اَللُّغَة اَلصِّينِيَّة اَلشَّمَالِيَّة
al-luḡa ṣ-ṣīniyya š-šamāliyyaChinese, Northern, feminine
Standard Mandarin in Arabic is اَللُّغَة اَلصِّينِيَّة اَلشَّمَالِيَّة (al-luḡa ṣ-ṣīniyya š-šamāliyya). If unsure, use اَللُّغَة اَلصِّينِيَّة اَلشَّمَالِيَّة. Wiktionary also lists مَنْدَرِينِيَّة (mandarīniyya).
Meaning: Standard Mandarin (name)
Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| اَللُّغَة اَلصِّينِيَّة اَلشَّمَالِيَّة | al-luḡa ṣ-ṣīniyya š-šamāliyya | Chinese, Northern, feminine |
| مَنْدَرِينِيَّة | mandarīniyya | feminine |
The term refers to Standard Mandarin.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase اَللُّغَة اَلصِّينِيَّة اَلشَّمَالِيَّة literally means 'the northern Chinese language'.
Which one should you use?
اَللُّغَة اَلصِّينِيَّة اَلشَّمَالِيَّة is a descriptive term for the language, whereas مَنْدَرِينِيَّة is a direct transliteration of the word 'Mandarin' into Arabic.
How does it change in a sentence?
اَللُّغَة اَلصِّينِيَّة اَلشَّمَالِيَّة is a feminine noun phrase because al-luḡa (the language) is a feminine noun in Arabic.
How do you pronounce it?
al-luḡa ṣ-ṣīniyya š-šamāliyya
Did you know?
- The word الصِّينِيَّة used to describe the language is the same word used for the traditional Arabic 'tray' or 'platter'.
- Using the word مَنْدَرِينِيَّة in a formal Arabic essay might be flagged by some traditionalist editors as 'foreign' or 'loaned', whereas the descriptive phrase is seen as purely Arabic.
- Because Arabic is written from right to left, the descriptive adjectives in اَللُّغَة اَلصِّينِيَّة اَلشَّمَالِيَّة follow the noun, which is the opposite order of English adjectives.
Examples in context
- المادة التي سندرسها الفصل القادم هي الماندرين.The subject we'll be studying next semester is Mandarin.
Example conversation
Noor and Youssef are discussing their language classes.
- نور Nourمَاذَا تَدْرُسُ يَا يُوسُف؟mādhā tadrusu yā Yūsuf?What are you studying, Youssef?
- يوسف Youssefأَدْرُسُ اَللُّغَة اَلصِّينِيَّة اَلشَّمَالِيَّة.adrusu al-lughah al-ṣīniyyah al-shamāliyyah.I am studying Mandarin.
- نور Nourهَذَا رَائِعٌ جِدًّا يَا يُوسُف!hādhā rāʾi‘un jiddan yā Yūsuf!That is very wonderful, Youssef!
- يوسف Youssefشُكْرًا يَا نُور.shukran yā Nūr.Thank you, Noor.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “mandarin” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
