Are you bilingual if you speak Mandarin and Cantonese?

No, they are completely different languages. Although Cantonese and Mandarin have many similarities, they are not mutually intelligible. To give an analogy, Cantonese and Mandarin are just as different (or moreso) as French and Spanish are from one another.

When can you say you are trilingual?

If you can speak two languages, you’re bilingual; three and you’re trilingual. If you speak even more than three, you might be known as a polyglot.

Can I learn Mandarin and Cantonese at the same time?

If you want to speak Cantonese, you better live in a Cantonese environment for a long time. If you learn Cantonese and Mandarin at the same time, it will double your time and energy, and maybe lower your efficiency. There is a Chinese saying: one mind can’t focus on two things.

Should you learn both Mandarin and Cantonese?

If studying both it’s generally worth knowing how to pronounce each character/word in both Mandarin and Cantonese (even if a word wouldn’t likely be used in spoken Cantonese). I focus on Cantonese, but I primarily read Mandarin, just using the Cantonese pronunciations of the characters when I read.

What is trilingual (Cantonese-Mandarin)?

TRILINGUAL (English-Cantonese-Mandarin): among the Chinese community especially the Overseas Chinese, knowing Cantonese AND Mandarin would be considered as an ability using two different languages.

How many people in Hong Kong can speak Mandarin?

It’s estimated that around half of Hong Kongers can speak Mandarin, but this is due to the necessity of doing business with China. Around 90\% percent of Hong Kongers still use Cantonese as their first language and there is some resentment at attempts by the Chinese government to push Mandarin.

Do Cantonese speakers speak Mandarin?

As a Cantonese speaker who doesn’t speak nor understand Mandarin, it’s always been a tricky situation for me especially living in a Western country where people usually don’t make the difference. When people ask me if I speak Chinese, it’s delicate to give them a clear answer. Thus I need to clarify as such: “yes I speak CANTONESE Chinese”.

What are the disadvantages of the Mandarin Chinese language?

Mandarin Chinese tends to change the structure of the sentence often, depending on subject and emotional meaning. Degree of usefulness. Cantonese is quickly becoming the less useful language since business and government activities in China are conducted in largely in Mandarin.