吳語

Shanghainese

Sinitic (Wu)

FamilySinitic (Wu) Speakers~80M (Wu family total) ScriptHan characters CountriesChina (Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang) Official inNo Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3wuu Glottocodewuch1236

Also known as: Wu, Shanghainese

Wu Chinese (ISO 639-3 macrolanguage code: wuu) is a Sinitic group spoken in Shanghai, Zhejiang, southern Jiangsu, and nearby parts of eastern China. Its major groupings include Taihu (Shanghainese, Suzhounese, and Ningbonese), Taizhou, Oujiang or Wenzhounese, Wuzhou, and Chu–Qu; mutual intelligibility is often low, so Shanghainese does not represent all Wu. Many northern varieties preserve a historical onset contrast realized as voicing or breathy phonation, but its phonetic form and survival vary; Wu is also known for complex tone sandhi, where a syllable’s tone changes across a word or phrase in left- or right-dominant systems. Formal writing normally uses Standard Written Chinese; local characters and romanizations exist, but no Wu-wide orthography is universal. Putonghua dominates government and schooling, weakening local transmission in some cities, while documentation, broadcasting, and community initiatives support use.

Where it is spoken

31 core words in Shanghainese

Water

/sz̩˧˥/

Fire

/hu˧˥/

Sun

太阳

/tʰa˧˧ɦiã˩˩/

Moon

月亮

/ɲyəʔ˩˨liã˩/

Star

/ɕin˥˧/

Mother

姆妈

/m̩ma/

Father

爸爸

/pa˧˩pa/

I

/ŋu˩˧/

You

/noŋ˩˧/

Name

名字

/min˩˧ z̩/

Eye

眼睛

/ŋɛ˩tɕin˥/

Hand

/sɤ˧˥/

Heart

/ɕin˥/

Love

/ɛ˧˧˥/

Tree

/zz̩˨˧/

House

屋里

/oʔ˥li/

Dog

/kɤ˧˩/

Cat

/mɔ˥/

Eat

/tɕʰiɪʔ˥/

Drink

/huəʔ˥/

One

/iʔ˥/

Two

/ɲi˩˧/

Hello

侬好

/noŋ˩hɔ˧˩/

Thank you

谢谢

/ʑia˩ʑia/

Good

/hɔ˧˩/

Woof

汪汪

/uɑ̃˥ uɑ̃˨˩/

Computer

电脑

/di˨˨ nɔ˦˦/

Sushi

寿司

/zɤ˨˧sz̩˥˧/

Dopamine

多巴胺

/ta˥pa˧ø˧/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Sinitic (Wu) languages

Meaning ShanghaineseJiaxing WuNingbo WuHangzhou WuSuzhou WuJinhua WuWuhan Mandarin
Water /sz̩˧˥/ /sz̩˧˩˧/ /sɿ˨˩˦/ /ʂz̩˥˧/ /sʮ˥˩/ /sz̩˥˧˥/ /suei˦˨/
Fire /hu˧˥/ /hu˧˩˧/ /hu˨˩˦/ /xo˥˧/ /həu˥˩/ /xu˥˧˥/ /huo˦˨/
Sun 太阳 /tʰa˧˧ɦiã˩˩/ 日头 /ɲiɪʔ˩˨dɤu˨˨˧/ 日头 /ɲiʔ˩˨dɤu/ 日头 /ʐəʔ˩˨dɤɯ˨˩˧/ 太阳 /tʰɑ˥ɦiã˨˩/ 日头 /ȵiɪʔ˩˨dei˨˨˦/ 太阳 /tʰai˥˧iaŋ˨˩˧/
Moon 月亮 /ɲyəʔ˩˨liã˩/ 月亮 /ɦyøʔ˩˨liaŋ˨˨˧/ 月亮 /ɲyəʔ˩˨liaŋ/ 月亮 /yøʔ˩˨liaŋ˨˩˧/ 月亮 /ŋəʔ˧ liã˥˩/ 月光 /ɦyøʔ˩˨kuaŋ˧˧/ 月亮 /yɛ˨˩˧liaŋ/
Star /ɕin˥˧/ /ɕiŋ˥˨/ /ɕin˥˧/ /ɕiŋ˥˧/ /sin˦/ /ɕiŋ˥/ /ɕin˥˥/
Mother 姆妈 /m̩ma/ 姆妈 /m̩˧˧ma˧˧/ 阿妈 /aʔ˦˦ma/ 妈妈 /ma˧˧ma˨˩˧/ 姆妈 /m̩˥mɑ˨˩/ 阿娘 /aʔ˥ȵiaŋ˨˨˦/ 妈妈 /ma˨˩˧ma/
Father 爸爸 /pa˧˩pa/ 爹爹 /tia˦˦tia˦˦/ 阿爸 /aʔ˦˦pa/ 爸爸 /pa˧˧pa˨˩˧/ 爹爹 /tiɑ˥tiɑ˨˩/ 阿爸 /aʔ˥pa˧˧/ 爸爸 /pa˨˩˧pa/
I /ŋu˩˧/ /ŋu˨˧/ /ŋu˩˧/ /ŋo˩˧/ /ŋəu˩˧/ /ŋu˩˧/ /ŋo˦˨/
Page 1/4

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Shanghainese
试穿 酒店 对面 里向 看到个 西装
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

Shanghainese
试穿 酒店 对面 里向 看到个 西装
試穿 酒店 對面 間鋪 入面 見到嘅 套西裝
試穿 客棧 對面 店鋪 看著其 套西裝
客舍 對面 所見之
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装

Han readings compared

Compared with related Sinitic (Wu) languages

Character ShanghaineseJiaxing WuNingbo WuHangzhou WuJinhua WuHui Chinese (Wuyuan)Suzhou Wu
iq7 /ɪʔ˥˥/ iq7 /iɪʔ˥˥/ iq7 /iəʔ˥˥/ iq7 /iɪʔ˥˥/ iq⁵⁵ /iəʔ˥˥/ ie⁵⁵ /iɛʔ˥˥/ iq7 /iəʔ˦˧/
gni6 /ɲi˨˧/ gni6 /ɲi˨˩˧/ gni6 /ɲi˨˩˧/ gni6 /ɲi˨˩˧/ nyi²¹³ /n̩˨˩˧/ n²² /n̩˨˨/ gni6 /ɲi˨˧˩/
se1 /sɛ˥˧/ se1 /sɛ˥˧/ se1 /sɛ˥˧/ se1 /sæ̃˧˧/ sa³³ /sã˧˧/ se³³ /sɛ˧˧/ se1 /sᴇ˦˦/
sy5 /sɿ˧˥/ sy5 /sɿ˥˧/ sy5 /sz̩˥˩/ sy5 /sz̩˧/ sy⁵³ /sz̩˥˧/ si³⁵ /sɿ˧˥/ sy5 /sɿ˥˩˧/
ng6 /ŋ̍˨˧/ ng6 /ŋ̍˨˩˧/ ng6 /ŋ̍˨˩˧/ ng6 /ŋ̍˨˩˧/ ng²¹³ /ŋ˨˩˧/ ng²¹ /ŋ̩˨˩/ ng6 /ŋ̍˨˧˩/
loq8 /loʔ˩˨/ loq8 /loʔ˨˧/ loq8 /loʔ˨˩˧/ loq8 /loʔ˨˩˧/ lieu²⁴ /liu˨˦/ lu²¹ /lu˨˩/ loq8 /loʔ˨˧/
chiq7 /tɕʰɪʔ˥˥/ tshiq7 /tsʰiɪʔ˥˥/ tshiq7 /tsʰiʔ˥˥/ tshiq7 /tsʰiʔ˥˥/ tshiq⁵⁵ /tsʰiəʔ˥˥/ tshi⁵⁵ /tsʰiɪʔ˥˥/ tshiq7 /tsʰiəʔ˦˧/
paq7 /pɐʔ˥˥/ poq7 /pɒʔ˥˥/ paq7 /pɐʔ˥˥/ paq7 /pɐʔ˥˥/ paq⁵⁵ /pɒʔ˥˥/ pa⁵⁵ /paʔ˥˥/ poq7 /poʔ˦˧/
cieu5 /tɕiɤɯ˧˥/ cieu3 /tɕiɤɯ˥˨˧/ cieu3 /tɕiɤɯ˧˥/ cieu3 /tɕiɤɯ˥˧/ jieu⁵³⁵ /tɕiɤɯ˥˧˥/ tçiu³⁵ /tɕiu˧˥/ cieu3 /tɕiʏ˥˩/
zeq8 /zəʔ˩˨/ zeq8 /zəʔ˨˧/ zeq8 /zəʔ˨˩˧/ zeq8 /zəʔ˨˩˧/ zeq²¹² /zəʔ˨˩˨/ sii²¹ /siɪʔ˨˩/ zeq8 /zəʔ˨˧/
Page 1/7

Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.