Should I learn Chinese or Cantonese?

Kungfucius's recommendation: Mandarin first

For most learners Kungfucius's answer is firm: definitely Chinese, meaning Mandarin, first. This is his judgement, and the reasons are practical.

• Reach. Mandarin is the official language of mainland China and Taiwan and one of Singapore's, and it is widely understood by younger people in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau as well. Cantonese is a great language with a much smaller map.
• Materials. Mandarin has courses, graded readers, tutors, apps and exams at every level. Cantonese materials are fewer and thin out quickly after the beginner stage.
• One writing system for what you say. Standard written Chinese follows Mandarin grammar and vocabulary. A Mandarin learner reads what they speak. A Cantonese learner speaks one way and has to read and write formal texts in another.
• A stable romanisation. Pinyin is universal. Cantonese has several systems in circulation, although Jyutping is the one to choose.
• It pays forward. Characters, formal vocabulary and most grammar carry over, so Cantonese after Mandarin is a far shorter road than Cantonese from nothing. The reverse is also true, but you would have built the foundation with fewer tools.

When Cantonese first still makes sense

There are good reasons to ignore the advice above.

• You live in Hong Kong, Macau or Guangzhou, or are about to. Daily life, friendships and humour there run in Cantonese. Learn the language of the people around you.
• Your family or partner speaks it. Talking to a grandmother in her own language is a better goal than any argument about reach, and you have free teachers at the dinner table.
• Your why is Cantonese itself. Hong Kong cinema, Cantopop, Cantonese opera, or work in a community abroad where Cantonese is the language of the older generation.
• You only want to speak. If reading does not interest you, the gap between spoken and written Cantonese costs you nothing.

In these cases start with Cantonese, use Jyutping from day one and learn Traditional characters. Add Mandarin later, when the characters you know will do half the work.

Where the trend is going

Kungfucius's observation: Cantonese and Taiwanese (and Hokkien in general) are the strongest of the other Chinese languages and will still be around in the future, but the shift towards Mandarin is accelerating.

• Guangzhou was mostly a Cantonese-speaking city in the 1990s. In the 2020s it is predominantly Mandarin-speaking.
• Hong Kong still speaks mostly Cantonese, but the share of Mandarin speakers has exploded.
• Southeast Asia: among the overseas Chinese communities, Mandarin is becoming the lingua franca and is displacing the languages that used to dominate in each place, such as Hakka, Hokkien and Cantonese.

So the trend points strongly towards Mandarin. That also means you stand out even more if you learn Cantonese.

What to do next

If you choose Mandarin, begin with how hard is Chinese to see what the first year involves. If you are weighing the tones, the note on Cantonese changed tones at is Chinese easier than Cantonese may surprise you. And if you want both, the order and the pitfalls are covered at learning Chinese and Cantonese at the same time.