How to say “Chinese” in Chinese

中文

Zhōngwén

Chinese (language and writing)

noun · HSK 1 · topic “Meeting people”

“Chinese” in Chinese is 中文, Zhōng wén: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.

How to pronounce it

中文 is read Zhōng wén: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.

Zhōng — 1st tonehigh and level, like a long note

wén — 2nd tonerising, like a surprised “huh?”

How to write it

中

zhōng — middle

The stroke runs right through the middle.

文

wén — writing, culture

Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “中文”.

Examples

Sentences from the course lessons with 中文. Tap the sound icon to listen.

我会说一点儿中文wǒhuìshuōyìdiǎnrZhōngwénI can speak a little Chinese.
我学习汉语我很喜欢中文wǒxuéxíHànyǔ,wǒhěnxǐhuanZhōngwénI study Chinese, and I really like it.
请把这句话翻译成中文。qǐngbǎzhèjùhuàfānyìchéngZhōngwénPlease translate this sentence into Chinese.
他把这篇论文翻译成了中文tābǎzhèpiānlùnwénfānyìchéngleZhōngwénHe translated this research paper into Chinese.
你当初为什么选择学中文？nǐdāngchūwèishénmexuǎnzéxuéZhōngwénWhy did you decide to learn Chinese back then?
这部电影有中文字幕吗？zhèbùdiànyǐngyǒuZhōngwénzìmùmaDoes this film have Chinese subtitles?

More words from the lesson “Do you speak Chinese?”

Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “Chinese” in Chinese?

“Chinese” in Chinese is 中文, pinyin Zhōngwén.

What does 中文 mean?

中文 (Zhōngwén) means “Chinese (language and writing)”.

How do you write 中文?

中文 is 2 characters: 中 (zhōng) — middle; 文 (wén) — writing, culture. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 中文?

中文 is read Zhōngwén. Tones: Zhōng — first tone, wén — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.

“Chinese” in the lesson “Do you speak Chinese?”

This word is from the topic “Meeting people” of HSK 1. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.

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