Spanish word

mandarín

Pronunciation

IPA/mandaˈɾin/

Meaning

  • masculine nounMandarin Chinese

Example

Estoy aprendiendo mandarín.

I am learning Mandarin Chinese.

Illustration for mandarín (Mandarin Chinese)

More examples

¿Hablas mandarín?

Do you speak Mandarin?

Core concept

Standard spoken Chinese that bridges regional dialects.

Common phrases

  • estudiar mandarín

    study Mandarin

  • practicar mandarín

    practice Mandarin

  • curso de mandarín

    course in Mandarin

Similar words

chino: All varieties of Chinese considered together as a single language.
dialecto: A regional variety of a language spoken in a specific geographic area.
cantonés: Variety of Chinese commonly spoken in Guangdong and Hong Kong.

Definition in Spanish

Forma estándar del idioma chino empleada en educación y medios, que facilita la comunicación entre hablantes de distintos dialectos.

Word origin

Borrowed via Portuguese mandarim from Malay menteri and Sanskrit mantri meaning 'minister', because Europeans used the term for Chinese officials whose speech became the prestige variety.

Usage tips

  • Stress falls on the final syllable -ín in Spanish, not on the first syllable as in English 'mandarin'.

Other meanings

  • mandarinnoun

Word lists with this word