武汉话

Wuhan Mandarin

Sinitic (Mandarin, Southwestern)

FamilySinitic (Mandarin, Southwestern) Speakers~10M ScriptHan characters CountriesChina (Wuhan, Hubei) Official inNo Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3cmn

Wuhan dialect belongs to the Southwestern Mandarin (Xinan Guanhua) group — the largest Mandarin sub-branch by population (~260M total), spanning Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hubei, and parts of Hunan and Guangxi. Wuhan is the most economically prominent SW Mandarin city and the historical hub of Yangtze trade. Compared to Standard Mandarin, Wuhan dialect retains the entering-tone register as a fifth tonal category, has merged retroflex sibilants with alveolars, and shows distinctive lexicon.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Wuhan Mandarin

Water

/suei˨˩˧/

Fire

/huo˨˩˧/

Sun

太阳

/tʰai˥˧iaŋ˨˩˧/

Moon

月亮

/yɛ˨˩˧liaŋ/

Mother

妈妈

/ma˨˩˧ma/

Father

爸爸

/pa˨˩˧pa/

Eat

/tʂʰʅ˥˥/

Drink

/xo˥˥/

Love

/ai˥˧/

Heart

/ɕin˥˥/

Tree

/ʂu˨˩˧/

House

屋里

/u˥˥li/

Dog

/kəu˨˩˧/

Cat

/mau˥˥/

Hand

/ʂəu˨˩˧/

Eye

眼睛

/ɲɛn˨˩˧tɕin˥˥/

Hello

你好

/ni˨˩˧xau˨˩˧/

Thank you

谢谢

/ɕiɛ˥˧ɕiɛ/

One

/i˥˥/

Good

/xau˨˩˧/

Words compared

Compared with related Sinitic (Mandarin, Southwestern) languages

Meaning Wuhan MandarinSichuan MandarinZhongyuan MandarinTianjin MandarinChengdu MandarinJianghuai MandarinXiang (Hunan)
Water /suei˨˩˧/ /suei˨˩˧/ /suei˥˥/ /ʂwei˨˩˧/ /suei˥˧/ /suei˨˩˦/ /ɕy˦˩/
Fire /huo˨˩˧/ /xo˨˩˧/ /xuo˨˩˧/ /xwo˨˩˧/ /xo˥˧/ /xuo˨˩˦/ /xo˦˩/
Sun 太阳 /tʰai˥˧iaŋ˨˩˧/ 太阳 /tʰai˥˩iaŋ˧˥/ 太阳 /tʰai˨˩iaŋ˨˩˧/ 日头 /ʐʅ˥˩tʰoʊ˨˦/ 太阳 /tʰai˨˩˧iaŋ˨˩/ 日头 /ʐəʔ˦˦tʰəu˨˦/ 太阳 /tʰai˥˩ian˩˧/
Moon 月亮 /yɛ˨˩˧liaŋ/ 月亮 /ye˨˩liaŋ˥˩/ 月亮 /yɛ˨˦liaŋ/ 月亮 /ɥɛ˥˩ljaŋ/ 月亮 /ye˨˩lia̠ŋ˨˩˧/ 月亮 /yeʔ˥˥liaŋ˦˦/ 月亮 /ye˨˦liaŋ/
Mother 妈妈 /ma˨˩˧ma/ 妈妈 /mama/ 妈妈 /ma˨˦ma/ /ma˩˩/ 妈妈 /ma˥ma/ /ma˧˧/ 妈妈 /ma˧ma/
Father 爸爸 /pa˨˩˧pa/ 爸爸 /papa/ 爸爸 /pa˨˩˧pa/ /pa˥˩/ 爸爸 /pa˨˩˧pa/ /pa˥˥/ 爸爸 /pa˥˧pa/
Eat /tʂʰʅ˥˥/ /tsʰɨ˧˥/ /tʂʰʅ˨˦/ /tʂʰɨ˩˩/ /tsʰɿ˨˩/ /tʂʰʅ˥˥/ /t͡ɕʰi˨˦/
Drink /xo˥˥/ /xo˧˥/ /xɤ˨˦/ /xɤ˩˩/ /xo˨˩/ /xəʔ˥˥/ /xo˨˦/
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Han readings compared

Character Wuhan MandarinChongqing MandarinChengdu MandarinSichuan MandarinXiang (Hunan)Gui-Liu MandarinOld Xiang (Shuangfeng)
yi²¹³ /i˨˩˧/ yi²¹ /i˨˩/ yi²¹ /i˨˩/ yi²¹ /i˨˩/ i²⁴ /i˨˦/ yi³¹ /i˧˩/ i /i˨˦/
er³⁵ /ɚ˧˥/ er²¹⁴ /ɚ˨˩˦/ er²¹³ /ɚ˨˩˧/ er²¹³ /ɚ˨˩˧/ er²¹ /ɚ˨˩/ er²⁴ /ɚ˨˦/ er /ɚ˨˩/
san⁵⁵ /san˥˥/ san⁵⁵ /san˥˥/ san⁵⁵ /san˥˥/ san⁵⁵ /san˥˥/ san³³ /san˧˧/ san⁴⁴ /san˦˦/ san /san˧˧/
si³⁵ /sɿ˧˥/ si²¹⁴ /sɿ˨˩˦/ si²¹³ /sɿ˨˩˧/ si²¹³ /sɿ˨˩˧/ si⁴⁵ /sɿ˦˥/ si²⁴ /sɿ˨˦/ si /sɿ˦˥/
wu⁴² /u˦˨/ wu⁴² /u˦˨/ wu⁵³ /u˥˧/ wu⁵³ /u˥˧/ u⁴¹ /u˦˩/ wu⁵³ /u˥˧/ u /u˦˩/
nou²¹³ /nəu˨˩˧/ liu²¹ /liəu˨˩/ nu²¹ /nu˨˩/ neu²¹ /nəu˨˩/ leu²⁴ /ləu˨˦/ lou³¹ /lou˧˩/ leu /ləu˨˦/
qi²¹³ /tɕʰi˨˩˧/ qi²¹ /tɕʰi˨˩/ qi²¹ /tɕʰi˨˩/ qi²¹ /tɕʰi˨˩/ qi²⁴ /tɕʰi˨˦/ ci³¹ /tsʰi˧˩/ qi /tɕʰi˨˦/
ba²¹³ /pa˨˩˧/ ba²¹ /pa˨˩/ ba²¹ /pa˨˩/ ba²¹ /pa˨˩/ pa²⁴ /pa˨˦/ ba³¹ /pa˧˩/ pa /pa˨˦/
jiu⁴² /tɕiəu˦˨/ jiu⁴² /tɕiəu˦˨/ jiu⁵³ /tɕiəu˥˧/ jiu⁵³ /tɕiəu˥˧/ jieu⁴¹ /tɕiəu˦˩/ jiu⁵³ /tɕiou˥˧/ jieu /tɕiəu˦˩/
si²¹³ /sɿ˨˩˧/ si²¹ /sɿ˨˩/ si²¹ /sɿ˨˩/ si²¹ /sɿ˨˩/ si²⁴ /sɿ˨˦/ si³¹ /sɿ˧˩/ zhi /ʑɿ˨˦/
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