Learning Mandarin Chinese vs Learning Cantonese

One big question that people who are contemplating learning Chinese may have is exactly which form of Chinese they should study. Chinese has many different dialects, but the most common ones that people in the West study and come in contact with are Cantonese and Mandarin.

Mandarin is the dialect of mainland China and Taiwan. Cantonese is the dialect of Hong Kong. Part of deciding which language to learn will depend on what you plan to do with your Chinese language skills once you’ve completed your studies.
If you plan on doing business with people in mainland China or Taiwan, Mandarin Chinese would be the obvious choice. If you have connections in Hong Kong, however, Cantonese might be a better option for you. Many Chinese speakers in the West came from Hong Kong, so Cantonese often dominates Chinatowns and other enclaves of Chinese speakers in the U.S., Canada and Europe. However, as more mainland Chinese move to these places, the balance between Cantonese and Mandarin is beginning to shift.

Choosing between Mandarin and Cantonese might be difficult for some, especially American Born Chinese whose parents speak one dialect but who would prefer to learn the other. Of course, there’s always the option of learning both, although it would probably be wise not to try to learn both at the same time.