<p>中文 = 汉语 = （普通话 + other dialects of 汉语）</p>

<p>There 56 ethnic groups in China. 汉语 is the language of ethnic group 汉.</p>

<p>You ask a guy looks like a foreigner， "do you speak 汉语/中文?".  Either is ok. </p>

<p>You ask a guy looks like from a different ethnic group, "do you speak 汉语?". Here 汉语 is more appropriate. </p>

<p>You ask a guy who looks really uneducated and speaks a weird dialect, "do you speak 普通话?" </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-21T05:39:25.033Z
2015-08-21T05:39:25.033Z
John
<p>Here's a pretty good rundown of the differences: <a href="https://www.yoyochinese.com/blog/Learn-Mandarin-Chinese-what%E2%80%99s-difference-between-zhongwen-hanyu-putonghua-guoyu-and-huayu" rel="nofollow">https://www.yoyochinese.com/blog/Learn-Mandarin-Chinese-what%E2%80%99s-difference-between-zhongwen-hanyu-putonghua-guoyu-and-huayu</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-18T23:08:15.337Z
2015-08-18T23:08:15.337Z
yoyomicah
<p>“<a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD">汉语</a>” is a general scope of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_language">Chinese language</a>, it is spoken in several countries including China. “<a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8F%BE%E4%BB%A3%E6%A8%99%E6%BA%96%E6%BC%A2%E8%AA%9E">普通话</a>” is the modern name of “<a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8F%BE%E4%BB%A3%E6%A8%99%E6%BA%96%E6%BC%A2%E8%AA%9E">现代标准汉语</a>”(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Chinese">Standard Chinese</a>), it can be considered as the “official dialect” of “汉语”.</p>

<p>As you can see, the difference is the scope. Most Chinese speak “汉语”, but not all of them speak “普通话”.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-19T11:54:54.693Z
2015-08-19T11:54:54.693Z
Madwyn
<p>I've seen them used interchangeably, but I was wondering if there is a significant difference.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-18T13:08:34.663Z
Very simply put: 普通话 is Mandarin, while 汉语 is Chinese, which are not the same. Also, 普通话 is a modern concept, but 汉语 covers a historical period of several thousand years.
imrek
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-18T13:12:00.850Z
In addition, 普通话 is a PRC concept, outside of the Mainland, people will prefer 国语 to refer to the Mandarin variant of Chinese. 汉语 is an accepted word in all Chinese speaking countries and regions.
imrek
<meaning><difference>
What is the difference between 汉语 and 普通话?
# What is the difference between 汉语 and 普通话?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-08-18)

I've seen them used interchangeably, but I was wondering if there is a significant difference.

**Tags:** meaning, difference
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Very simply put: 普通话 is Mandarin, while 汉语 is Chinese, which are not the same. Also, 普通话 is a modern concept, but 汉语 covers a historical period of several thousand years.  
> **username_1**: In addition, 普通话 is a PRC concept, outside of the Mainland, people will prefer 国语 to refer to the Mandarin variant of Chinese. 汉语 is an accepted word in all Chinese speaking countries and regions.  

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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2015-08-19. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

“[汉语](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD)” is a general scope of [Chinese language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_language), it is spoken in several countries including China. “[普通话](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8F%BE%E4%BB%A3%E6%A8%99%E6%BA%96%E6%BC%A2%E8%AA%9E)” is the modern name of “[现代标准汉语](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8F%BE%E4%BB%A3%E6%A8%99%E6%BA%96%E6%BC%A2%E8%AA%9E)”([Standard Chinese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Chinese)), it can be considered as the “official dialect” of “汉语”.

As you can see, the difference is the scope. Most Chinese speak “汉语”, but not all of them speak “普通话”.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2015-08-21. Score: 4

中文 = 汉语 = （普通话 + other dialects of 汉语）

There 56 ethnic groups in China. 汉语 is the language of ethnic group 汉.

You ask a guy looks like a foreigner， "do you speak 汉语/中文?". Either is ok.

You ask a guy looks like from a different ethnic group, "do you speak 汉语?". Here 汉语 is more appropriate.

You ask a guy who looks really uneducated and speaks a weird dialect, "do you speak 普通话?"


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### Answer by username_3 on 2015-08-18. Score: 0

Here's a pretty good rundown of the differences: <https://www.yoyochinese.com/blog/Learn-Mandarin-Chinese-what%E2%80%99s-difference-between-zhongwen-hanyu-putonghua-guoyu-and-huayu>


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