The primary language of China is Mandarin Chinese, also known simply as Mandarin or Putonghua. As the most widely spoken language in the world, Mandarin serves as the official language of China and is used in government, media, and education. It is characterized by its tonal nature, where the meaning of a word can change based on the pitch used when pronouncing it. Mandarin is part of the Sino-Tibetan language family and has several dialects, but Standard Mandarin, based on the Beijing dialect, is the form taught in schools and used in formal communications across the country.