Chinese characters are
logograms used in the
writing of
Chinese and some other Asian languages. In
Standard Chinese they are called
Hanzi . They have been adapted to write a number of other languages including:
Japanese, where they are known as
kanji,
Korean, where they are known as
hanja, and
Vietnamese in a system known as
chữ Nôm. Collectively, they are known as
CJKV characters. In English, they are sometimes called
Han characters. Chinese characters constitute the oldest continuously used system of writing in the world. By virtue of their widespread current use in
East Asia, and historic use throughout the
Sinosphere, Chinese characters are among the most
widely adopted writing systems in the world.
