Names of China

The names of China are expressed differently in different languages and different times. Some of these names come from ancient times, while others are from modern times. In Chinese, the name of China is Zhōngguó (中國/中国, "central country") in its national language, Standard Mandarin. China, while the name in English for the country, came from Portuguese in the 16th century. This became common usage in the West in the subsequent centuries.^[2] It is believed to come from Middle Persian. Though some people thought it traced further back to Sanskrit. Some also thought that the ultimate source of the name China is the Chinese word "Qin" (Chinese: 秦), the name of the dynasty of China. However, others have different opinions. ^[3][4][5]

China
"China" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	中國
Simplified Chinese	中国
Hanyu Pinyin	Zhōngguó
Literal meaning	Middle or Central State[1]
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngguó Bopomofo ㄓㄨㄥ   ㄍㄨㄛˊ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Jonggwo Wade–Giles Chung¹-kuo² Tongyong Pinyin Jhongguó Yale Romanization Jūnggwó MPS2 Jūngguó IPA [ʈʂʊ́ŋ.kwǒ] other Mandarin Xiao'erjing ﺟْﻮﻗُﻮَع Dungan Җунгуй Sichuanese Pinyin Zong1 gwe2 Wu Romanization Tson平-koh入 Gan Romanization Tung-koe̍t Chungkoet Xiang IPA Tan33-kwɛ24/ Hakka Romanization Dung24-gued2 Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Chûng-koet Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jùnggwok or Jūnggwok IPA [tsôŋ.kʷɔ̄ːk̚] or [tsóŋ.kʷɔ̄ːk̚] Jyutping Zung1gwok3 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tiong-kok Tâi-lô Tiong-kok Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Dṳ̆ng-guók Pu-Xian Min Hinghwa BUC De̤ng-go̤h Northern Min Jian'ou Romanized Dô̤ng-gŏ
Common name
Traditional Chinese	中華
Simplified Chinese	中华
Hanyu Pinyin	Zhōnghuá
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōnghuá Bopomofo ㄓㄨㄥ   ㄏㄨㄚˊ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Jonghwa Wade–Giles Chung¹-hua² Tongyong Pinyin Jhonghuá Yale Romanization Jūnghwá MPS2 Jūnghuá IPA [ʈʂʊ́ŋ.xwǎ] other Mandarin Xiao'erjing ﺟْﻮ ﺧُﻮَ Wu Romanization tson平 gho平 Gan Romanization tung1 fa4 or Chungfa Hakka Romanization dung24 fa11 Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Chûng-fà Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jùng'wàh or Jūng'wàh IPA [tsôŋ.wȁː] or [tsóŋ.wȁː] Jyutping Zung1waa4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tiong-hôa Tâi-lô Tiong-huâ Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Dṳ̆ng-huà
Uyghur name
Uyghur	جۇڭگو
Transcriptions Latin Yëziqi Junggo

In addition to these names, names of China also include Zhōnghuá (中華/中华, "central beauty"), Huáxià (華夏/华夏, "beautiful grandness"), Shénzhōu (神州, "divine state") and Jiǔzhōu (九州, "nine states"). Hàn (漢/汉) and Táng (唐) . The People's Republic of China (Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó) and Republic of China (Zhōnghuá Mínguó) are the official names for the two sovereign states now claiming sovereignty over the traditional area of China. "Mainland China" is used to refer to areas under the control of the PRC, usually not including Hong Kong and Macau. ^{[6][7][8][9][10]}

There are also names for China used around the world. "Cathay" from the Khitan language and "Tabgach" from Tuoba are examples.