What does "guoyu" mean?

The standardized spoken Chinese language, also referred to as Standard Mandarin. The term remains in common use in the Republic of China (Taiwan) and colloquially in Hong Kong (along with Putonghua). In mainland China, Guoyu or Taiwan Guoyu is used to refer to Taiwanese Mandarin (standard), as opposed to mainland standard Mandarin.

Guoyu

Q: What is a synonym for "guoyu"?

Common synonyms include: chinese, mandarin, mandarin, mandarin chinese, putonghua, standard chinese.

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Definitions

Proper Noun

1
The standardized spoken Chinese language, also referred to as Standard Mandarin. The term remains in common use in the Republic of China (Taiwan) and colloquially in Hong Kong (along with Putonghua). In mainland China, Guoyu or Taiwan Guoyu is used to refer to Taiwanese Mandarin (standard), as opposed to mainland standard Mandarin.
2
The language the Emperor of China spoke. historical

Synonyms

All synonyms

chinese mandarin mandarin mandarin chinese putonghua standard chinese

Etymology

From Mandarin 國語／国语 (guóyǔ, literally “nation-language” or “country-language”).

Related phrases

hong kong standard mandarin

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.