Cantonese people
The Cantonese people (廣府人; 广府人; gwong fu jan; Gwóngfú Yàhn) or Yue people (粵人; 粤人; jyut jan; Yuht Yàhn), are a Han Chinese subgroup originating from or residing in the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi (collectively known as Liangguang or, with other regions, Lingnan), in southern mainland China. In a strict sense, "Cantonese" refers only to people with roots from Guangzhou and its satellite cities and towns, rather than generally referring to the people of the Liangguang region.
廣府人 / 广府人 | |
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Cantonese noblewoman and servants, c. 1900s | |
| Total population | |
| c. 66 million (estimated number of Yue speakers) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong and Macau) Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Singapore, Indonesia, Myanmar and Philippines) Other countries (including United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand) | |
| Languages | |
| Cantonese, Taishanese and other Yue languages (native languages), Standard Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Filipino and Indonesian, Hong Kong English, Macau Portuguese | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Chinese folk religions (which include Confucianism, Taoism, ancestral worship) and Mahayana Buddhism Minorities: Christianity, Atheism, Islam, Freethought, others | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Hong Kong people, Macau people, Taishanese people, other Han Chinese subgroups | |
Population total based on speaker counts and may not reflect the total population with ancestry. |
| Cantonese people | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 廣府人 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 广府人 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 粵人 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 粤人 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Second alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 廣州人 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 广州人 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Guangzhou (Canton City) People | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| This article is part of the series on |
| Cantonese culture |
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Historically centered and predominant in the Pearl River Basin shared between Guangdong and Guangxi, the Cantonese people are also responsible for establishing their native language's usage in Hong Kong and Macau during their 19th century migrations within the times of the British and Portuguese colonial eras respectively. Cantonese remains today as a majority language in Guangdong and Guangxi, despite the increasing influence of Mandarin. Taishanese people may also be considered Cantonese but speak a distinct variety of Yue Chinese, Taishanese.