noun
- The standard form of Mandarin Chinese, based on the Beijing dialect and used as the official language of mainland China.
Usage: Also called Modern Standard Chinese or Standard Mandarin; The term is primarily used in educational and linguistic contexts
Examples
- Students in mainland China learn putonghua as their standard language of instruction.
- Putonghua is based on the pronunciation of Beijing Mandarin.
- The government promotes putonghua to ensure mutual intelligibility across different regions.
- Many Chinese dialects differ significantly from putonghua.
- International learners of Chinese often begin with putonghua as their foundation.