Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren (simplified Chinese: 中国人; traditional Chinese: 中國人) or as Huaren (simplified Chinese: 华人; traditional Chinese: 華人) by speakers of standard Chinese, including those living in Greater China as well as overseas Chinese.
The People's Republic of China (Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó) and Republic of China (Zhōnghuá Mínguó) are the official names for the two contemporary sovereign states currently claiming sovereignty over the traditional area of China.
As a result of the dynasty's prominence in inter-ethnic and pre-modern international influence, Chinese people began identifying themselves as the "people of Han" (汉人; 漢人; Hànrén), a name that has been carried down to this day.
The Chinese word for China, Zhongguo, literally means 'central state or states' (there is no plural inflection in Chinese), giving rise to the poetic sobriquet “Middle Kingdom.” Thus, China is not the land of the Han or the empire of the Qin, but simply the country in the middle.
It is considered to be polite and respectful to address a Chinese people by his/her surname, followed by honorific titles like Xian1 Sheng1 (Sir), Nv3 Shi4 (Madam) or the job position. Given names are often called between good friends.
Unlike what many foreigners think, Chinese etiquette does not include bowing when greeting Chinese people. A simple, soft handshake, a smile, and a friendly 'hi' or 'ni hao' (or 'nin hao' to greet older Chinese people) will often suffice. When addressing Chinese people, address the eldest or most senior person first.
“Zhongguo (中国)”, which literally translates as "Middle Kingdom," is the Mandarin name for all territories of the People Republic of China.
The spoken Chinese language is comprised of many regional variants called dialects. Modern Chinese dialects evolved between the 8th and 3rd centuries BC. The differences in dialect are due to the different pronunciation and vocabulary. The official dialect of China is Mandarin, also call “Putonghua”.
Before the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the Huaxia nationality named their motherland Zhongguo, and after that, it developed into a nation of various nationalities, and was then called Zhonghua Nation (known as Chinese Nation).
A “Chinese citizen” is a person of Chinese nationality under the CNL. Hong Kong residents who are of Chinese descent and were born in the Chinese territories (including Hong Kong), or persons who satisfy the criteria laid down in the CNL as having Chinese nationality, are Chinese nationals.
Gweilo or gwailou (Chinese: 鬼佬; Cantonese Yale: gwáilóu, pronounced [kʷɐ̌i lǒu] ( listen)) is a common Cantonese slang term for Westerners. In the absence of modifiers, it refers to white people and has a history of racially deprecatory and pejorative use.
The format of Chinese name is surname + first name, for example, 李小芳(Lǐ Xiǎo fāng). We usually address friends in Chinese by his or her first name omitting the surname. If we are close to each other, we may also call his or her childhood nickname.
China is now the official English translation of Zhongguo, the shortened Chinese name of the People's Republic of China.
Across multiple sources, Mandarin Chinese is the number one language listed as the most challenging to learn. The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center puts Mandarin in Category IV, which is the list of the most difficult languages to learn for English speakers.
Mandarin Chinese alone is the most widely spoken native language in the world: nearly a billion within China alone and 1.2 billion worldwide—a few hundred million people more than the next most widespread languages, Spanish and English.
Chinese (中文; Zhōngwén, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the world's population) speak a variety of Chinese as their first language.
In China, Japan is called Rìběn, which is the Mandarin pronunciation for the characters 日本. The Cantonese pronunciation is Yahtbún [jɐt˨ pun˧˥], the Shanghainese pronunciation is Zeppen [zəʔpən], and the Hokkien pronunciation is Ji̍tpún / Li̍t-pún.
The Chinese call Santa Claus sheng dan lao ren, which translates to Old Christmas Man. Although about 5% of China is Christian you won't see or hear a lot of the Christian traditions of Christmas like carol singing and nativity scenes.
In formal situations, people bow slightly or nod politely to greet one another formally. The bow is from the shoulders and should be greater if the person you are greeting has a higher status than you. If seated, the Chinese will stand up out of respect when they are introduced to someone.
The word “uncle” (叔叔 shúshu) can be used for talking about older men, while the word “auntie” (阿姨 āyí) can be used for older women. The words “older brother” (哥哥 gēge) and “older sister” (姊姊 jiějie) are also often used to express affection to people who are slightly older, especially by children.
Basic Etiquette
The correct decorum during interactions in China always entails showing deference to those who are older. It is expected that one bows their head slightly and speaks softly when conversing with someone elderly. The advice or opinion of the elderly should never be contested.
The word "亲 (qīn) dear" helps the sellers create a friendly image, and some customers may call the sellers "亲 (qīn) dear" back. Now, you may hear people say "亲 (qīn) dear" in daily greetings.
li po : moon... : lì pò | Definition | Mandarin Chinese Pinyin English Dictionary | Yabla Chinese. Chinese.