Main Languages of China, Korea, Thailand, and Japan

Each East Asian nation has a dominant official language alongside regional and minority languages:

China

• Mandarin Chinese (official, national standard)
• Cantonese (Guangdong, Hong Kong, overseas)
• Wu (Shanghai, Zhejiang)
• Min (Fujian, Taiwan, Southeast Asia diaspora)

Korea

• Korean (official, both North and South)

Thailand

• Thai (official, national)
• Lao (northeast/Isan region)
• Shan (border areas)
• Khmer (border regions near Cambodia)

Japan

• Japanese (official, national)
• Ainu (Hokkaido, critically endangered)
• Ryukyuan languages (Okinawa, endangered)
• Bonin Islands creole (Ogasawara, nearly extinct)

While each country has one dominant national language, significant linguistic diversity exists within borders, especially in China and Thailand.