Definition
官话 literally means 'official speech' and historically referred to the lingua franca used by Ming and Qing dynasty officials across China. Today it's another name for Standard Mandarin (普通话), especially in historical or linguistic contexts. It can also mean 'bureaucratic jargon' or 'officialese' — the empty, formulaic language found in government documents.
n.
Mandarin (the standard Chinese language, especially in historical context)bureaucratic jargonofficialese
Examples
- 官话。Míng-Qīng shíqī de guān huà yǐ Běijīng yīn wéi biāozhǔn.The Mandarin of the Ming and Qing dynasties was based on the Beijing pronunciation.
- 官话，。Zhè piān bàogào quán shì guān huà, méi shénme shíjì nèiróng.This report is full of bureaucratic jargon and has little real content.
- 官话。Xuéxí guān huà duì liǎojiě Zhōngguó lìshǐ hěn yǒu bāngzhù.Learning Mandarin is very helpful for understanding Chinese history.
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