Meanings
proper noun
- alternativeAlternative form of Guanhua.
But there are numerous forms of pai-hua and it was finally decided to adopt the most widely spoken kuan-hua, which foreigners translate as ‘mandarin,’ since it has long been the speech used by officials all over China, as distinct from the local dialects.
1941, Harold Acton, “Small Talk in China”, in Folios of New Writing, Hogarth Press, →OCLC, page 99
Origin
- Mandarin官話 /官话
- EnglishKuan-hua
From Mandarin 官話 /官话 (Guānhuà) Wade–Giles romanization: Kuan¹-hua⁴.
More words from Mandarin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
Kuan-hua. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kuan-hua
MLA
“Kuan-hua.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kuan-hua. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Kuan-hua,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kuan-hua.
Source: Kuan-hua on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.