Which language is the most widely spoken native language in the world?

Mandarin Chinese is the world’s most widely spoken native language. It is the largest branch of the Chinese language family by number of first-language speakers and is spoken across mainland China, Taiwan, and many overseas communities.

The term “Mandarin” refers to a group of related varieties rather than one single local accent. Standard Chinese, based largely on the Beijing dialect, is the official language of the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan, where it is known by different official names. Singapore also recognizes Mandarin as one of its official languages.

Mandarin uses Chinese characters in writing and has four main lexical tones, plus a neutral tone in standard descriptions. Tones can change a word’s meaning even when its consonants and vowels remain similar. Mandarin is often ranked below English in total speakers because English has an enormous second-language population; however, Mandarin leads when counting native speakers. Rankings can vary slightly by census method, but the distinction between native and total speakers is the key point.