---
title: "Hanyu Meaning: 汉语 (hànyǔ) Means “Chinese”"
description: "汉语 (traditional 漢語, hànyǔ) means “Chinese (language); Mandarin”. Hear its tones, see what 汉 and 语 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/hanyu"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 汉语 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

汉语 hànyǔ

## Chinese (language); Mandarin

## Its characters

1. 汉 hàn Chinese language (short for 汉语)
2. 语 yǔ language

## In a sentence

我每天学习一个小时汉语。 I study Chinese for an hour every day.

中国人说中文，中文也叫**汉语**。

From [中国的“中” · How to say China in Chinese](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-to-say-china-in-chinese#library-word-150-152)

[More about 汉语](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD)

## More words with 汉 or 语

- [标语 biāoyǔ](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/biaoyu)
- [成语 chéngyǔ](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/chengyu)
- [词语 cíyǔ](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/ciyu)
- [汉字 hànzì](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/hanzi)
- [话语 huàyǔ](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/huayu)
- [口语 kǒuyǔ](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/kouyu)
- [外语 wàiyǔ](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/waiyu)
- [言语 yányǔ](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/yanyu)
- [语法 yǔfǎ](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/yufa)
- [语文 yǔwén](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/yuwen)

## Keep 汉语 for Review

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## Look up another word

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