天津话

Tianjin Mandarin

Sinitic (Mandarin, Ji-Lu / Tianjin)

FamilySinitic (Mandarin, Ji-Lu / Tianjin) Speakers~10M ScriptSimplified Chinese CountriesChina (Tianjin metro and adjacent Hebei) Official inNo (regional) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3cmn

Tianjin Mandarin (天津话) is the urban Mandarin variety of Tianjin and adjacent Hebei, with ~10M speakers. It is famous for its low-falling first tone (˩˩, the opposite of Standard Mandarin's high-level T1), the iconic particle 嘛 (ma) and phrase 嘛事 (mashi, "what's up"), and a markedly playful prosody that has become the trademark of Chinese stand-up comedy and quyi traditions — Tianjin xiangsheng (cross-talk comedy) is the canonical art form, with masters like Ma Sanli and Guo Degang shaping the entire Chinese comedic tradition. Tianjin's tone system is simplified relative to Beijing's, with characteristic neutral-tone patterns marking it as distinct from the nearby capital dialect.

Where it is spoken

31 core words in Tianjin Mandarin

Water

/ʂwei˩˧/

Fire

/xwo˨˩˧/

Sun

日头

/ʐʅ˥˩tʰoʊ˨˦/

Moon

月亮

/ɥɛ˥˩ljaŋ/

Star

/ɕiŋ˨˩/

Mother

/ma˩˩/

Father

/pa˥˩/

I

/wo˩˧/

You

/ni˩˧/

Name

/miŋ˦˥/

Eye

眼睛

/jɛn˨˩˧tɕiŋ/

Hand

/ʂoʊ˨˩˧/

Heart

/ɕin˩˩/

Love

/ai˥˩/

Tree

/ʂu˥˩/

House

房子

/faŋ˨˦tsɨ/

Dog

/koʊ˨˩˧/

Cat

/mau˩˩/

Eat

/tʂʰɨ˩˩/

Drink

/xɤ˩˩/

One

/i˩˩/

Two

/ɚ˥˧/

Hello

你好

/ni˨˩˧xau˨˩˧/

Thank you

谢谢

/ɕjɛ˥˩ɕjɛ/

Good

/xau˨˩˧/

Cuckoo

喀咕

/kʰa˨˩ ku˨˩/

Computer

电脑

/tiɛn˥˧nau˩˧/

Sushi

寿司

/ʂou˥˧sz̩˨˩/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Sinitic (Mandarin, Ji-Lu / Tianjin) languages

Meaning Tianjin MandarinLanyin MandarinChinese (Mandarin)Northeastern MandarinXi'an MandarinTaiwan MandarinSichuan Mandarin
Water /ʂwei˩˧/ /sui˥˧/ /ʂweɪ̯˧˩˧/ /ʂweɪ̯˧˩˧/ /fei˥˧/ /ʂweɪ̯˧˩˧/ /suei˥˧/
Fire /xwo˨˩˧/ /xo˥˧/ /xwo˧˩˧/ /xwo˧˩˧/ /xuo˥˧/ /xwo˧˩˧/ /xo˥˧/
Sun 日头 /ʐʅ˥˩tʰoʊ˨˦/ 日头 /ʐɨ˨˦tʰəu˨˦/ 太阳 /tʰaɪ̯˥˩jɑŋ˧˥/ 太阳 /tʰaɪ̯˥˩jɑŋ˩/ 日头 /ʐɿ˥˥tʰou˨˦/ 太陽 /tʰaɪ̯˥˩jɑŋ˧˥/ 太阳 /tʰai˥˩iaŋ˧˥/
Moon 月亮 /ɥɛ˥˩ljaŋ/ 月亮 /yɛ˦˦ljaŋ/ 月亮 /ɥɛ˥˩ljɑŋ/ 月亮 /ɥɛ˥˩ljɑŋ˩/ 月亮 /ye˥˥liaŋ˨˩/ 月亮 /ɥɛ˥˩ljɑŋ˥˩/ 月亮 /ye˨˩liaŋ˨˩˧/
Star /ɕiŋ˨˩/ /ɕiŋ˧˩/ /ɕiŋ˥/ 星星 /ɕiŋ˦ɕiŋ/ /ɕiŋ˨˩/ /ɕiŋ˥/ 星星 /ɕin˥ɕin/
Mother /ma˩˩/ /ma˧˧/ 妈妈 /ma˥ma/ 妈妈 /ma˥ma/ /ma˨˩/ 媽媽 /ma˥ma/ 妈妈 /ma˥ma/
Father /pa˥˩/ /pa˥˧/ 爸爸 /pa˥˩pa/ 爸爸 /pa˥˩pa/ /pa˥˥/ 爸爸 /pa˥˩pa/ 爸爸 /pa˨˩˧pa/
I /wo˩˧/ /vɤ˥˧/ /wo˨˩˦/ /wɔ˨˩˦/ /ŋɤ˥˧/ /wo˨˩˦/ /ŋo˥˧/
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Han readings compared

Character Tianjin MandarinNortheastern MandarinZhongyuan MandarinKaifeng MandarinChinese (Mandarin)Jiao-Liao MandarinXi'an Mandarin
yi²¹ /i˨˩/ yi⁵⁵ /i˥˥/ yi²⁴ /i˨˦/ yi²⁴ /i˨˦/ /i˥˥/ yi⁵⁵ /i˥˥/ yiq²¹ /i˨˩/
er⁵³ /ɚ˥˧/ er⁵³ /ɚ˥˧/ er³¹² /ɚ˧˩˨/ er³¹² /ɚ˧˩˨/ èr /ɑɻ˥˩/ er⁵³ /ɚ˥˧/ er⁴⁴ /ɚ˦˦/
san²¹ /sɑn˨˩/ san⁵⁵ /san˥˥/ san²⁴ /san˨˦/ san²⁴ /san˨˦/ sān /san˥˥/ san²¹³ /sã˨˩˧/ san²¹ /sã˨˩/
si⁵³ /sɿ˥˧/ si⁵³ /sɿ˥˧/ si²⁴ /sɿ˨˦/ si³¹² /sɿ˧˩˨/ /sɿ˥˩/ si⁵³ /sɿ˥˧/ si⁴⁴ /sɿ˦˦/
wu¹³ /u˩˧/ wu²¹³ /u˨˩˧/ wu⁵³ /u˥˧/ wu⁵³ /u˥˧/ /u˨˩˦/ wu⁵⁵ /u˥˥/ wu⁵³ /u˥˧/
liu⁵³ /liou˥˧/ liu⁵³ /liou˥˧/ liu²⁴ /liu˨˦/ liu²⁴ /liəu˨˦/ liù /ljou˥˩/ liou⁵³ /liou˥˧/ liuq²¹ /liou˨˩/
qi²¹ /tɕʰi˨˩/ qi⁵⁵ /tɕʰi˥˥/ qi²⁴ /tɕʰi˨˦/ qi²⁴ /tɕʰi˨˦/ /tɕʰi˥˥/ qi⁵⁵ /tɕʰi˥˥/ qiq²¹ /tɕʰi˨˩/
ba²¹ /pa˨˩/ ba⁵⁵ /pa˥˥/ ba²⁴ /pa˨˦/ ba²⁴ /pa˨˦/ /pa˥˥/ ba⁵⁵ /pa˥˥/ baq²¹ /pa˨˩/
jiu¹³ /tɕiou˩˧/ jiu²¹³ /tɕiou˨˩˧/ jiu⁵³ /tɕiəu˥˧/ jiu⁵³ /tɕiəu˥˧/ jiǔ /tɕjou˨˩˦/ jiu⁵⁵ /tɕiou˥˥/ jiu⁵³ /tɕiou˥˧/
shi⁴⁵ /ʂʐ̩˦˥/ shi³⁵ /ʂʐ̩˧˥/ shi⁴² /ʂʐ̩˦˨/ shi⁴² /ʂʐ̩˦˨/ shí /ʂʐ̩˧˥/ shi⁴² /ʂʐ̩˦˨/ siq²⁴ /sɿ˨˦/
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