In Mandarin: "minxi" (ethnic lineages) or "zuqun" (ethnic groups).

These two terms are mostly used in Mainland and Taiwan, respectively, referring to subgroups of the population known as the Han Chinese, whose mothertongue are languages of the Sinitic linguistic family, and who do not belong to one of People's Republic of China's 55 official minority nationalities .

Han subgroups are most easily grouped according to dialects, into several major groups: 1) Northern and Northeastern Chinese 2) Central Plain Chinese 3) Shaanxi-Shanxi Chinese 4) West of River Chinese 5) Southwestern Chinese 6) Huai-Yangze Chinese 7) Wu-Yue Chinese 8) Hunan Chinese 9) Ou-Yue Chinese 10) Eastern Min Chinese 11) Southern Min Chinese 12) Northern Min Chinese 13 Hakka 14) Cantonese 15) Hainan Chinese 16) Teochew Chinese and 17) Other minor subgroups like speakers of the Ping Chinese dialect , Danjia (Boat people of Guangdong ), Chuanqing people of Guizhou who are in the process of being assimilated by their more dominant neighbors.

Some might consider Overseas Chinese and ethnic Chinese long established in Mongolia, Korea, Southeast Asia to be separate subgroups of the Han Chinese.