Hanyu
/ˈhɑːn.juː/noun
A Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin Chinese term meaning the Chinese language, especially Mandarin.
Did you know?The “Han” in Hanyu comes from the Han dynasty, whose name was itself taken from the Han River; the dynasty’s prestige later made Han an enduring identity for China’s majority ethnic group.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient China, before the 2nd century BCE
Old Chinese
語 (reconstructed *ŋˁraʔ)
“Speech, language, or to speak”
206 BCE–220 CE
Chinese
漢 (Hàn)
“The Han dynasty, named after the Han River in present-day central China”
2nd–3rd centuries CE
Chinese
漢人 (Hànrén)
“A person of the Han realm or dynasty; later, a member of the Han ethnocultural group”
Medieval China
Middle Chinese
漢語 (Hàn-ngjú)
“The language of the Han people”
Modern period
Mandarin Chinese
漢語 / 汉语 (Hànyǔ)
“The Chinese language, commonly referring to Mandarin or the Sinitic language group”
20th century–present
English/Pinyin
Hanyu
“The standard Latin-letter romanization of Hànyǔ”