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Sichuanese Mandarin

NameSichuanese
Nativename四川话
Pronunciation-xxsɨ˨˩˧tsʰwan˥xwa˨˩˧locally
FamilycolorSino-Tibetan
StatesChina
RegionSichuan, Chongqing and their neighboring provinces
Speakers~ 100 million 
Fam2Chinese
Fam3Mandarin
Fam4Southwestern
MapcaptionSichuanese in China
NoticeIPA

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Sichuanese Mandarin ( ), commonly known as Sichuanese, Szechuanese or Szechwanese ( ; Sichuanese Pinyin: Si4cuan1hua4; ), is a branch of Southwestern Mandarin, spoken mainly in Sichuan and Chongqing, which was part of Sichuan until 1997, and the adjacent regions of their neighboring provinces, such as Hubei, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan and Shaanxi. In addition, because Sichuanese is the lingua franca in Sichuan, Chongqing and part of Tibet, it is also used by many Tibetan, Yi, Qiang and other groups as a second language.

Although Sichuanese is generally classified as a dialect of Mandarin, it is highly divergent in phonology, vocabulary, and even grammar from the standard language. Minjiang dialect is especially difficult for speakers of other Mandarin dialects to understand. As Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province and an important central city, the Chengdu dialect is the most representative dialect of Southwestern Mandarin, and is used widely in Sichuan Opera and other artistic fields of the province.

Modern Sichuanese was formed rather recently in a great wave of immigration during the Ming Dynasty (1368 � 1644): many immigrants, mainly from Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and Guangdong, flooded into Sichuan, bringing their languages with them. Sichuanese is spoken by about 120 million people, so if it were counted as a separate language, it would be the 10th largest language by number of speakers, just behind Japanese.

Sichuan Mandarin Video


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7.70 min. | 5.0 user rating

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Pandas, Meet Your Pambassadors! - Scholastic.com Tweet this news
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Wilmette Theatre - Chicago Reader Tweet this news
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Dialects of Sichuanese Name Characteristics Spoken areas
Chengdu � Chongqing dialect entering tone distributed into light level tone North and East Sichuan, the northeastern part of Chengdu Plain, several cities or counties in southwestern Sichuan (Panzhihua, Dechang, Yanyuan, Huili and Ningnan), Southern Shaanxi and Western Hubei
Minjiang dialect entering tone preserved 44 cities or counties in Minjiang River valley or along the Yangtze River in South and West Sichuan, Xichang, Xichong, Yanting, Shehong, northern Yunnan and northern Guizhou
Renshou � Fushun dialect entering tone distributed into departing tone 8 cities or counties in Tuo River valley (Renshou, Jingyan, Weiyuan, Zigong, Rongxian, Fushun, Neijiang and Longchang), Junlian and Mianning
Ya'an � Shimian dialect entering tone distributed into dark level tone Ya'an (prefecture-level city) in West Sichuan

Tones :
Sub-dialects 1st tone 2nd tone 3rd tone 4th tone 5th tone
Chengdu ˥ 55 ˨˩ 21 ˥˧ 53 ˨˩˧ 213 distributed into the 2nd ˨˩
Chongqing ˥ 55 ˨˩ 21 ˦˨ 42 ˨˩˦ 214 distributed into the 2nd ˨˩
Leshan ˥ 55 ˨˩ 21 ˥˨ 52 ˨˨˦ 224 ˧ 3 (checked)
Yingjing ˥ 45 ˩˨˩ 121 ˥˧ 53 ˩ 11 (colloquial)
˨˩˧ 213 (literary)		 ˧ 33
Luzhou ˥ 55 ˨˩ 21 ˦˨ 42 ˩˧ 13 ˧ 33
Ya'an ˥ 55 ˨˩ 21 ˦˨ 42 ˩˦ 14 distributed into the 1st ˥
Zigong ˥ 55 ˧˩ 31 ˥˧ 53 ˨˦ 24 distributed into the 4th ˨˦

Initials :
Bilabial abiodental Coronal Alveolar alveopalatal Velar
Stop plain p
b 贝		 t
d 得		 k
g 古
aspirated pʰ
p 配		 tʰ
t 套		 kʰ
k 可
Affricate plain ts
z 早		 tɕ
j 价
aspirated tsʰ
c 草		 tɕʰ
q 巧
Nasal m
m 没		 n
n 路		 nʲ
ny 你		 ŋ
ng 我
Fricative Voiceless f
f 发		 s
s 速		 ɕ
x 小 		x
h 好
voiced v
v 五		 z
r 如
Zero ∅
儿

Finals :
-Ø -i or -u nasal finals
Ø- ɿ
i 日		 ɚ
er 二		 a
a 大		 o
o 我		 ɛ
e 黑		 ai
ai 街		 ei
ei 批		 au
ao 包		 əu
ou 走		 an
an 烦		 ən
en 樱		 aŋ
ang 帮		 oŋ
ong 亩
i- i
i 一		 ia
ia 牙		 iɛ
ie 叶		 iai
iai 介		 iau
iao 标		 iəu
iu 九		 ian
ian 变		 in
in 兵		 iaŋ
iang 量
u- u
u 五		 ua
ua 瓜		 uɛ
ue 国		 uai
uai 乖		 uei
ui 类		 uan
uan 段		 uən
un 春		 uaŋ
uang 光
y- y
ü 鱼		 yo
üo 药		 ye
üe 绝		 yan
üan 鲜		 yn
ün 泳		 yoŋ
iong 蓉

: Tense vowels for checked tone
example Minjiang Ya'an-Shimian Chengdu-Chongqing Renshou-Fushun
Luzhou Qionglai Leshan Luding Chengdu Zigong
搭 æ æ æ a a a
说 ɵ ʊ ʊ o o o
黑 e æ e ɛ ɛ ɛ
踢 ie ie ie i iɛ i
出 ɵ ʊ ʊ u u u
欲 yɵ yʊ yʊ y yo yi
湿 ə ə ə ɿ ɿ ɿ
掐 iæ iɐ iæ ia ia ia
刮 uæ uɐ uæ ua ua ua
铁 ie ie ie iɛ iɛ iɛ
获 ɵ uæ æ uɛ uɛ ue
阅 yɵ ye yʊ yɛ yɛ yɛ
药 yɵ yʊ yʊ yo yo yo

Literary and colloquial readings :
Example Colloquial Reading Literary Reading Meaning Standard Mandarin Pronunciation
  tɛ tsai at tsai
  tia tʰi lift tʰi
  tɕʰie tɕʰy go tɕʰy
  kɛ tɕy cut tɕy
  xa ɕia down ɕia
  xuan xuən across xəŋ
  ŋan ȵian strict ian
  suei su rat ʂu
  tʰai ta big ta
  toŋ tsu master tʂu

Words with the same number of syllables>
Words with the same number of syllables
Literary and colloquial readings :
Sichuanese standard meaning Sichuanese standard meaning Sichuanese standard meaning
entirely
different		 躂 da2 跌 diē to fall down 耍 sua3 玩 wán to play 院 yuan4 绕 rào to go around
车 ce1 转 zhuàn to rotate 膀 pang3 碰 pòng to touch 膼 zua2 踢 tī to kick
煪 qiu1 熏 xūn to smoke 豁 ho1 骗 piàn to cheat 挼 rua2 揉 róu to knead
破 po4 剖 pōu to cut open 掌 zang3 扶 fú to support 挎 kua3 脱 tuō to get undressed
晏 ngan4 晚 wǎn late 拢 nong3 到 dào to arrive 蹅 ca1 踩 cǎi to step on
校 gao4 试 shì to try 痨 nao4 毒 dú to poison 滗 bi2 滤 lǜ to filter
角孽 go2nie2 吵架 chǎojià to quarrel 噗鼾 pu2han4 呼噜 hūlu to snore 活路 ho2nu4 工作 gōngzuò job
经佑 jin1you1 照顾 zhàogù to look after 刹角 sa2go2 结束 jiéshù to end 横顺 huan2sen1 反正 fǎnzhèng anyway
行市 hang2si4 能干 nénggàn 　capable 背时 bei4si2 倒霉 dǎoméi bad luck 伸抖 cen1tou3 整齐 zhěngqí neat
往回 wang3hui2 以前 yǐqián before 二回 er4hui2 以后 yǐhòu after 颈项 jin3hang2 脖子 bózi neck
晓得 xiao3de2 知道 zhīdào know 造孽 zao4nie2 可怜 kělián pitiful 安逸 ngan1yi2 舒服 shūfu comfortable
踏踏 ta2ta2 地方 dìfāng place 各人 go2ren2 自己 zìjǐ self 相应 xiang1yin1 便宜 piányi cheap
partially
different		 拉丝 na1si1 拉链 lāliàn zipper 火炮儿 ho3per4 鞭炮 biānpào fireworks 转来 zuan3nai2 回来 húilái to return
院坝 yuan4ba4 院子 yuànzi yard 鼻子 bi2zi3 鼻涕 bítì snot 火闪 ho3san3 闪电 shǎndiàn lightning
灰面 hui1mian4 面粉 miànfěn flour 皮面 pi2mian4 表面 biǎomiàn surface 缺缺 que2que1 缺口 quēkǒu gap
抽抽 cou1cou1 抽屉 chōutì drawer 别个 bie2go4 别人 biérén other people 不了 bu2niao3 不止 bùzhǐ more than
晌午 sang3vu3 午饭 wǔfàn lunch 侧边 ze2bian1 旁边 pángbiān beside 声气 sen1qi4 声音 shēngyīn sound
different
sequence		 鸡公 ji1gong1 公鸡 gōngjī cockerel 鸡母 ji1mu2 母鸡 mǔjī hen 气力 qi4ni2 力气 lìqì strength
闹热 nao4re2 热闹 rènào noisy 人客 ren2ke2 客人 kèrén guest 欢喜 huan1xi3 喜欢 xǐhuān to like

Words with different numbers of syllables>
Words with different numbers of syllables
Literary and colloquial readings :
Sichuanese standard meaning Sichuanese standard meaning Sichuanese standard meaning
歪 wai1 凶恶 xiōng'è rude 巴 ba1 粘贴 zhāntiē to stick 谙 ngan2 以为 yĭwéi to think
奓 za1 张开 zhāngkāi to splay 饮 yin4 浇灌 jiāoguàn to water 抱 bao4 孵化 fūhuà to incubate
左 zo3 调换 diàohuàn to switch 马 ma3 欺负 qīfù to bully 费 fei4 调皮 tiáopí naughty
撵 nian3 追赶 zhūigǎn to run after 号 hao4 批阅 pīyuè to correct 咀 ju2 吮吸 shǔnxī to suck
搌 zan3 挪动 nuódòng to move 争 zen1 欠缺 qiànquē to lack 摸 mo1 磨蹭 mócèng to dally
湓 men4 溢出 yìchū to overflow 槽 cao4 翻动 fāndòng to stir 翕 xie1 裂开 lièkāi to crack
瓢羹儿 piao2ger1 勺 sháo spoon 估到 gu3dao3 逼 bī to force 巴适 ba1si2 好 hǎo good
嘎嘎 ga3ga3 肉 ròu meat 啪啦 pa1la1 堆 dūi pile 几下 ji3ha4 快 kuài to hurry
巴壁虎 ba1bi2fu3 壁虎 bìhǔ gecko 檐老鼠 yan2nao3su3 蝙蝠 biǎnfú bat 扯把子 ce3ba3zi3 撒谎 sāhuǎng to tell a lie
月母子 yue2mu3zi3 孕妇 yùnfù pregnant woman 磕膝头 ke2qi1ter2 膝盖 xīgài knee 丁丁猫儿 din1din1mer1 蜻蜓 qīngtíng dragonfly
雪弹子 xue2dan4zi3 冰雹 bīngbáo hail 贼娃子 zui2wa2zi3 小偷 xiǎotōu thief 冒皮皮 mao4pi2pi2 吹牛 chūiníu to boast

Rank of lexical similarity between Sichuanese and other Chinese dialects>
Rank of lexical similarity between Sichuanese and other Chinese dialects
Literary and colloquial readings :
Rank Chinese dialects Major sub-dialect Percentage of the same vocabulary with Sichuanese
1 Yunnanese Kunming 58.3%
2 Xiang Changsha 54.9%
3 Jianghuai Mandarin Yangzhou 52.7%
4 Gan Nanchang 49.4%
5 Northern Mandarin Beijing 47.8%
6 Wu Suzhou 36.4%
7 Yue Guangzhou 27.4%
8 Hakka Meixian 27.2%
9 Min Xiamen 20.2%

Chinese language(s)

Spoken varieties
Major
subdivisions
MandarinNortheastern * Jilu * Jiao-Liao * Zhongyuan * Southwestern * Lanyin * Jianghuai * Beijing * Dungan * Xuzhou * Luoyang * Jinan * Karamay * Nanking * Sichuanese * Kunming * Shenyang * Harbin * Qingdao * Guanzhong * Dalian * Weihai * Taiwanese Mandarin * Singaporean Mandarin
WuTaihu * Chuqu * Shanghainese * Suzhou * Huzhou * Hangzhou * Ningbo * Changzhou * Wenzhou * Wuxi * Taizhou * Quzhou * Jiangyin * Qihai * Jiangshan * Qingtian * Jinxiang
YueCantonese * Gaoyang * Siyi * Goulou * Wuhua * Yongxun * Luoguang * Qinlian * Guanbao * Haihua * Tanka * Taishan
MinMin Bei * Min Dong * Min Nan * Min Zhong * Puxian * Qiong Wen * Taiwanese Minnan * Teochew * Jian'ou * Hokkien * Haifeng * Zhenan * Longyan * Fuzhou * Zhanjiang * Leizhou * Nanlang * Zhongshan * Sanxiang * Zhangzhou * Quanzhou * Amoy * Shantou * Manjiang * Singaporean Hokkien
XiangChangsha * Shuangfeng
HakkaDapeng * Yuantang
Gan Chang Jing * Ying Yi * Yi Liu * Da Tong
DisputedHuizhou * Jin * Pinghua * Hohhot * Danzhou
Unclassified
Xianghua * Yuebei Tuhua * Linghua
Ausbausprachen
Standard Mandarin * Standard Cantonese * Taiwanese
Phonology
Historical * Cantonese * Mandarin
History
Old Chinese * Middle Chinese * Proto-Min * Proto-Gan * Proto-Mandarin * Han'er | |
Written varieties
Written varieties
Official
Classical * Vernacular
Other
Vernacular Cantonese * Vernacular Donggan * Vernacular Minnan |



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