Here's why:
* "Chinese" is a language family: There are many languages within the Sinitic (or Chinese) language family, much like there are many languages in the Indo-European family.
* Mandarin is the dominant language: Mandarin is the official language of China and spoken by the vast majority of the population.
* Minority languages are also spoken: China has a large number of ethnic minorities who speak their own distinct languages, such as Cantonese, Wu, Hakka, and many others.
* Dialects vs. languages: Some languages within the Chinese language family are closely related and have a high degree of mutual intelligibility, leading to debate about whether they should be considered dialects of Mandarin or distinct languages.
So, there's no simple answer.
* If you're asking about distinct languages spoken in China, the number is quite large, likely in the hundreds.
* If you're asking about languages spoken by a significant number of people, the number is smaller, with Mandarin being the dominant language, followed by Cantonese and Wu.
It's important to remember the diversity of languages within China and respect the cultural importance of each one.