汉语(hàn yǔ) - Chinese, the Chinese language in Mandarin

汉语 (hànyǔ) is the Chinese language, the term most textbooks and universities use for the subject itself. 汉 (hàn) refers to the Han people, China's majority ethnic group, and by extension their language, while 语 (yǔ) means "language, speech".

It sits alongside 中文 (Zhōngwén), which is far more common in everyday conversation and on shop signs, and 华文 (huáwén), the term more often used by overseas Chinese communities in places like Singapore and Malaysia. All three are usually interchangeable for a learner's purposes, but 汉语 (hànyǔ) is the one you will meet on a course prospectus or exam certificate.

Strictly, 汉语 (hànyǔ) covers the whole Sinitic language family, Mandarin plus Cantonese, Shanghainese and the rest, though in casual use it is treated as a synonym for 普通话 (pǔtōnghuà), Standard Mandarin, the form taught in schools and used in broadcasting.