Mandarin or Cantonese?

Hello,

We will be spending a couple of years in HK and would like to learn some Chinese while we're there. I'm just wondering how difficult/confusing it would bw to try to learn Mandarin while everyone around you is speaking Cantonese?


I'm sure many of you have faced this question. Any advice? Is it better to focus on Cantonese despite (relatively) limited use elsewhere or focus on Mandarin and be confused while in HK?


Many thanks,

D

I am a Canadian-Chinese who can speak both language fluently; I strongly recommend foreigners who would like to learn Chinese language to put Mandarin over Cantonese. Although the local dialect is Cantonese, Mandarin is understood at most of the places at HK. Salesperson must know Mandarin to serve countless mainland travellers everyday.


Mandarin is a must if you travel anywhere north of GuangDong province, knowing it enables you to communicate with more than 85% of the Chinese.


That is my 2 cents.

Thanks.

I agree. I always told my Western friends to learn Mandarin instead of Cantonese. Cantonese is more difficult to learn for Westerner but it's not very useful as a whole. There are more ppl can speak Nandarin than Cantonese. If you go shopping, you will find that the shops are flooded with mainlander who speak Mandarin.

It depends on which language you’ll use in the future. Mandarin is the official language in China, while Cantonese is a dialect, mostly used in HK, Guangdong Province and Chinatowns.


Maybe difficult to learn Mandarin in HK while most of the people around speak Cantonese. But if you can manage to have 1-3 month leave, think about an intensive Mandarin program in Beijing, you’ll learn Mandarin in classroom and use it in real life.


I heard Peking University and Bejing Language and Culture University have this kind of language program.

From a self-help perspective, there are many, many more books on Mandarin available in HK that there are Cantonese.


This is very frustrating... you find and excellent book, only to find it is about Mandarin, when you are actually looking for Cantonese!

I am a Western guy who has learned both. In my experience Mandarin is pretty useless in Hong Kong. A lot of people here are either trilingual (Cantonese, Mandarin, English) or only speak Cantonese. Members of the former group usually prefer to speak English with foreigners and might give you funny looks, if you try to talk to them Mandarin.


Regarding difficulty, it is a bit easier to get started with Mandarin, because of the lack of good resources and qualified teachers for Cantonese that others have pointed out. But in the long run, it is easier to learn Cantonese when living in Hong Kong, because you are exposed to it everywhere. No matter which one you go for, it takes a while to get down the basics.


Overall I agree with the others who said that learning Mandarin has more value than Cantonese, especially if you expect to travel or stay in Mainland China at some point in the future.

Many thanks, Seb.

mandarin is definitely more useful and easier to learn. good luck!

I've been here for six years and I say Phuck Cantonese.


Learn enough Cantonese to get off the mini-bus and order your food from a menu (That includes learning about 300 Chinese characters).


Why? Because one reason mentioned above is about the lack of resources. You'll find 20 books on Maderin, 15 books on Japanese and one itty bitty phrase book on Cantonese.


The other reason is because of the expectation that is placed and pressured on you by the bi-lingual Hong Kong-nese. They EXPECT you to speak only English, whether or not your NEED and DESIRE to learn and speak it out-weighs their own for using English in a Cantonese speaking part of the world.


They have some strange mental unwritten rule that foreigners should only speak English in Hong Kong, minus the mini-bus driver and Dai-Pai-Dong waitress who are not only relieved that you can order from the menu, but are also very appreciative.


Bi-lingual speakers here (Hong Kong people) seem to have forgetten that they themselves were students of a language, that they themselves had help from native English speakers and should know the desire and need but... alas....they don't.


So, for revenge...hehehehe....I speak only Manderin to them and pretend I am not American ( although I am) and speak no English ( obviously I do ).


To hell with it. I'm clearly frustrated and greatly disappointed with these people.

So much for being the "Local Ambassador" and having some pride in one's culture.


Gee, Mr. and Ms. Hong Kong, thanks for your selfishness. Has done me a lot of service.