苏州话

Suzhou Wu

Sinitic (Wu, Taihu)

FamilySinitic (Wu, Taihu) Speakers~7M ScriptHan characters CountriesChina (Suzhou and surrounding Jiangsu) Official inNo Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3wuu

Suzhou Wu is the historical prestige variety of the Wu group, often considered the "Italian of Chinese" for its melodic quality. Preserves voiced obstruents, has a complex eight-tone system, and features in classical Pingtan storytelling and Kunqu opera.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Suzhou Wu

Water

/sʮ˥˩/

Fire

/həu˥˩/

Sun

太阳

/tʰɑ˥ ɦiã˨˩/

Moon

月亮

/ŋəʔ˧ liã˥˩/

Mother

姆妈

/m̩˥ mɑ˨˩/

Father

爹爹

/tiɑ˥ tiɑ˨˩/

Eat

/t͡ɕʰiəʔ˥/

Drink

/həʔ˥/

Love

/ᴇ˥˩˧/

Heart

/sin˥/

Tree

/zʮ˨˧˩/

House

屋里

/oʔ˥ li˥˩˧/

Dog

/køʏ˥˩/

Cat

/mæ˩˩˧/

Hand

/søʏ˥˩/

Eye

眼睛

/ŋᴇ˩ tsin˧/

Hello

倷好

/nᴇ˨˧ hæ˥˩/

Thank you

谢谢

/ziɑ˩ ziɑ˧/

One

/iəʔ˥/

Good

/hæ˥˩/

Words compared

Compared with related Sinitic (Wu, Taihu) languages

Meaning Suzhou WuHangzhou WuJiaxing WuShanghaineseJin (Shanxi)Jinhua WuXiang (Hunan)
Water /sʮ˥˩/ /ʂz̩˥˧/ /sz̩˧˩˧/ /sz̩˧˥/ /sueɪ˥˧/ /sz̩˥˧˥/ /ɕy˦˩/
Fire /həu˥˩/ /xo˥˧/ /hu˧˩˧/ /hu˧˥/ /xuo˥˧/ /xu˥˧˥/ /xo˦˩/
Sun 太阳 /tʰɑ˥ ɦiã˨˩/ 日头 /ʐəʔ˩˨dɤɯ˨˩˧/ 日头 /ɲiɪʔ˩˨dɤu˨˨˧/ 太阳 /tʰa˧˧ɦiã˩˩/ 日头 /ʐəʔ˥˦tʰəu˩/ 日头 /ȵiɪʔ˩˨dei˨˨˦/ 太阳 /tʰai˥˩ian˩˧/
Moon 月亮 /ŋəʔ˧ liã˥˩/ 月亮 /yøʔ˩˨liaŋ˨˩˧/ 月亮 /ɦyøʔ˩˨liaŋ˨˨˧/ 月亮 /ɲyəʔ˩˨liã˩/ 月亮 /yəʔ˥˦liɔ̃˩/ 月光 /ɦyøʔ˩˨kuaŋ˧˧/ 月亮 /ye˨˦liaŋ/
Mother 姆妈 /m̩˥ mɑ˨˩/ 妈妈 /ma˧˧ma˨˩˧/ 姆妈 /m̩˧˧ma˧˧/ 姆妈 /m̩ma/ 妈妈 /ma˩ma/ 阿娘 /aʔ˥ȵiaŋ˨˨˦/ 妈妈 /ma˧ma/
Father 爹爹 /tiɑ˥ tiɑ˨˩/ 爸爸 /pa˧˧pa˨˩˧/ 爹爹 /tia˦˦tia˦˦/ 爸爸 /pa˧˩pa/ 爹爹 /tie˩tie/ 阿爸 /aʔ˥pa˧˧/ 爸爸 /pa˥˧pa/
Eat /t͡ɕʰiəʔ˥/ /t͡ɕʰiʔ˥/ /t͡ɕʰiɪʔ˥/ /t͡ɕʰiʔ˥/ /t͡sʰəʔ˨/ /t͡ɕʰiɪʔ˥/ /t͡ɕʰi˨˦/
Drink /həʔ˥/ /xəʔ˥/ /t͡ɕʰiɪʔ˥/ /huəʔ˥/ /xəʔ˨/ /t͡ɕʰiɪʔ˥/ /xo˨˦/
Page 1/3

Han readings compared

Character Suzhou WuJiaxing WuHangzhou WuNingbo WuShanghaineseJinhua WuDatong Jin
iq7 /iəʔ˦˧/ iq7 /iɪʔ˥˥/ iq7 /iɪʔ˥˥/ iq7 /iəʔ˥˥/ iq7 /ɪʔ˥˥/ iq⁵⁵ /iəʔ˥˥/ ieh⁴³ /iəʔ˦˧/
gni6 /ɲi˨˧˩/ gni6 /ɲi˨˩˧/ gni6 /ɲi˨˩˧/ gni6 /ɲi˨˩˧/ gni6 /ɲi˨˧/ nyi²¹³ /n̩˨˩˧/ er⁴⁵ /ɚ˦˥/
se1 /sᴇ˦˦/ se1 /sɛ˥˧/ se1 /sæ̃˧˧/ se1 /sɛ˥˧/ se1 /sɛ˥˧/ sa³³ /sã˧˧/ san³¹ /sæ̃˧˩/
sy5 /sɿ˥˩˧/ sy5 /sɿ˥˧/ sy5 /sz̩˧/ sy5 /sz̩˥˩/ sy5 /sɿ˧˥/ sy⁵³ /sz̩˥˧/ si⁴⁵ /sɿ˦˥/
ng6 /ŋ̍˨˧˩/ ng6 /ŋ̍˨˩˧/ ng6 /ŋ̍˨˩˧/ ng6 /ŋ̍˨˩˧/ ng6 /ŋ̍˨˧/ ng²¹³ /ŋ˨˩˧/ u⁵³ /u˥˧/
loq8 /loʔ˨˧/ loq8 /loʔ˨˧/ loq8 /loʔ˨˩˧/ loq8 /loʔ˨˩˧/ loq8 /loʔ˩˨/ lieu²⁴ /liu˨˦/ lueh⁵⁴ /luəʔ˥˦/
tshiq7 /tsʰiəʔ˦˧/ tshiq7 /tsʰiɪʔ˥˥/ tshiq7 /tsʰiʔ˥˥/ tshiq7 /tsʰiʔ˥˥/ chiq7 /tɕʰɪʔ˥˥/ tshiq⁵⁵ /t͡sʰiəʔ˥˥/ qhieh⁴³ /tɕʰiəʔ˦˧/
poq7 /poʔ˦˧/ poq7 /pɒʔ˥˥/ paq7 /pɐʔ˥˥/ paq7 /pɐʔ˥˥/ paq7 /pɐʔ˥˥/ paq⁵⁵ /pɒʔ˥˥/ pah⁴³ /paʔ˦˧/
cieu3 /tɕiʏ˥˩/ cieu3 /tɕiɤɯ˥˨˧/ cieu3 /tɕiɤɯ˥˧/ cieu3 /tɕiɤɯ˧˥/ cieu5 /tɕiɤɯ˧˥/ jieu⁵³⁵ /tɕiɤɯ˥˧˥/ jieu⁵³ /tɕiəu˥˧/
zeq8 /zəʔ˨˧/ zeq8 /zəʔ˨˧/ zeq8 /zəʔ˨˩˧/ zeq8 /zəʔ˨˩˧/ zeq8 /zəʔ˩˨/ zeq²¹² /zəʔ˨˩˨/ seh⁵⁴ /səʔ˥˦/
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.