Languages of China

247 languages of the index are spoken in China; 1 has official status (Putonghua). The country has about 1.40 bn inhabitants (2025).

247 languages110 endangered or dormantAsiaISO CN / CHN

Official languages

cmnPutonghuaSino-Tibetan

All languages spoken in China

Language	ISO	Family	Countries	Speakers	Vitality
zhoChinese汉语	`zho`	Sino-Tibetan		1.30 bn
cmnMandarin Chinese普通话	`cmn`	Sino-Tibetan	+4	1.07 bn	1 · National
cmnStandard Chinese現代標準漢語	`cmn`	Sino-Tibetan	+4	897.1 m
porPortugueseportuguês	`por`	Indo-European	+10	227.3 m	1 · National
panPunjabiپنجابی	`pan`	—	+15	125 m	Safe
wuuWu Chinese吴语	`wuu`	Sino-Tibetan		80.7 m	5 · Developing
vieVietnameseTiếng Việt	`vie`	Austroasiatic		76 m	1 · National
korKorean한국어	`kor`	Koreanic	+5	73.2 m	1 · National
yueYue Chinese粵語	`yue`	Sino-Tibetan		62.2 m	2 · Provincial
nanSouthern Min閩南語	`nan`	Sino-Tibetan	+5	48.3 m	6a · Vigorous
hakHakka ChineseHak-kâ-ngî	`hak`	Sino-Tibetan	+1	48.2 m	5 · Developing
cjyJin	`cjy`	Sino-Tibetan		46.9 m	6a · Vigorous
hsnXiang	`hsn`	Sino-Tibetan		36 m	6a · Vigorous
ganGan Chinese贛語	`gan`	Sino-Tibetan		22.1 m	6a · Vigorous
zhaZhuangVahcuengh	`zha`	Kra–Dai		16 m	Critically endangered
kazKazakhқазақ тілі	`kaz`	Turkic	+9	13.2 m	1 · National
mnpNorthern Min	`mnp`	Sino-Tibetan		11 m	5 · Developing
uigUyghurئۇيغۇر	`uig`	Eastern Karluk	+5	10.4 m	2 · Provincial
cdoEastern MinMìng-dĕ̤ng-ngṳ̄	`cdo`	Sino-Tibetan	+2	10.3 m	5 · Developing
monMongolianмонгол хэл	`mon`	Mongolic		7 m
czhHuizhou Chinese	`czh`	Sino-Tibetan		4.6 m	6a · Vigorous
kirKyrgyzКыргыз тили	`kir`	Turkic		4.6 m	1 · National
hmnHmong	`hmn`	Hmong–Mien	+1	4.5 m	5 · Developing
cpxPu-Xian Min莆仙語	`cpx`	Sino-Tibetan		2.5 m	5 · Developing
iiiNuosuꆈꌠꉙ	`iii`	Sino-Tibetan		2 m	4 · Educational
pccBouyei	`pcc`	Kra–Dai		2 m	6a · Vigorous
zybYongbei Zhuang	`zyb`	Kra–Dai		2 m	6a · Vigorous
kmcKam	`kmc`	Kra–Dai		1.5 m	6a · Vigorous
khgKhams Tibetan	`khg`	—		1.5 m	6a · Vigorous
bodTibetanབོད་ཡིག	`bod`	—		1.2 m	2 · Provincial
zehEastern Hongshuihe Zhuang	`zeh`	Kra–Dai		1.2 m	6a · Vigorous
kacJingpo	`kac`	Sino-Tibetan		940,000	3 · Wider Communication
iumIu Mien	`ium`	Hmong–Mien	+4	820,000	5 · Developing
adxAmdo Tibetanཨ་མདོའི་སྐད།	`adx`	—		810,000	6a · Vigorous
xalOiratхальмг‎	`xal`	Mongolic		780,000	Definitely endangered
bltTai Dam	`blt`	Kra–Dai	+1	760,000	5 · Developing
hniHaniHaqniqdoq	`hni`	Sino-Tibetan		740,000	6a · Vigorous
khbTai Lü	`khb`	Kra–Dai		700,000	2 · Provincial
licHlai	`lic`	Kra–Dai		700,000	6a · Vigorous
tddTai Nüa	`tdd`	Kra–Dai	+1	650,000	4 · Educational
tyrTai Daeng	`tyr`	Kra–Dai		650,000	6a · Vigorous
ahkAkha	`ahk`	Sino-Tibetan	+2	600,000	5 · Developing
kjgKhmu	`kjg`	Austroasiatic	+1	480,000	5 · Developing
lhuLahuLadhof	`lhu`	Sino-Tibetan		450,000	4 · Educational
bwxBu-Nao	`bwx`	Hmong–Mien		390,000	6b · Threatened
buaBuryatбуряад хэлэн	`bua`	Mongolic		329,000	Definitely endangered
nbfNaxi	`nbf`	Sino-Tibetan		310,000	5 · Developing
swiSui	`swi`	—		300,000	6a · Vigorous
tyvTuvanТыва дыл	`tyv`	Turkic		297,000	2 · Provincial
twhTai Dón	`twh`	—		280,000	6a · Vigorous
sceSanta	`sce`	Mongolic		200,000	6b · Threatened
tsjTshangla	`tsj`	Bodish		175,000	4 · Educational
mjgMonguor	`mjg`	Mongolic		152,000	7 · Shifting
xsrSherpa	`xsr`	—		150,000	5 · Developing
dtaDaur	`dta`	Mongolic		96,085	7 · Shifting
mlmMulam	`mlm`	Kra–Dai		86,000	6b · Threatened
atbZaiwa	`atb`	Sino-Tibetan		80,000	5 · Developing
bykBiao	`byk`	—		80,000	6a · Vigorous
slrSalarSalïrča	`slr`	Turkic		70,000	6b · Threatened
bxuChina Buriat	`bxu`	Mongolic		65,000	7 · Shifting
uuuU	`uuu`	Austroasiatic		40,000	7 · Shifting
sjoXibeᠰᡞᠪᡝ ᡤᡞᠰᡠᠨ	`sjo`	Tungusic		30,000	6b · Threatened
mmdMaonan	`mmd`	Kra–Dai		30,000	6b · Threatened
lsiLashi	`lsi`	Sino-Tibetan		30,000	5 · Developing
wblWakhiښیکوار زیک	`wbl`	Indo-European	+1	23,681	6a · Vigorous
srhSarikoli	`srh`	—		16,000	6b · Threatened
evnEvenkiᠧᠠᠩᠬᠢ	`evn`	Tungusic		15,800	7 · Shifting
lbjLadakhi	`lbj`	—		14,952	5 · Developing
duuDerung	`duu`	Sino-Tibetan		14,225	6a · Vigorous
aibÄynuپارىس	`aib`	Eastern Karluk		12,000	6b · Threatened
pehBonanམ་ནི་སྐད་ཅི	`peh`	Mongolic		10,000	6b · Threatened
lbcLakkja	`lbc`	Kra–Dai		9,000	6a · Vigorous
nmyNamuyi	`nmy`	Sino-Tibetan		5,000	6a · Vigorous
ybeWestern Yugur	`ybe`	Turkic		4,600	8a · Moribund
jihStodse	`jih`	Sino-Tibetan		4,100	6b · Threatened
yuyEastern Yugur	`yuy`	Mongolic		4,000	8a · Moribund
wuhWutunNgandehua	`wuh`	Sino-Tibetan		4,000	6a · Vigorous
ckhSak	`ckh`	Sino-Tibetan		4,000	6a · Vigorous
huqTsat	`huq`	Austronesian		3,800	6b · Threatened
bbhBugan	`bbh`	Austroasiatic		2,700	6a · Vigorous
gldNanaiНа̄най хэсэни	`gld`	Tungusic		1,390	8a · Moribund
orhOroqen	`orh`	Tungusic		1,200	8a · Moribund
kxsKangjia	`kxs`	Mongolic		1,000	8a · Moribund
yhaPaha	`yha`	Kra–Dai		600	6b · Threatened
lsnTibetan Sign Language	`lsn`	—		500	7 · Shifting
bxdPela	`bxd`	Sino-Tibetan		400	6b · Threatened
iliIli Turki	`ili`	Eastern Karluk		120	8a · Moribund
mzsMacanese	`mzs`	—		50	8b · Nearly Extinct
mncManchuᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ ᡤᡳᠰᡠᠨ	`mnc`	Tungusic		20	8b · Nearly Extinct
sogSogdian	`sog`	Indo-European
xbcBactrian	`xbc`	Indo-European
xcoKhwarezmian	`xco`	Indo-European
ochOld Chinese	`och`	Sino-Tibetan
zktKhitan	`zkt`	—
txgTangut𗼇𗟲	`txg`	Sino-Tibetan
jucJurchen	`juc`	Tungusic
cmnPutonghua普通话	`cmn`	Sino-Tibetan
lisLisuꓡꓲ-ꓢꓴ	`lis`	Sino-Tibetan			3 · Wider Communication
czoMin Zhong	`czo`	Sino-Tibetan			6a · Vigorous
acnAchang	`acn`	Sino-Tibetan			7 · Shifting
shxShe	`shx`	Hmong–Mien			7 · Shifting
cslChinese Sign Language中国手语	`csl`	—			5 · Developing
eeeE	`eee`	Kra–Dai			6b · Threatened
zngMang	`zng`	Austroasiatic			6b · Threatened
luhLeizhou Min	`luh`	Sino-Tibetan
wxaWaxiang Chinese	`wxa`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
phaPa-Hng	`pha`	Hmong–Mien			6b · Threatened
gioGelao	`gio`	Kra–Dai			Critically endangered
bgkBit	`bgk`	Austroasiatic			6a · Vigorous
girRed Gelao	`gir`	Kra–Dai			7 · Shifting
cmgClassical Mongolian	`cmg`	Mongolic
bqhBaima	`bqh`	—			6b · Threatened
jyaGyalrong	`jya`	Sino-Tibetan			6a · Vigorous
ykhKhamnigan Mongol	`ykh`	Mongolic			Definitely endangered
mxjMiju	`mxj`	Sino-Tibetan			6a · Vigorous
adiAdi	`adi`	Sino-Tibetan			5 · Developing
lbtLachi	`lbt`	Kra–Dai			6b · Threatened
hksHong Kong Sign Language	`hks`	—			6a · Vigorous
aihAi-Cham	`aih`	Kra–Dai			6b · Threatened
mkgMak	`mkg`	Kra–Dai			7 · Shifting
clkIdu Mishmi	`clk`	Sino-Tibetan			6a · Vigorous
groGroma	`gro`	Southern Tibetic			6b · Threatened
qxsSouthern Qiang	`qxs`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
lpoLipo	`lpo`	Sino-Tibetan			6a · Vigorous
mjiKim Mun	`mji`	Hmong–Mien			6a · Vigorous
ersErsu	`ers`	Sino-Tibetan			7 · Shifting
huoHu	`huo`	Austroasiatic			6b · Threatened
blrBlang	`blr`	Austroasiatic			6a · Vigorous
zhbZhaba	`zhb`	—			6b · Threatened
mhuDigaro Mishmi	`mhu`	Sino-Tibetan			6a · Vigorous
cngNorthern Qiang	`cng`	Sino-Tibetan			7 · Shifting
byoPiyo	`byo`	Sino-Tibetan			6a · Vigorous
zkrZakhring	`zkr`	Sino-Tibetan			7 · Shifting
ktpKaduo	`ktp`	Sino-Tibetan			6a · Vigorous
giwWhite Gelao	`giw`	Kra–Dai			8b · Nearly Extinct
hmdA-Hmao	`hmd`	Hmong–Mien			5 · Developing
zzjZuojiang Zhuang	`zzj`	Kra–Dai			6a · Vigorous
cuqCun	`cuq`	Kra–Dai			6a · Vigorous
xtoTocharian A	`xto`	Indo-European
cdaChoni	`cda`	—			7 · Shifting
bpnDzao Min	`bpn`	Hmong–Mien			6a · Vigorous
gqiGuiqiong	`gqi`	Sino-Tibetan			Vulnerable
pdiPa Di	`pdi`	Kra–Dai			6b · Threatened
plyBolyu	`ply`	Austroasiatic			8a · Moribund
qvyChoyo	`qvy`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
cpiChinese Pidgin English	`cpi`	—			6b · Threatened
tctThen	`tct`	Kra–Dai			6b · Threatened
sxgShixing	`sxg`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
yiuAwu Yi	`yiu`	—			6b · Threatened
mvfSouthern Mongolian	`mvf`	Mongolic			6b · Threatened
bjeBiao Min	`bje`	Hmong–Mien			6a · Vigorous
buhYounuo	`buh`	Hmong–Mien			7 · Shifting
pnuKiong Nai	`pnu`	Hmong–Mien			6b · Threatened
bwnHm Nai	`bwn`	Hmong–Mien			7 · Shifting
eroHorpa	`ero`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
lbfTinani	`lbf`	Bodish			6b · Threatened
zygYang Zhuang	`zyg`	Kra–Dai			6a · Vigorous
hmjGejia	`hmj`	Hmong–Mien			6b · Threatened
tjiNorthern Tujia	`tji`	Sino-Tibetan			7 · Shifting
hmlLuopohe Miao	`hml`	Hmong–Mien			6a · Vigorous
mvmMuya	`mvm`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
mwwHmong Daw	`mww`	Hmong–Mien			5 · Developing
zalZauzou	`zal`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
twmTawang Monpa	`twm`	Bodish			6a · Vigorous
enuEnu	`enu`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
yclLolopo	`ycl`	Sino-Tibetan			6a · Vigorous
hleHlersu	`hle`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
xnhKuan	`xnh`	Austroasiatic			6b · Threatened
layLama Bai	`lay`	Sino-Tibetan			6a · Vigorous
yiqMicha	`yiq`	Sino-Tibetan			7 · Shifting
yloNaluo	`ylo`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
zhnNong Zhuangkauq Noangz	`zhn`	Kra–Dai			3 · Wider Communication
ysySanie	`ysy`	Sino-Tibetan			8a · Moribund
yifAche Yi	`yif`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
giuMulao	`giu`	Kra–Dai			8b · Nearly Extinct
nruNarua	`nru`	Sino-Tibetan			6a · Vigorous
mmlMan Met	`mml`	Austroasiatic			6b · Threatened
yrnYerong	`yrn`	Kra–Dai			6b · Threatened
aeuAkeu	`aeu`	Sino-Tibetan			6a · Vigorous
zgmMin Zhuang	`zgm`	Kra–Dai			6a · Vigorous
bmtBiao Mon	`bmt`	Hmong–Mien			6b · Threatened
tjsSouthern Tujia	`tjs`	Sino-Tibetan			8a · Moribund
kafKatso	`kaf`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
sgkSangkong	`sgk`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
ynaAluo	`yna`	Sino-Tibetan			7 · Shifting
ytaTalu	`yta`	Sino-Tibetan			Vulnerable
yktKathu	`ykt`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
llhLamu	`llh`	Sino-Tibetan			8a · Moribund
lwuLawu	`lwu`	Sino-Tibetan			8b · Nearly Extinct
ymdMuda	`ymd`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
ymzMuzi	`ymz`	Sino-Tibetan			7 · Shifting
ypgPhola	`ypg`	Sino-Tibetan			6a · Vigorous
ypwPhowa	`ypw`	Sino-Tibetan
yphPhupha	`yph`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
ysdSamatao	`ysd`	Sino-Tibetan			8a · Moribund
smhSamei	`smh`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
ytlTholo	`ytl`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
yzkZokhuo	`yzk`	—			6b · Threatened
xiaXiandao	`xia`	Sino-Tibetan			Critically endangered
bcaCentral Bai	`bca`	Sino-Tibetan			6a · Vigorous
wbmVo	`wbm`	Austroasiatic			5 · Developing
lhmLhomi	`lhm`	—			5 · Developing
lwmLaomian	`lwm`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
hnjHmong Njua	`hnj`	Hmong–Mien	+1		6a · Vigorous
prkParauk	`prk`	Austroasiatic			2 · Provincial
ymiMoji	`ymi`	Sino-Tibetan			7 · Shifting
sfmSmall Flowery Miao	`sfm`	Hmong–Mien			6a · Vigorous
bfcPanyi Bai	`bfc`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
bfsSouthern Bai	`bfs`	—			6a · Vigorous
ysoNisi	`yso`	—			6a · Vigorous
hmmCentral Mashan Hmong	`hmm`	Hmong–Mien			6a · Vigorous
rbbRumai Palaung	`rbb`	—			5 · Developing
hmzHmong Shua	`hmz`	Hmong–Mien			6a · Vigorous
kfjKemiehua	`kfj`	Austroasiatic			6b · Threatened
ychChesu	`ych`	Sino-Tibetan			7 · Shifting
jiyBuyuan Jinuo	`jiy`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
jiuYoule Jinuo	`jiu`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
kgyKyerung	`kgy`	—			6b · Threatened
lovLopi	`lov`	Sino-Tibetan			6a · Vigorous
yigWusa Nasu	`yig`	Sino-Tibetan			5 · Developing
ywtXishanba Lalo	`ywt`	Sino-Tibetan			7 · Shifting
hmySouthern Guiyang Hmong	`hmy`	Hmong–Mien			6a · Vigorous
hujNorthern Guiyang Hmong	`huj`	Hmong–Mien			6a · Vigorous
hmcCentral Huishui Hmong	`hmc`	Hmong–Mien			6a · Vigorous
hmeEastern Huishui Hmong	`hme`	Hmong–Mien			6b · Threatened
hmaSouthern Mashan Hmong	`hma`	Hmong–Mien			6b · Threatened
hmsSouthern Qiandong Miao	`hms`	Hmong–Mien			6a · Vigorous
hmwWestern Mashan Hmong	`hmw`	Hmong–Mien			6b · Threatened
hmpNorthern Mashan Hmong	`hmp`	Hmong–Mien			6a · Vigorous
hmhSouthwestern Huishui Hmong	`hmh`	Hmong–Mien			6a · Vigorous
lhiLahu Shi	`lhi`	Sino-Tibetan			5 · Developing
ywuWumeng Nasu	`ywu`	—			6b · Threatened
hmqEastern Qiandong Miao	`hmq`	Hmong–Mien			6a · Vigorous
hmiNorthern Huishui Hmong	`hmi`	Hmong–Mien			6a · Vigorous
hmgSouthwestern Guiyang Hmong	`hmg`	Hmong–Mien			6a · Vigorous
vwaAwa	`vwa`	Austroasiatic			6b · Threatened
cspSouthern Pinghua	`csp`	Sino-Tibetan
cnpNorthern Pinghua	`cnp`	Sino-Tibetan
yivNorthern Nisu	`yiv`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
nsdSouthern Nisu	`nsd`	Sino-Tibetan			8a · Moribund
nsfNorthwestern Nisu	`nsf`	Sino-Tibetan			6a · Vigorous
ypzPhuza	`ypz`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
yppPhupa	`ypp`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
nsvSouthwestern Nisu	`nsv`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
ybkBokha	`ybk`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
yhlHlepho Phowa	`yhl`	Sino-Tibetan			6b · Threatened
ypmPhuma	`ypm`	Sino-Tibetan			6a · Vigorous

247 languages · click a column to sort · source: Wikidata