Chinese Quizzes Online & Trivia

Mandarin and Cantonese are two different types of languages that are spoken by people of different locations. Many people use to think both languages are the same, the truth they might appear related, but they are not the same. Mandarin is the official language of Taiwan and China and one of four official languages in Singapore. Mandarin is the most spoken language in this region; you will even see students speaking the language in the school. Cantonese, on the other hand, is the Chinese language mainly spoken in the south-eastern part of Mainland China, Guangdong. Cantonese is the most preferred Chinese language by Chinese people living in different overseas. Another difference is that, although both languages use the same characters, they are pronounced differently. Cantonese uses 6 to 9 different kinds of tone. As a result, it is a bit hard to learn. Mandarin uses just four tones and is easy to learn.

Some people use Chinese and Mandarin interchangeably. It seems that some people do not realize that there are differences between the two. Chinese is the term used in order to describe the people of China. There are also some people who use the term “Chinese” in order to describe the language that people in China speak but actually, Mandarin may be the more formal term. This is not the only language that people speak in China but this is one of the most well-known languages that even people from other parts of the world would like to learn it. Take note that spoken and written Chinese is also very different from each other.

Chinese kanji characters and script is one of the biggest of all modern writing scripts. Estimates say that the number of kanji in Chinese writing script is tens of thousands with some giving a direct number of around 50,000. It is said that the large amount of these kanji's are ones that used exclusively for certain historical sites and places that are all throughout the country. The word kanji comes from the man who is said to have invented Chinese script during the days when the country was the rule of the Yellow Emperor. His name was Cangjie. Cangjie studied animals and they were the inspiration for his characters. Legend has it that when Cangjie was able to finish the development of the Chinese script that ghosts started to appear to people all throughout the country. Those first symbols that Cangjie wrote would be the inspiration for a language and a culture that is one of the richest that have ever existed. it can easily be said that Chinese script and kanji is one of the largest scripts on Earth.

Some the earliest Chinese kanji charachters that have been discovered are said to have come from around 6500 BC and have been discovered recently at ancient sites in China. A couple thousand years later around 1200 BC was the discovery of oracle bone script in which scientists say is the first known example of Chinese kanji script and it was from here that modern day Chinese has evolved from. Over the course of thousands of years and through the various dynasties and eras that ruled throughout China, the kanji has changed and new characters have been adopted. It is believed that there is at least 50,000 different kanji that is associated with Chinese script. Chinese kanji has always been known as one of the most elegant and complex writing scripts that has ever been invented. It is certainly one of the oldest scripts that is still used to this very day.

Winter forest

All the above

To throw away poverty

3

Fireworks

A dragon

The story of Cinderella

It is good to be kind.