Since China is such a vast country, it’s no surprise that there are so many different ways of speaking Mandarin. In fact, lots of the dialects of Chinese bear more resemblance to classical forms of the language than to standard Mandarin. The official strain of the language is known as Pǔtōnghuà (普通话), and it is based on the northern dialects including Běijīnghuà. Here is our guide to the main non-standard dialects, including useful phrases and a quick history.
Běijīnghuà 北京话 Standard Mandarin was given official status in 1909 under the Qing Dynasty, who referred to it as guóyǔ (国语). It was based on the language spoken in the northern regions of China, centred on the capital. However, the dialect of Beijing is different from Pǔtōnghuà. The most striking variation is the exaggeration of the ‘r’ sound, known linguistically as rhoticization. The Chinese call it érhuà, and it gives the dialect a ‘pirate’ sound. Bùzhīdào (“I don’t know”) sounds more like bùrdào, and the shopping street Dà Zhà Lán comes out as Dàshlàr. Speakers of Běijīnghuàplace greater emphasis on tones, which is why Mandarin learners find the Beijing accent easier to understand. As for vocabulary differences, there is a vast lexicon of Beijing slang that can be difficult to decipher for outsiders.
Wú 吴
Widely known as Shanghainese, the Wú dialect is spoken by 77 million people in Shanghai, Zhejiang Province, south Jiangsu, and parts of Anhui, Jiangxi and Fujian. Wú can be split into several sub-dialects including Sūzhōuhuà, Wēnzhōuhuà and Shànghǎihuà. The Suzhou variant used to be the prestige version, lauded for its softness and nicknamed “wú róng ruǎn yǔ” (the tender Wu language). However, as the city of Shanghai grew in population and importance, the harsher Shànghǎihuà became the representative dialect of Wú. Spectators were less generous, mimicking the way Shanghainese locals speak, as “ji ji ga ga”. If you’ve spent any time in Shanghai, you’ll probably have heard phrases like “Nong ho!” (equivalent of ni hao), “ho va?” (hao ma?) and tze wei (zai jian).
Yue 粤
Also known as Guangdonghua, the Yue dialect is spoken by over 71 million people in China, and many more in overseas Chinese communities. Its representative sub-dialect is Cantonese, spoken in Hong Kong and much of Guangdong Province. Yue is almost impossible to understand by members of other dialects as well as speakers of standard Mandarin. It is actually closer to Classical Chinese in pronunciation and grammar than it is to Pǔtōnghuà. The dialect developed early in Chinese history, during the Qin Dynasty that began in 221 BC. It was the official language of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 BC) and some ancient poems still rhyme when read aloud in Cantonese, unlike Mandarin. Cantonese has a reputation for being harder to learn than Mandarin thanks to its multitude of tones (six or nine, depending on how you classify them). Useful phrases include “Nei hou” (hello) and “Ngo hoi nei” (I love you).
