Chinese is the language spoken by largest human population on Earth. It is also one of the UN working languages. The written Chinese is rather universal. But the official spoken Chinese is the mandarin. Mainland Chinese use simplified characters. But overseas Chinese are more used to the traditional characters. Some calligraphers also prefer traditional characters as they are more suitable for such art. Though it is a very different and difficult language to most westerners, more and more people start to learn Chinese because China has been developing very fast and it would be advantagous to be able to speak Chinese. Chinese is the language spoken by largest human population on Earth. It is also one of the UN working languages. The written Chinese is rather universal. But the official spoken Chinese is the mandarin. Mainland Chinese use simplified characters. But overseas Chinese are more used to the traditional characters. Some calligraphers also prefer traditional characters as they are more suitable for such art. Though it is a very different and difficult language to most westerners, more and more people start to learn Chinese because China has been developing very fast and it would be advantagous to be able to speak Chinese.