江淮官话

Jianghuai Mandarin

Sinitic (Mandarin, Jianghuai)

FamilySinitic (Mandarin, Jianghuai) Speakers~60M ScriptSimplified Chinese CountriesChina (lower Yangtze: Jiangsu, Anhui) Official inNo (regional) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3cmn

Jianghuai Mandarin (江淮官话, "Lower Yangtze Mandarin") is a major Mandarin sub-branch with ~60M speakers between the Yangtze and Huai rivers, covering most of Jiangsu and central Anhui. Nanjing was the prestige center: Nanjing Mandarin served as the de facto national koiné during the Ming and early Qing dynasties (and into the Republican era), and was the basis of the 17th-century Jesuit-recorded "Mandarin" used by Matteo Ricci and others. Jianghuai is transitional between northern Mandarin and Wu, retaining the Middle Chinese entering tone (rusheng) with final glottal stop -ʔ — a feature lost in northern Mandarin but shared with Wu and Hui.

Where it is spoken

31 core words in Jianghuai Mandarin

Water

/suei˨˩˦/

Fire

/xuo˨˩˦/

Sun

日头

/ʐəʔ˦˦tʰəu˨˦/

Moon

月亮

/yeʔ˥˥liaŋ˦˦/

Star

/ɕin˧˩/

Mother

/ma˧˧/

Father

/pa˥˥/

I

/o˨˩˨/

You

/li˨˩˨/

Name

/min˨˦/

Eye

/jɛn˨˩˦/

Hand

/səu˨˩˦/

Heart

/ɕin˧˧/

Love

/ɛ˦˦/

Tree

/sɿ˦˦/

House

房子

/faŋ˨˦tsɿ/

Dog

/kəu˨˩˦/

Cat

/mɔ˧˧/

Eat

/tʂʰʅ˥˥/

Drink

/xəʔ˥˥/

One

/iʔ˥˥/

Two

/ɐɻ˦/

Hello

你好

/ni˨˩˦xau˨˩˦/

Thank you

谢谢

/ɕje˦˦ɕje/

Good

/hau˨˩˦/

Cuckoo

布谷鸟

/pu˥˥kuʔ˦niau˦˨/

Computer

电脑

/tiɛn˦˦nɔ˨˩˨/

Sushi

寿司

/ʂəɯ˦˦sz̩˧˩/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Sinitic (Mandarin, Jianghuai) languages

Meaning Jianghuai MandarinNanjing MandarinLanyin MandarinTianjin MandarinHui ChineseWuhan MandarinXi'an Mandarin
Water /suei˨˩˦/ /ʂueɪ˨˩˨/ /sui˥˧/ /ʂwei˩˧/ /ɕy˦˦/ /suei˦˨/ /fei˥˧/
Fire /xuo˨˩˦/ /xuo˨˩˨/ /xo˥˧/ /xwo˨˩˧/ /xu˦˦/ /huo˦˨/ /xuo˥˧/
Sun 日头 /ʐəʔ˦˦tʰəu˨˦/ 太阳 /tʰɛ˦iaŋ˩˧/ 日头 /ʐɨ˨˦tʰəu˨˦/ 日头 /ʐʅ˥˩tʰoʊ˨˦/ 日头 /ʐɨ˨˦tʰəu/ 太阳 /tʰai˥˧iaŋ˨˩˧/ 日头 /ʐɿ˥˥tʰou˨˦/
Moon 月亮 /yeʔ˥˥liaŋ˦˦/ 月亮 /yʔ˥liaŋ˦/ 月亮 /yɛ˦˦ljaŋ/ 月亮 /ɥɛ˥˩ljaŋ/ 月光 /yo˨˧kuaŋ˨˦/ 月亮 /yɛ˨˩˧liaŋ/ 月亮 /ye˥˥liaŋ˨˩/
Star /ɕin˧˩/ /ɕiŋ˧˩/ /ɕiŋ˧˩/ /ɕiŋ˨˩/ /sɛ̃˧/ /ɕin˥˥/ /ɕiŋ˨˩/
Mother /ma˧˧/ 姆妈 /m̩˧˩ma˧˩/ /ma˧˧/ /ma˩˩/ /ma˧˧/ 妈妈 /ma˨˩˧ma/ /ma˨˩/
Father /pa˥˥/ /tie˧˩/ /pa˥˧/ /pa˥˩/ /pa˦˦/ 爸爸 /pa˨˩˧pa/ /pa˥˥/
I /o˨˩˨/ /ŋo˨˩˨/ /vɤ˥˧/ /wo˩˧/ /ŋo˧˩/ /ŋo˦˨/ /ŋɤ˥˧/
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Han readings compared

Character Jianghuai MandarinNanjing MandarinNortheastern MandarinTianjin MandarinHui ChineseJixi HuiJin (Shanxi)
yiq⁵ /iəʔ˥/ yiq⁵ /iʔ˥/ yi⁵⁵ /i˥˥/ yi²¹ /i˨˩/ ie⁵ /iɛʔ˥/ ie⁵ /iɛʔ˥/ ieh² /iəʔ˨/
er⁵³ /ɚ˥˧/ er⁴⁴ /ɚ˦˦/ er⁵³ /ɚ˥˧/ er⁵³ /ɚ˥˧/ n²² /n̩˨˨/ n²² /n̩˨˨/ er⁴⁵ /ɚ˦˥/
san³³ /sã˧˧/ san³¹ /sã˧˩/ san⁵⁵ /san˥˥/ san²¹ /sɑn˨˩/ se³³ /sɛ˧˧/ se³³ /sɛ˧˧/ san¹¹ /sæ̃˩˩/
si⁵¹ /sɿ˥˩/ si⁴⁴ /sɿ˦˦/ si⁵³ /sɿ˥˧/ si⁵³ /sɿ˥˧/ si³⁵ /sɿ˧˥/ si³⁵ /sɿ˧˥/ si⁴⁵ /sɿ˦˥/
wu³⁵ /u˧˥/ wu²¹² /u˨˩˨/ wu²¹³ /u˨˩˧/ wu¹³ /u˩˧/ ng²¹ /ŋ̩˨˩/ ng²¹ /ŋ̩˨˩/ u⁵³ /u˥˧/
liuq⁵ /liuʔ˥/ loq⁵ /loʔ˥/ liu⁵³ /liou˥˧/ liu⁵³ /liou˥˧/ lu²¹ /lu˨˩/ lu²¹ /lu˨˩/ lueh⁵ /luəʔ˥/
ciq⁵ /tsʰiəʔ˥/ ciq⁵ /tsʰiʔ˥/ qi⁵⁵ /tɕʰi˥˥/ qi²¹ /tɕʰi˨˩/ chii⁵ /tsʰiɪʔ˥/ chii⁵ /tsʰiɪʔ˥/ qhieh² /tɕʰiəʔ˨/
paq⁵ /paʔ˥/ baq⁵ /paʔ˥/ ba⁵⁵ /pa˥˥/ ba²¹ /pa˨˩/ pa⁵ /paʔ˥/ pa⁵ /paʔ˥/ pah² /paʔ˨/
jiu²¹² /tɕiɤu˨˩˨/ jiu²¹² /tɕiəu˨˩˨/ jiu²¹³ /tɕiou˨˩˧/ jiu¹³ /tɕiou˩˧/ jiu³⁵ /tɕiu˧˥/ jiu³⁵ /tɕiu˧˥/ jieu⁵³ /tɕiəu˥˧/
sheq⁵ /ʂəʔ˥/ seq⁵ /ʂəʔ˥/ shi³⁵ /ʂʐ̩˧˥/ shi⁴⁵ /ʂʐ̩˦˥/ sii²¹ /siɪʔ˨˩/ sii²¹ /siɪʔ˨˩/ seh⁵ /səʔ˥/
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