湘语

Xiang (Hunan)

Sinitic (Xiang)

FamilySinitic (Xiang) Speakers~36M ScriptSimplified Chinese CountriesChina (Hunan) Official inNo (regional) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3hsn

Xiang Chinese (湘语) is the dominant Sinitic group of Hunan Province, with ~36M speakers, traditionally divided into New Xiang (Changsha-centered, urbanized, heavily Mandarinized) and Old Xiang (rural southwestern Hunan, conservative). Old Xiang preserves the Middle Chinese voiced obstruent series (e.g. retained b/d/g) lost in nearly all other Sinitic branches except Wu, while New Xiang has merged them with voiceless aspirates as in Mandarin. Xiang was the native language of Mao Zedong (born in Shaoshan, Old Xiang region) — recordings of his speeches preserve the dialect for posterity. The Xiang River (湘江) gives both the language and the province their classical name.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Xiang (Hunan)

Water

/ɕy˦˩/

Fire

/xo˦˩/

Sun

太阳

/tʰai˥˩ian˩˧/

Moon

月亮

/ye˨˦liaŋ/

Mother

妈妈

/ma˧ma/

Father

爸爸

/pa˥˧pa/

Eat

/t͡ɕʰi˨˦/

Drink

/xo˨˦/

Love

/ŋai˥˩/

Heart

/sin˧/

Tree

/ɕy˩˧/

House

屋里

/u˨˦li/

Dog

/kəu˦˩/

Cat

/mau˩˧/

Hand

/ɕəu˦˩/

Eye

眼睛

/ŋan˦˩t͡ɕin˧/

Hello

你好

/n̩˦˩xau˦˩/

Thank you

谢谢

/ɕie˩˧ɕie/

One

/i˨˦/

Good

/xau˦˩/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Sinitic (Xiang) languages

Meaning Xiang (Hunan)Hui ChineseChengdu MandarinZhongyuan MandarinWuhan MandarinSichuan MandarinChongqing Mandarin
Water /ɕy˦˩/ /ɕy˦˦/ /suei˥˧/ /suei˥˥/ /suei˨˩˧/ /suei˨˩˧/ /suei˦˨/
Fire /xo˦˩/ /xu˦˦/ /xo˥˧/ /xuo˨˩˧/ /huo˨˩˧/ /xo˨˩˧/ /xo˦˨/
Sun 太阳 /tʰai˥˩ian˩˧/ 日头 /ʐɨ˨˦tʰəu/ 太阳 /tʰai˨˩˧iaŋ˨˩/ 太阳 /tʰai˨˩iaŋ˨˩˧/ 太阳 /tʰai˥˧iaŋ˨˩˧/ 太阳 /tʰai˥˩iaŋ˧˥/ 太阳 /tʰai˨˩˧.iaŋ˨˩/
Moon 月亮 /ye˨˦liaŋ/ 月光 /yo˨˧kuaŋ˨˦/ 月亮 /ye˨˩lia̠ŋ˨˩˧/ 月亮 /yɛ˨˦liaŋ/ 月亮 /yɛ˨˩˧liaŋ/ 月亮 /ye˨˩liaŋ˥˩/ 月亮 /yo˨˩˧.lian˨˩˧/
Mother 妈妈 /ma˧ma/ /ma˧˧/ 妈妈 /ma˥ma/ 妈妈 /ma˨˦ma/ 妈妈 /ma˨˩˧ma/ 妈妈 /mama/ /ma˥/
Father 爸爸 /pa˥˧pa/ /pa˦˦/ 爸爸 /pa˨˩˧pa/ 爸爸 /pa˨˩˧pa/ 爸爸 /pa˨˩˧pa/ 爸爸 /papa/ 老汉 /lau˦˨.xan˨˩˧/
Eat /t͡ɕʰi˨˦/ /t͡ɕʰi˨˦/ /tsʰɿ˨˩/ /tʂʰʅ˨˦/ /tʂʰʅ˥˥/ /tsʰɨ˧˥/ /tsʰʅ˥/
Drink /xo˨˦/ /xa˨˦/ /xo˨˩/ /xɤ˨˦/ /xo˥˥/ /xo˧˥/ /xo˥/
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Han readings compared

Compared with related Sinitic (Xiang) languages

Character Xiang (Hunan)Old Xiang (Shuangfeng)Chongqing MandarinWuhan MandarinSichuan MandarinChengdu MandarinZhongyuan Mandarin
i²⁴ /i˨˦/ i /i˨˦/ yi²¹ /i˨˩/ yi²¹³ /i˨˩˧/ yi²¹ /i˨˩/ yi²¹ /i˨˩/ yi²⁴ /i˨˦/
er²¹ /ɚ˨˩/ er /ɚ˨˩/ er²¹⁴ /ɚ˨˩˦/ er³⁵ /ɚ˧˥/ er²¹³ /ɚ˨˩˧/ er²¹³ /ɚ˨˩˧/ er³¹² /ɚ˧˩˨/
san³³ /san˧˧/ san /san˧˧/ san⁵⁵ /san˥˥/ san⁵⁵ /san˥˥/ san⁵⁵ /san˥˥/ san⁵⁵ /san˥˥/ san²⁴ /san˨˦/
si⁴⁵ /sɿ˦˥/ si /sɿ˦˥/ si²¹⁴ /sɿ˨˩˦/ si³⁵ /sɿ˧˥/ si²¹³ /sɿ˨˩˧/ si²¹³ /sɿ˨˩˧/ si²⁴ /sɿ˨˦/
u⁴¹ /u˦˩/ u /u˦˩/ wu⁴² /u˦˨/ wu⁴² /u˦˨/ wu⁵³ /u˥˧/ wu⁵³ /u˥˧/ wu⁵³ /u˥˧/
leu²⁴ /ləu˨˦/ leu /ləu˨˦/ liu²¹ /liəu˨˩/ nou²¹³ /nəu˨˩˧/ neu²¹ /nəu˨˩/ nu²¹ /nu˨˩/ liu²⁴ /liu˨˦/
qi²⁴ /tɕʰi˨˦/ qi /tɕʰi˨˦/ qi²¹ /tɕʰi˨˩/ qi²¹³ /tɕʰi˨˩˧/ qi²¹ /tɕʰi˨˩/ qi²¹ /tɕʰi˨˩/ qi²⁴ /tɕʰi˨˦/
pa²⁴ /pa˨˦/ pa /pa˨˦/ ba²¹ /pa˨˩/ ba²¹³ /pa˨˩˧/ ba²¹ /pa˨˩/ ba²¹ /pa˨˩/ ba²⁴ /pa˨˦/
jieu⁴¹ /tɕiəu˦˩/ jieu /tɕiəu˦˩/ jiu⁴² /tɕiəu˦˨/ jiu⁴² /tɕiəu˦˨/ jiu⁵³ /tɕiəu˥˧/ jiu⁵³ /tɕiəu˥˧/ jiu⁵³ /tɕiəu˥˧/
si²⁴ /sɿ˨˦/ zhi /ʑɿ˨˦/ si²¹ /sɿ˨˩/ si²¹³ /sɿ˨˩˧/ si²¹ /sɿ˨˩/ si²¹ /sɿ˨˩/ shi⁴² /ʂʐ̩˦˨/
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