Хуэйзў йүян

Dungan

Sinitic (Mandarin)

FamilySinitic (Mandarin) Speakers~150K ScriptCyrillic (Dungan alphabet, since 1953) CountriesKyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan Official inNo (recognized minority) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3dng

Dungan is a Sinitic Mandarin variety spoken in Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan) by ~150K descendants of Hui Muslims who fled Northwest China after the failed 1862-77 Dungan Revolt. Uniquely the only Sinitic language written in Cyrillic (since 1953; earlier Arabic-script Xiao'erjing 1862-1928, Latin 1928-53). Preserves archaic Shaanxi-Gansu Mandarin features including a 4-tone system and Persian/Turkic loans absent in Standard Mandarin.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Dungan

Water

щүй

/ɕy/

Fire

хуә

/xuə/

Sun

жѳтў

/ʐɨtʰu/

Moon

юә

/yə/

Mother

ма

/ma/

Father

ба

/pa/

Eat

чы

/tʂʰɨ/

Drink

хә

/xə/

Love

ай

/ai/

Heart

щин

/ɕin/

Tree

шў

/ʂu/

House

фоңзы

/faŋ tsɨ/

Dog

гу

/ku/

Cat

мау

/mau/

Hand

шў

/ʂəu/

Eye

янҗин

/janʐin/

Hello

ни хау

/ni xau/

Thank you

дуәще

/duəɕe/

One

и

/i/

Good

хау

/xau˨˦/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Sinitic (Mandarin) languages

Meaning DunganTianjin MandarinLanyin MandarinSichuan MandarinHefei MandarinHui ChineseZhongyuan Mandarin
Water щүй /ɕy/ /ʂwei˨˩˧/ /sui˥˧/ /suei˨˩˧/ /ʂueɪ˨˦/ /ɕy˦˦/ /suei˥˥/
Fire хуә /xuə/ /xwo˨˩˧/ /xo˥˧/ /xo˨˩˧/ /xuo˨˦/ /xu˦˦/ /xuo˨˩˧/
Sun жѳтў /ʐɨtʰu/ 日头 /ʐʅ˥˩tʰoʊ˨˦/ 日头 /ʐɨ˨˦tʰəu˨˦/ 太阳 /tʰai˥˩iaŋ˧˥/ 日头 /ʐəʔ˦tʰəu˥˥/ 日头 /ʐɨ˨˦tʰəu/ 太阳 /tʰai˨˩iaŋ˨˩˧/
Moon юә /yə/ 月亮 /ɥɛ˥˩ljaŋ/ 月亮 /yɛ˦˦ljaŋ/ 月亮 /ye˨˩liaŋ˥˩/ 月亮 /yɛʔ˦liaŋ˥˧/ 月光 /yo˨˧kuaŋ˨˦/ 月亮 /yɛ˨˦liaŋ/
Mother ма /ma/ /ma˩˩/ /ma˧˧/ 妈妈 /mama/ 妈妈 /ma˨˩˨ma/ /ma˧˧/ 妈妈 /ma˨˦ma/
Father ба /pa/ /pa˥˩/ /pa˥˧/ 爸爸 /papa/ /tie˨˩˨/ /pa˦˦/ 爸爸 /pa˨˩˧pa/
Eat чы /tʂʰɨ/ /tʂʰɨ˩˩/ /tʂʰɨ˧˧/ /tsʰɨ˧˥/ /tʂʰəʔ˦/ /t͡ɕʰi˨˦/ /tʂʰʅ˨˦/
Drink хә /xə/ /xɤ˩˩/ /xɛ˧˧/ /xo˧˥/ /xəʔ˦/ /xa˨˦/ /xɤ˨˦/
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Han readings compared

Compared with related Sinitic > Mandarin > Northwest > Dungan languages

Character DunganChinese (Mandarin)Taiwan MandarinThai Mandarin (heritage)Early Mandarin (Yuan)Xi'an MandarinZhongyuan Mandarin
yi¹ /ji˦/ /i˥˥/ /i˥˥/ /i˥˥/ i3 /i˨˩˦/ yiq²¹ /i˨˩/ yi²⁴ /i˨˦/
er³ /ɚ˥˩/ èr /ɑɻ˥˩/ èr /ɑɻ˥˩/ èr /ɑɻ˥˩/ ʐï4 /ʐʅ˥˩/ er⁴⁴ /ɚ˦˦/ er³¹² /ɚ˧˩˨/
san¹ /san˦/ sān /san˥˥/ sān /san˥˥/ sān /san˥˥/ sam1 /sam˥/ san²¹ /sã˨˩/ san²⁴ /san˨˦/
sy³ /sɨ˥˩/ /sɿ˥˩/ /sɿ˥˩/ /sɿ˥˩/ sï4 /sɿ˥˩/ si⁴⁴ /sɿ˦˦/ si²⁴ /sɿ˨˦/
/u˨˦/ /u˨˩˦/ /u˨˩˦/ /u˨˩˦/ u3 /u˨˩˦/ wu⁵³ /u˥˧/ wu⁵³ /u˥˧/
lyu³ /lju˥˩/ liù /ljou˥˩/ liù /ljou˥˩/ liù /ljou˥˩/ lieu4 /liəu˥˩/ liuq²¹ /liou˨˩/ liu²⁴ /liu˨˦/
chi¹ /tɕʰi˦/ /t͡ɕʰi˥˥/ /t͡ɕʰi˥˥/ /t͡ɕʰi˥˥/ tshi3 /tsʰi˨˩˦/ qiq²¹ /tɕʰi˨˩/ qi²⁴ /tɕʰi˨˦/
ba¹ /pa˦/ /pa˥˥/ /pa˥˥/ /pa˥˥/ pa3 /pa˨˩˦/ baq²¹ /pa˨˩/ ba²⁴ /pa˨˦/
jyu² /tɕju˨˦/ jiǔ /t͡ɕjou˨˩˦/ jiǔ /t͡ɕjou˨˩˦/ jiǔ /t͡ɕjou˨˩˦/ kieu3 /kiəu˨˩˦/ jiu⁵³ /tɕiou˥˧/ jiu⁵³ /tɕiəu˥˧/
shy² /ʂɨ˨˦/ shí /ʂʐ̩˧˥/ shí /sz̩˧˥/ shí /sz̩˧˥/ ʂï2 /ʂʅ˧˥/ siq²⁴ /sʐ̩˨˦/ shi⁴² /ʂʐ̩˦˨/
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