{"id":950,"date":"2021-02-04T12:12:31","date_gmt":"2021-02-04T04:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maayot.com\/blog\/?p=950"},"modified":"2021-03-18T16:00:16","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T08:00:16","slug":"what-are-the-differences-between-mandarin-and-cantonese-%ef%bc%88%e6%99%ae%e9%80%9a%e8%af%9d-vs%e7%b2%a4%e8%af%ad%ef%bc%89","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maayot.com\/blog\/what-are-the-differences-between-mandarin-and-cantonese-%ef%bc%88%e6%99%ae%e9%80%9a%e8%af%9d-vs%e7%b2%a4%e8%af%ad%ef%bc%89\/","title":{"rendered":"Mandarin vs Cantonese Differences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cantonese and Mandarin are dialects of the Chinese language and are both spoken in China. They are two related languages and share the same base alphabet. But as a spoken language they are distinct and have some major differences that depend on variety of aspects. In today\u2019s post, we are going to take a close look at the major differences between the two languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mandarin<\/span> is also known as Putonghua, is the official language of mainland China with “Beijing phonetic as the standard sound<\/span>, northern dialect as the basic dialect, and typical modern vernacular writings as the grammatical norms”. Mandarin is the standard language of modern Chinese. It is main speaking language in northern China, but also in the southwestern provinces thanks to migration. It is also an official language in Taiwan and Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Cantonese is a subset language of Chinese<\/span>. Cantonese is spoken by people in southern mainland China, Hong Kong, and communities around the world. Chinese communities in Western countries typically have a high representation of Cantonese speakers due to the higher emigration rate of people from Hong Kong during the 20th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparison of the Tonal, Grammar and Writing Systems<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Different syllable<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

(1) <\/strong>Cantonese retains a lot of ancient Chinese components, mostly monosyllable words, while Mandarin Chinese is mostly two-syllable words<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Tale<\/strong>: Mandarin\u5c3e\u5df4\u2014Cantonese\u5c3e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Ear<\/strong>: Mandarin\u8033\u6735\u2014Cantonese\u8033<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Head<\/strong>: Mandarin\u8111\u888b\u2014Cantonese\u5934<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Tongue<\/strong>: Mandarin\u820c\u5934\u2014Cantonese\u8137<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Eye<\/strong>: Mandarin\u773c\u775b\u2014Cantonese\u773c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Know<\/strong>: Mandarin\u8ba4\u8bc6\u2014Cantonese\u8bc6<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Easy<\/strong>: Mandarin\u5bb9\u6613\u2014Cantonese\u6613<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Difficult<\/strong>: Mandarin\u56f0\u96be\u2014Cantonese\u96be<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Quilt<\/strong>: Mandarin\u88ab\u5b50\u2014Cantonese\u88ab<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Wing<\/strong>: Mandarin\u7fc5\u8180\u2014Cantonese\u7ffc<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Cloth<\/strong>: Mandarin\u8863\u670d\u2014Cantonese\u886b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Window<\/strong>: Mandarin\u7a97\u6237\u2014Cantonese\u7a97<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2)<\/strong> Mandarin Pinyin has the syllable of zh<\/span>, ch<\/span>, sh<\/span>, r<\/span>, but Cantonese does not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(3)<\/strong> Cantonese has nasal vowels with a rhyme ending in m<\/span>, as well as nasal vowels with a rhyme ending in b<\/span>, d<\/span>, and g<\/span>, while Mandarin does not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Different tones<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In terms of tones, Mandarin has only four tones, plus a neutral tone; while Cantonese has as many as nine tones, which can be divided into 6 open syllables and 3 checked syllables. Learning the tones are said to be the hardest part of learning Chinese. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mandarin: <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cantonese: <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For example:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Please<\/strong>: Mandarin: \u8bf7q\u01d0ng\uff1a Cantonese: zhim goai<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Thanks<\/strong>: Mandarin\u8c22\u8c22xi\u00e8 xi\u00e8\uff1a Cantonese : do zei<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" You are welcome<\/strong>: Mandarin: \u4e0d\u5ba2\u6c14 b\u00f9 k\u00e8q\u00ec\uff1aCantonese:-m sei ha hei<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Different grammar<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In terms of grammar, Cantonese is also different from Mandarin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(1) Adverbial modifiers are often placed after verbs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Mandarin: \u4f60\u5148\u770b\u2014Cantonese:\u4f60\u7747\u5148<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Mandarin:\u6211\u5148\u8d70\u2014Cantonese:\u6211\u884c\u5148<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Mandarin: \u6211\u6bd4\u4f60\u591a\u2014Cantonese:\u6211\u591a\u8fc7\u4f60<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2) The word order is different<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" I go first<\/strong>: Mandarin: \u6211\u5148\u4e0a\u2014Cantonese: \u6211\u4e0a\u5148<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Rooster<\/strong>: Mandarin: \u516c\u9e21\u2014Cantonese: \u9e21\u516c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Guests<\/strong>: Mandarin: \u5ba2\u4eba\u2014Cantonese: \u4eba\u5ba2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Morning<\/strong>: Mandarin: \u65e9\u6668\u2014Cantonese: \u6668\u65e9<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Like<\/strong>: Mandarin: \u559c\u6b22\u2014Cantonese: \u6b22\u559c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(3) The function words are different<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" I am reading<\/strong>: Mandarin: \u6211\u6b63\u5728\u8bfb\u4e66\u2014Cantonese: \u6211\u8bfb\u7d27\u4e66<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Vocabulary<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

(1) <\/strong>Cantonese is deeply influenced by foreign culture, the formation and development of Cantonese dialect were absorbed many foreign words or the pronunciation of the words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u5df4\u58eb–bus \/ \u7684\u58eb–taxi \/ \u6ce2–ball<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u6064\u886b–shirt \/ \u6469\u6253-motor \/ \u83f2\u6797–film<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u58eb\u591a–store \/ \u68b3\u5316–sofa \/ Call\u673a–pager<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2) <\/strong>A large number of ancient words and special dialect words are retained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Drinking tea<\/strong>: Mandarin: \u559d\u8336\u2014Cantonese: \u996e\u8336<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Haircut<\/strong> : Mandarin: \u7406\u53d1\u2014Cantonese: \u98de\u53d1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Salary-pay<\/strong>: Mandarin: \u53d1\u5de5\u8d44\u2014Cantonese: \u51fa\u7cae<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Shop<\/strong>: Mandarin: \u5546\u5e97\u2014Cantonese: \u94fa\u5934<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Look<\/strong> : Mandarin: \u770b\u2014Cantonese: \u7747<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Walk<\/strong> : Mandarin: \u8d70\u2014Cantonese: \u884c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Wing<\/strong> : Mandarin: \u7fc5\u8180\u2014Cantonese: \u7ffc<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Pretty<\/strong> : Mandarin: \u6f02\u4eae\u2014Cantonese: \u9753<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" Not good<\/strong> : Mandarin: \u4e0d\u597d\u2014Cantonese: \u5f0a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After we went through the major differences between Mandarin and Chinese, you may wonder which language I should learn. Because of its complexity level, there is no doubt that Cantonese is the more difficult dialect for beginners to learn. Besides, Guangdong province has seen an influx of Mandarin speakers and many people there now speak Mandarin. If you plan on doing business in China or traveling around the country, Mandarin is the language to learn. You might consider learning Cantonese if you intend to settle in Hong Kong for long period of time. If you’re feeling interested and plan to learn both languages, it is recommended that it’s easier to learn Mandarin first and then build up to Cantonese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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