HSK Guide

中文 Zhōngwén — Chinese (the language, especially written)

Zhōngwén (first tone, high and level)Zhong1wen2

Chinese (the language, especially written)

HSK 3· HSK 1–4 (classic)Level 3· Three-band, nine-level standardnoun
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Meanings

  1. Chinese (the language, especially written)

    中 China plus 文 writing, script. Of the three words a learner meets, 中文 leans towards the written language and the school subject, 汉语 names the language of the Han as a system, and 普通话 is the spoken standard alone.

    noun

Character breakdown

  • 中
    zhōng (first tone, high and level) zhòng (fourth tone, falling)

    middle, centre; in, among, within; China (in 中国); (zhòng) to hit the mark, to be hit by

    4 strokes⿻口丨Radical 丨

Example sentences

  • 我学习中文已经两年了。我學習中文已經兩年了。Wǒ (third tone, dipping) xuéxí (second tone, rising) Zhōngwén (first tone, high and level) yǐjīng (third tone, dipping) liǎng (third tone, dipping) nián (second tone, rising) le. (neutral tone)···

    I have been studying Chinese for two years now.

  • 这本书是中文的，我看不懂。這本書是中文的，我看不懂。Zhè (fourth tone, falling) běn (third tone, dipping) shū (first tone, high and level) shì (fourth tone, falling) Zhōngwén (first tone, high and level) de, (neutral tone) wǒ (third tone, dipping) kàn (fourth tone, falling) bù (fourth tone, falling) dǒng. (third tone, dipping)···

    This book is in Chinese — I can’t read it.

Common mistakes

  • Not quite我会说中文话。

    Correct我会说中文。

    文 already means language, so 话 is one word too many. Say 中文, 汉语 or 普通话 — never a compound of two of them.

Similar words

Words containing 中