中文, or Chinese, is a group of related languages spoken primarily in China and by Chinese communities worldwide. The most widely spoken form is Mandarin, which serves as the official language of China and Taiwan. Other major dialects include Cantonese, Shanghainese, and Hokkien. The writing system of 中文 uses characters known as Hanzi, which represent words or morphemes rather than sounds. There are thousands of these characters, and they can be combined to form phrases and sentences. 中文 is known for its tonal nature, where the meaning of a word can change based on its tone.