普通话/普通話 pǔtōnghuà — Mandarin, standard spoken Chinese

Meanings

1. 1

   Mandarin, standard spoken Chinese

   Literally "the common speech": 普通 ordinary, shared, 话 speech. It is the standard spoken form taught in schools and used on television, sitting above the local varieties rather than replacing them.

   noun

Character breakdown

• 话/話

  huà (fourth tone, falling)

  speech, words, what is said; a language or dialect; to talk about

  8 strokes⿰讠舌Radical 言

Example sentences

• 他的普通话说得非常好。/他的普通話說得非常好。Tā (first tone, high and level) de (neutral tone) pǔtōnghuà (third tone, dipping) shuō (first tone, high and level) de (neutral tone) fēicháng (first tone, high and level) hǎo. (third tone, dipping)···

  He speaks Mandarin extremely well.

• 在中国，大家都用普通话说话。/在中國，大家都用普通話說話。Zài (fourth tone, falling) Zhōngguó, (first tone, high and level) dàjiā (fourth tone, falling) dōu (first tone, high and level) yòng (fourth tone, falling) pǔtōnghuà (third tone, dipping) shuōhuà. (first tone, high and level)···

  In China everybody uses Mandarin to speak to one another.

Common mistakes

• Not quite我在读普通话书。

  Correct我在读中文书。

  普通话 is speech — 话 says so. Books, characters and writing are 中文; the language as a school subject is 汉语. Only the spoken standard is 普通话.

Similar words

Words containing 话

• 话/話huà (fourth tone, falling)words, what someone says; speech
• 电话/電話diàn (fourth tone, falling) huà (fourth tone, falling)telephone
• 说话/說話shuōhuà (first tone, high and level)to talk, to speak
• 说实话/說實話shuō (first tone, high and level) shí (second tone, rising) huà (fourth tone, falling)to speak the truth
• 打电话/打電話dǎ (third tone, dipping) diànhuà (fourth tone, falling)to make a phone call
• 讲话/講話jiǎng (third tone, dipping) huà (fourth tone, falling)a speech
• 的话/的話de (neutral tone) huà (fourth tone, falling)if (coming after a conditional clause)
• 话题/話題huà (fourth tone, falling) tí (second tone, rising)subject (of a talk or conversation)
• 一句话/一句話yī (first tone, high and level) jù (fourth tone, falling) huà (fourth tone, falling)in a word
• 谈话/談話tán (second tone, rising) huà (fourth tone, falling)to talk (with sb)
• 对话/對話duì (fourth tone, falling) huà (fourth tone, falling)dialog
• 实话/實話shí (second tone, rising) huà (fourth tone, falling)truth
• 笑话/笑話xiào (fourth tone, falling) huà (fourth tone, falling)joke
• 通话/通話tōng (first tone, high and level) huà (fourth tone, falling)to hold a conversation
• 神话/神話shén (second tone, rising) huà (fourth tone, falling)legend
• 童话/童話tóng (second tone, rising) huà (fourth tone, falling)children's fairy tales
• 废话/廢話fèi (fourth tone, falling) huà (fourth tone, falling)nonsense