Хуэйзў йүян

Dungan

Sino-Tibetan (Sinitic, Mandarin — Central Plains/Lanyin)

FamilySino-Tibetan (Sinitic, Mandarin — Central Plains/Lanyin) Speakers~110–150K ScriptCyrillic (historically Arabic-based Xiao'erjing, briefly Latin in the 1930s) CountriesKyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan (also Russia, Uzbekistan) Official inRecognized minority language in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan; no official status Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3dng

Dungan is a Sinitic (Mandarin) language spoken by the Dungan people, descendants of Hui Muslims who fled northwestern China (Gansu and Shaanxi) into the Russian Empire's Central Asian territories after the suppression of the Dungan Revolt in the 1870s–1880s. Derived from Central Plains and Lanyin Mandarin dialects, it is notable as one of the very few Sinitic languages normally written with the Cyrillic alphabet rather than Chinese characters. It is spoken today mainly in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan by roughly 110,000–150,000 people, and preserves many loanwords from Arabic, Persian, Russian, and Turkic languages.

Where it is spoken

31 core words in Dungan

Water

фи

/fi˥˩/

Fire

хуә

/xuə/

Sun

әрту

/ərtʰu/

Moon

йүәлён

/yə˨˦liɑŋ˦˦/

Star

синсин

/ɕiŋ˨˦ɕiŋ/

Mother

ма

/ma/

Father

дада

/ta˨˦ta/

I

во

/vɔ˧/

You

ни

/ni˧/

Name

минзы

/miŋ˥˩tsɿ/

Eye

янҗин

/janʐin/

Hand

шў

/ʂəu/

Heart

щин

/ɕin/

Love

ай

/ai/

Tree

шў

/ʂu/

House

фоңзы

/faŋ tsɨ/

Dog

гу

/ku/

Cat

мау

/mau/

Eat

чы

/tʂʰɨ/

Drink

хә

/xə/

One

и

/i/

Two

әр

/ɚ˥˩/

Hello

ни хау

/ni xau/

Thank you

дуәще

/duəɕe/

Good

хау

/xau˨˦/

Cuckoo

җунгўчўр

/tʂuŋ˦ku˨˦tʂʰuɻ˨˦/

Words compared

Compared with related Sino-Tibetan (Sinitic, Mandarin — Central Plains/Lanyin) languages

Meaning DunganXi'an MandarinLanyin MandarinZhongyuan MandarinTianjin MandarinHefei MandarinKaifeng Mandarin
Water фи /fi˥˩/ /fei˥˧/ /sui˥˧/ /suei˥˥/ /ʂwei˩˧/ /ʂueɪ˨˦/ /ʂuei˥˧/
Fire хуә /xuə/ /xuo˥˧/ /xo˥˧/ /xuo˥˧/ /xwo˨˩˧/ /xuo˨˦/ /xuo˥˧/
Sun әрту /ərtʰu/ 日头 /ʐɿ˥˥tʰou˨˦/ 日头 /ʐɨ˨˦tʰəu˨˦/ 太阳 /tʰai˨˩iaŋ˨˩˧/ 日头 /ʐʅ˥˩tʰoʊ˨˦/ 日头 /ʐəʔ˦tʰəu˥˥/ 日头 /ʐəɻ˧˩˨tʰou˦˨/
Moon йүәлён /yə˨˦liɑŋ˦˦/ 月亮 /ye˥˥liaŋ˨˩/ 月亮 /yɛ˦˦ljaŋ/ 月亮 /yɛ˨˦liaŋ/ 月亮 /ɥɛ˥˩ljaŋ/ 月亮 /yɛʔ˦liaŋ˥˧/ 月亮 /yɛ˦˨liaŋ˧˩˨/
Star синсин /ɕiŋ˨˦ɕiŋ/ /ɕiŋ˨˩/ /ɕiŋ˧˩/ /ɕiŋ˨˦/ /ɕiŋ˨˩/ /ɕiŋ˨˩˨/ /ɕiŋ˨˦/
Mother ма /ma/ /ma˨˩/ /ma˧˧/ 妈妈 /ma˨˦ma/ /ma˩˩/ 妈妈 /ma˨˩˨ma/ /ma˨˦/
Father дада /ta˨˦ta/ /pa˥˥/ /pa˥˧/ 爸爸 /pa˨˩˧pa/ /pa˥˩/ /tie˨˩˨/ /tiɛ˨˦/
I во /vɔ˧/ /ŋɤ˥˧/ /vɤ˥˧/ /uo˥˧/ /wo˩˧/ /uə˨˦/ /uo˥/
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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 MandarinAmerican Mandarin (heritage)
yi¹ /ji˦/ /i˥˥/ /i˥˥/ /i˥˥/ i3 /i˨˩˦/ yiq²¹ /i˨˩/ yi¹ /i˥˥/
er³ /ɚ˥˩/ èr /ɑɻ˥˩/ èr /ɑɻ˥˩/ èr /ɑɻ˥˩/ ʐï4 /ʐʅ˥˩/ er⁴⁴ /ɚ˦˦/ er⁴ /ɚ˥˩/
san¹ /san˦/ sān /san˥˥/ sān /san˥˥/ sān /san˥˥/ sam1 /sam˥/ san²¹ /sã˨˩/ san¹ /san˥˥/
sy³ /sɨ˥˩/ /sɿ˥˩/ /sɿ˥˩/ /sɿ˥˩/ sï4 /sɿ˥˩/ si⁴⁴ /sɿ˦˦/ si⁴ /sɹ̩˥˩/
/u˨˦/ /u˨˩˦/ /u˨˩˦/ /u˨˩˦/ u3 /u˨˩˦/ wu⁵³ /u˥˧/ wu³ /u˨/
lyu³ /lju˥˩/ liù /ljou˥˩/ liù /ljou˥˩/ liù /ljou˥˩/ lieu4 /liəu˥˩/ liuq²¹ /liou˨˩/ liu⁴ /ljou˥˩/
chi¹ /tɕʰi˦/ /tɕʰi˥˥/ /tɕʰi˥˥/ /tɕʰi˥˥/ tshi3 /tsʰi˨˩˦/ qiq²¹ /tɕʰi˨˩/ qi¹ /tɕʰi˥˥/
ba¹ /pa˦/ /pa˥˥/ /pa˥˥/ /pa˥˥/ pa3 /pa˨˩˦/ baq²¹ /pa˨˩/ ba¹ /pa˥˥/
jyu² /tɕju˨˦/ jiǔ /tɕjou˨˩˦/ jiǔ /tɕjou˨˩˦/ jiǔ /tɕjou˨˩˦/ kieu3 /kiəu˨˩˦/ jiu⁵³ /tɕiou˥˧/ jiu³ /tɕjou˨/
shy² /ʂɨ˨˦/ shí /ʂʐ̩˧˥/ shí /sz̩˧˥/ shí /sz̩˧˥/ ʂï2 /ʂʅ˧˥/ siq²⁴ /sɿ˨˦/ shi² /sɹ̩˧˥/
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