People's Republic of China

English

Alternative forms

• PRC (initialism)
• PR China (initialism)

Etymology

Calque of Chinese 中華人民共和國 / 中华人民共和国 (Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpiːpəlz ɹɪˈpʌblɪk əv ˈt͡ʃaɪnə/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪnə

Proper noun

the People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China

2. Official name of China: a country in East Asia.

   Synonyms: Communist China, People's Republic (ellipsis), Red China (dated), West Taiwan (derogatory)

   Meronym: mainland China

   • 1968, “Shanghai (Shang-hai)”, in Encyclopedia Britannica‎^[1], volume 20, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 346, column 1:

     While the People's Republic of China claimed in the late 1950s that Shanghai had regained its importance as a leading seaport, this was not borne out by observations of foreign travelers nor by official shipping statistics.

   • 1980, Spiro Agnew, Go Quietly . . . Or Else‎^[2], New York: William Morrow and Company, →ISBN, page 34:

     I disagreed completely—and still do—with President Nixon's initiative to "normalize" relations with the People's Republic of China. The American people […] have been forced to go along with the Carter administration's decision to repudiate our mutual defense treaty with the free Chinese regime on Taiwan […]

   • 1991, Carol Stepanchuk, Charles Wong, “Festivals of Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire”, in Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts: Festivals of China‎^[3], San Francisco: China Books & Periodicals, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 108:

     Politically, China proper […] and frontier areas of China were brought together under the Qing dynasty, mostly during the 18th century. Incursions by earlier dynasties into Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and southern Manchuria did occur, but were later reversed. It is this latest process of expansion that accounts for the enormous size of the People's Republic of China today.

   • 2005, Peter Kien-hong Yu, Hu Jintao and the Ascendancy of China: A Dialectical Study, →ISBN, page xi:

     Before the death of Deng Xiaoping, many observers were debating whether the People’s Republic of China (PRC) would collapse, just like the former Soviet Union. It did not come to pass.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:People's Republic of China.

Translations

official name of China

• Afrikaans: Volksrepubliek China, Volksrepubliek Sjina
• Albanian: Republika Popullore e Kinës f
• Arabic: جُمْهُورِيَّةُ الصِّينِ الشَّعْبِيَّةُ f (jumhūriyyatu ṣ-ṣīni š-šaʕbiyyatu)
• Aramaic:

  Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܩܘܼܛܢܵܝܘܼܬ݂ܵܐ ܥܲܡܡܵܝܬܵܐ ܕܟ̰ܝܼܢܵܐ (quṭnāyūṯā ˁammāytā dčīnā)

• Armenian: Չինաստանի Ժողովրդական Հանրապետություն (Čʻinastani Žoġovrdakan Hanrapetutʻyun), ՉԺՀ (hy) (ČʻŽH)
• Asturian: República Popular China (ast)
• Azerbaijani: Çin Xalq Respublikası
• Bashkir: Ҡытай Халыҡ Республикаһы (Qıtay Xalıq Respublikahı)
• Basque: Txinako Herri Errepublika
• Belarusian: Кіта́йская Наро́дная Рэспу́бліка f (Kitájskaja Naródnaja Respúblika)
• Bengali: গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী চীন (gonoprojatontri cin)
• Bulgarian: Кита́йска наро́дна репу́блика f (Kitájska naródna repúblika)
• Burmese: တရုတ်ပြည်သူ့သမ္မတနိုင်ငံ (ta.rutpranysu.samma.ta.nuingngam)
• Buryat: Хитадай Арадай Республика (Xitadaj Aradaj Rjespublika)
• Cherokee: ᏴᏫ ᎤᎾᏤᎵᏍᎦᏚᎩ ᎾᎿ ᏓᎶᏂᎨᏍᏛ (yvwi unatselisgadugi nahna dalonigesdv)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 中華人民共和國 / 中华人民共和国 (zung¹ waa⁴ jan⁴ man⁴ gung⁶ wo⁴ gwok³)

  Dungan: Җунхуа Жынмин Гунхәгуә (Žunhua Řɨnmin Gunhəguə), Җунхуа Жынмин Гунхәгуй (Žunhua Řɨnmin Gunhəguy)

  Eastern Min: 中華人民共和國 / 中华人民共和国 (Dṳ̆ng-huà Ìng-mìng Gê̤ṳng-huò-guók)

  Gan: 中華人民共和國 / 中华人民共和国 (zung¹ fa⁴ liin⁴ min⁴ kung⁵ fo⁴ guet⁶)

  Hakka: 中華人民共和國 / 中华人民共和国 (Chûng-fà Ngìn-mìn Khiung-fò-koet)

  Hokkien: 中華人民共和國 / 中华人民共和国 (zh-min-nan) (Tiong-hôa Jîn-bîn Kiōng-hô-kok, Tiong-hôa Lîn-bîn Kiōng-hô-kok)

  Jin: 中華人民共和國 / 中华人民共和国 (zung¹ hua¹ zeng¹ ming¹ gung³ hue¹ gueh⁶)

  Mandarin: 中華人民共和國 / 中华人民共和国 (zh) (Zhōnghuá rénmín gònghéguó)

  Northern Min: 中華人民共和國 / 中华人民共和国 (Dô̤ng-uǎ Nêng-měng Gō̤ng-uǎ-gŏ)

  Wu: 中華人民共和國 / 中华人民共和国 (¹tson-gho₆ ⁶zen-min₆ ⁶gon-wu₆-koq₇)

  Xiang: 中華人民共和國 / 中华人民共和国 (zhong¹ fa² ren² min² gong⁵ ho² gue⁶)

• Chuvash: Китай Халӑх Республики (Kit̬aj H̬alăh Respublik̬i)
• Crimean Tatar: Çin Halq Cumhuriyeti
• Czech: Čínská lidová republika (cs) f
• Danish: Folkerepublikken Kina
• Dutch: Volksrepubliek China n
• Esperanto: Ĉina Popola Respubliko
• Estonian: Hiina Rahvavabariik (et)
• Faroese: Fólkalýðveldið Kina
• Finnish: Kiinan kansantasavalta (fi)
• French: République populaire de Chine (fr) f
• Gagauz: Kitay Halk Respublikası
• Galician: República Popular da China (gl) f
• Georgian: ჩინეთის სახალხო რესპუბლიკა (činetis saxalxo resṗubliḳa)
• German: Volksrepublik China (de) f
• Greek: Λαϊκή Δημοκρατία της Κίνας (el) f (Laïkí Dimokratía tis Kínas)

  Pontic: Λαϊκόν η Δημοκρατίαν τη Κίνας (Laïkón i Dimokratían ti Kínas)

• Hebrew: הרפובליקה העממית של סין f (harepúblika ha'amamít shel sin)
• Hindi: चीन जनवादी गणराज्य m (cīn janvādī gaṇrājya)
• Hungarian: Kínai Népköztársaság (hu)
• Icelandic: Alþýðulýðveldið Kína
• Ido: Populala Republiko di Chinia
• Indonesian: Republik Rakyat Tiongkok (id)
• Interlingua: Republica Popular de China
• Irish: Daon-Phoblacht na Síne f
• Italian: Repubblica Popolare Cinese f
• Japanese: 中華人民共和国 (ja) (ちゅうかじんみんきょうわこく, Chūka Jinmin Kyōwakoku)
• Kabardian: Хъутей Джылэ Республикэ (Ꭓʷutej Džəlɛ Respublikɛ)
• Karachay-Balkar: Къытай Халкъ Республика (Qıtay Xalq Respublika)
• Kashubian: Chińskô Lëdowô Repùblika f
• Kazakh: Қытай Халық Республикасы (kk) (Qytai Xalyq Respublikasy)
• Khakas: Хыдат Чон Республиказы (Xıdat Çon Respublikazı)
• Khmer: សាធារណរដ្ឋប្រជាមានិតចិន (saathiərĕəʼnaʼrŏət prɑciə miənɨt cən)
• Korean: 중화인민공화국(中華人民共和國) (ko) (Junghwainmin'gonghwaguk)
• Kyrgyz: Кытай Эл Республикасы (Kıtay El Respublikası)
• Ladino:

  Hebrew script: רפובליקא פופולאר דא קינא

  Roman: Repuvlika Popular de Kina

• Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດປະຊາຊົນຈີນ (sā thā la na lat pa sā son chīn)
• Latin: Res publica popularis Sinarum f
• Latvian: Ķīnas Tautas Republika f
• Lithuanian: Kinijos Liaudies Respublika (lt) f
• Macedonian: На́родна Репу́блика Ки́на f (Národna Repúblika Kína)
• Malay: Republik Rakyat China (ms)
• Maltese: please add this translation if you can
• Manchu: ᠵᡠᠩᡥᡡᠸᠠ
  ᠨᡳᠶᠠᠯᠮᠠ
  ᡳᡵᡤᡝᠨ
  ᡠᡥᡝ
  ᡥᡡᠸᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠮᠪᡠᡵᡝ
  ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ (junghūwa niyalma irgen uhe hūwaliyambure gurun), ᠵᡠᠩᡥᡡᠸᠠ
  ᠨᡳᠶᠠᠯᠮᠠ
  ᡳᡵᡤᡝᠨ
  ᡤᡠᠩᡥᡝ
  ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ (junghūwa niyalma irgen gunghe gurun)
• Manx: Deynphobblaght y Çheen
• Mingrelian: ჩინეთიშ ოკათე რესპუბლიკა (činetiš oḳate resṗubliḳa)
• Mon: please add this translation if you can
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: Бүгд Найрамдах Хятад Ард Улс (mn) (Bügd Najramdax Xjatad Ard Uls), БНХАУ (BNXAU) (abbreviation)

• Nahuatl: Tlācatlahtocāyōtl Āltepēhuahcāyōtl China
• Norman: Républyique du Peupl'ye d'la Chinne f
• Norwegian: Folkerepublikken Kina (no) m
• Occitan: please add this translation if you can
• Persian: جمهوری خلق چین (jomhuri-ye xalq-e čin)
• Polish: Chińska Republika Ludowa (pl) f
• Portuguese: República Popular da China (pt) f
• Quechua: Chunwa Runallaqta Ripuwlika
• Romanian: Republica Populară Chineză f
• Russian: Кита́йская Наро́дная Респу́блика (ru) f (Kitájskaja Naródnaja Respúblika)
• Scots: Fowkrepublic o Cheenae
• Scottish Gaelic: please add this translation if you can
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Народна Република Кина f

  Roman: Narodna Republika Kina f

• Shan: please add this translation if you can
• Silesian: Chińsko Ludowo Republika f
• Slovak: Čínska ľudová republika f
• Slovene: Ljúdska repúblika Kitájska f
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: Chinska ludowa republika f

  Upper Sorbian: Chinska ludowa republika f

• Spanish: República Popular China f
• Swahili: Jamhuri ya Watu wa China
• Swedish: Folkrepubliken Kina c
• Tagalog: Republikang Bayan ng Tsina
• Tai Dam: please add this translation if you can
• Tajik: Ҷумҳурии Халқии Чин (tg) (Jumhuri-yi Xalqi-yi Čin), Ҷумҳурии Халқии Хитой (tg) (Jumhuri-yi Xalqi-yi Xitoy), Ҷумҳурии Мардумии Чин (tg) (Jumhuri-yi Mardumi-yi Čin)
• Tamil: சீன மக்கள் குடியரசு (cīṉa makkaḷ kuṭiyaracu)
• Tatar: Кытай Халык Җөмһүрияте (Qıtay Xalıq Cömhüriyate), Чин Халык Җөмһүрияте (Çin Xalıq Cömhüriyate)
• Telugu: చైనా ప్రజల గణతంత్రం (cainā prajala gaṇatantraṁ)
• Thai: สาธารณรัฐประชาชนจีน (sǎa-taa-rá-ná-rát bprà-chaa-chon jiin)
• Tibetan: ཀྲུང་ཧྭ་མི་དམངས་སྤྱི་མཐུན་རྒྱལ་ཁབ (krung hwa mi dmangs spyi mthun rgyal khab)
• Turkish: Çin Halk Cumhuriyeti (tr)
• Turkmen: Hytaý Halk Respublikasy
• Ukrainian: Кита́йська Наро́дна Респу́бліка f (Kytájsʹka Naródna Respúblika)
• Uyghur: جۇڭخۇا خەلق جۇمھۇرىيىتى (jungxua xelq jumhuriyiti)
• Uzbek: Xitoy Xalq Respublikasi (uz), Хитой Халк Республикаси (Xitoy Xalk Respublikasi)
• Vietnamese: Cộng hòa Nhân dân Trung Hoa (vi), CHNDTH
• Welsh: Gweriniaeth Pobl Tsieina (cy)
• West Frisian: please add this translation if you can
• Xibe: ᡪᡠᡢᡥᡡᠸᠠ
  ᠨᡞᠶᠠᠯᠮᠠ
  ᡞᠷᡤᡝᠨ
  ᡤᡠᡢᡥᡝᡬᠣ (junghūwa niyalma irgen gungheg'o)
• Yakut: Кытай Норуодунай Өрөспүүбүлүкэтэ (Kıtay Noruodunay Öröspüübülükete), Китай Народнай Республиката (Kitay Narodnay Respublikata)
• Yiddish: די מענטשנ׳ס רעפּובליק פֿון כינע f (di mentshn's republik fun khine)
• Zhuang: Cunghvaz Yinzminz Gunghozgoz
• Zulu: please add this translation if you can

Further reading

• “peoples-republic-of-china”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• People's Republic of China at the Google Books Ngram Viewer.
• “People's Republic of China, pn.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “People's Republic of China”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “People's Republic of China”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “People's Republic of China” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2025.