My partner’s family actually isn’t from Hong Kong though, they’re from the Taishan area of Guangdong, so the only ones that actually speak Mandarin are the ones that live in China (They all speak a mix of Cantonese, Taishanese, and their local village language). The rising educational preference for Mandarin at the expense of Cantonese is causing anger and anxiety among Hong Kong residents, 20 years … They share the same base alphabet, but as a spoken language they are distinct and not mutually intelligible. Strictly speaking, Cantonese cuisine is the cuisine of Guangzhou or of Cantonese speakers, but it often includes the cooking styles of all the speakers of Yue Chinese languages in Guangdong. If you've never studied Chinese, the sheer number of different dialects may be overwhelming. We have to clarify that Mandarin or Cantonese is not Chinese because there are several Chinese languages and dialects. I am also learning Cantonese, and living in Hong Kong for the immersion. It was the first style of Chinese food brought to the United States and is what you may be familiar with when ordering at restaurants. The Chinese language has a variation of dialects, usually pertaining to regions. There is some controversy over whether some of these should be classified as dialects of one language, or separate la… This means that those who use traditional Chinese characters will be able to understand the simplified characters, but those accustomed to simple characters won't be able to read traditional Chinese. As two major languages spoken in China, the difference between Mandarin and Cantonese is very interesting topic to a linguist. M ANDARIN (Pu Tong Hua) is the Official SPOKEN Chinese language used by the majority of people in Mainland China, Taiwan (and Singapore), covering over 75% … Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, USA Today 10Best, Michelin Guide, Hemispheres, DuJour, and Jetsetter. But what are the differences between Cantonese vs Mandarin? And Cantonese speakers are increasingly learning Mandarin to find work in Mainland China. The same is true of Macau. Cantonese or Yue cuisine is the cuisine of the Guangdong province of China, particularly the provincial capital, Guangzhou and the surrounding regions in the Pearl River Delta, including Hong Kong and Macau. Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore continue to use traditional Chinese that have more complex brushstrokes. Cantonese is simply a predominantly spoken language. It now refers to the dining experience of eating small. The benefit of Mandarin is that while not everybody speaks it, there will usually be somebody nearby who does. Both the Mandarin and Cantonese dialects are tonal languages where one word has many meanings depending on the pronunciation and intonation. Your idea about Cantonese food is wrong because it is not famous for hot and spicy food, the hot and spicy one should, Cantonese Cuisine Mandarin vs. Cantonese A Quick Comparison Between The Two Most Spoken Chinese Varieties . The advice above is largely true in Macau as well, although locals there are a little less sensitive to speaking Mandarin. How to Beat the Language Barrier in China, There's No Such Thing as a "Chinese" Language, What You Need to Know Before You Visit Guangzhou, Why Traveling Between Hong Kong and China Is Complicated, The 10 Best Electronic Translators of 2020, Why You Shouldn't be Scared of Asia's Wet Markets, Dragon Boat Racing in Hong Kong Gave Me a Sense of Peace, Community, and Stability, How to Say Hello in 10 Different Asian Languages, A Guide to Lantau Island, Hong Kong's Biggest Island, Getting Around Macao: Guide to Public Transportation. This is especially true in Tibet, northern regions near Mongolia and Korea and Xinjiang. Spoken Mandarin and Cantonese are not mutually intelligible. Whether you define them as languages in their own right or Chinese dialects is a debate of its own. In my opinion, the best bet is to ask the wait staff for recommendations because different restaurants have different significant dishes. As Canton (now known as Guangzhou) Guangzhou is very near to the Peal River Delta therefore in the 18th century a lot of Cantonese immagrated to South East Asia & North America, they opened restaurants, laundary shops, etc., they brought their home cooking styles to foreign countries and nowadays most Chinese restaurants in western countries mainly provide Cantonese cuisine and most of the Head chefs of these restaurants are trained in Hong Kong or Singapore. While many Hong Kongers are now learning Mandarin as a second language, they will, for the most part, not speak the language. Mandarin is also the main dialect in Taiwan and Singapore. China increasingly uses simplified characters that rely on simpler brushstrokes and a smaller collection of symbols. Just to illustrate how Chinese can differ between dialects we’ve taken three of the most common dialects below and shown you how they are read in these dialects. Lv 4. Yum cha is a term in Cantonese which means "drinking tea". Cracking the tones are said to be the hardest part of learning Chinese. Mandarin is also the main dialect in Taiwan and Singapore. Mandarin is the only official language of China. Cantonese is one of the major dialects, as well as Mandarin, traditional and simplified for written Chinese.. In truth, such is the complexity of written Chinese that some office workers will use basic English to communicate by email, while most schools teaching Chinese focus on the verbal language rather than reading and writing. Around 90% percent of Hong Kongers still use Cantonese as their first language and there is some resentment at attempts by the Chinese government to push Mandarin. In this post, I’ll call them languages or language varieties. Where Are Mandarin and Cantonese Spoken? There's no need to go out for dinner, though! It’s a question asked by many, if not all who are unfamiliar with Chinese culture. You've probably noticed that the sounds of Cantonese and Mandarin are quite different, but there are many similarities, especially when it comes to characters and grammar. Although not as defined as Mandarin, Cantonese has nine tones compared to mandarin's four. For instance Cantonese food represents chinese food near hong kong, while shanghai food represent chinese food in shanghai which is a different geographical area of china. For information please email us at info@imperialpalace.co.nz. noodles, steamed buns or different kinds of pan fried pancakes in their daily diets, while people in the southern part of China or area near to the Yangtze river mainly consume rice (in different ways such as steamed rice, congee, dumplings made of rice flour) in their daily diets. What Is the Official Language of Hong Kong? So it seems as though Mandarin is more practical than Cantonese. If you're feeling particularly bold and plan to learn both languages, it is claimed that it's easier to learn Mandarin first and then build up to Cantonese. The difference between Chinese and Cantonese food China is a big country, people in the north, west and areas around Yellow River mainly consume wheat products, eg. Even the Cantonese chefs using quite a lot of different seasonings, sauces, spices or herbs, they usually use modest amounts of seasonings to avoid overwhelming the flavours of the ingredients. Here are 10 basic phrases in Mandarin vs Cantonese vs … As someone whose family hails from the southern Cantonese region of China, here are ten foods you definitely need to be eating from my motherland. raw fresh water fish's skin with ginger and green onion salad or thinly sliced raw fresh water fish fillet or raw fresh water shrimps with dipping sauce), Cantonese chefs prefer to keep the natural flavours of the ingredients and using mild seasonings or marinades so that the finished dish should be well balanced and not greasy. Cantonese Vs Mandarin: Distinct Spoken Languages, Same Writing System. For many of us, our first introduction to Chinese food came through dining at a restaurant featuring Cantonese cuisine. There are many more speakers of Mandarin than there are of Cantonese. 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