This article is about the language of Shanghai. For related languages and dialects, see Wu Chinese. For other uses, see Shanghainese (disambiguation).
Shanghainese
上海閒話 / 上海闲话, zaon-he ghe-gho 滬語 / 沪语, wu-gniu
Pronunciation
[zɑ̃̀hɛ́ɦɛ̀ɦó], [ɦùɲý]
Native to
China
Region
Shanghainese proper traditionally in the urban center of Shanghai; Bendihua varieties spoken throughout Shanghai and parts of nearby Nantong
Ethnicity
Shanghainese
Native speakers
14 million[citation needed] (2013)
Language family
Sino-Tibetan
Sinitic
Chinese
Wu
Taihu/Northern
Su–Hu–Jia / Shanghai
Shanghainese
Writing system
Chinese characters
Language codes
ISO 639-3
–
ISO 639-6
suji
Linguist List
wuu-sha
Glottolog
shan1293 Shanghainese
Linguasphere
79-AAA-dbb >
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Shanghainese
Traditional Chinese
上海話
Simplified Chinese
上海话
Literal meaning
Shanghai language
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Shànghǎihuà
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping
soeng5 hoi2 waa6-2
Shanghainese
Traditional Chinese
上海閒話
Simplified Chinese
上海闲话
Shanghainese Romanization
Zaon6 he5 ghe6 gho6 [zɑ̃̀hɛ́ɦɛ̀ɦò]
Literal meaning
Shanghai speech
Transcriptions
Wu
Shanghainese Romanization
Zaon6 he5 ghe6 gho6 [zɑ̃̀hɛ́ɦɛ̀ɦò]
Hu language
Traditional Chinese
滬語
Simplified Chinese
沪语
Shanghainese Romanization
Wu6 gniu6 [ɦùȵỳ]
Literal meaning
Hu (Shanghai) language
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Hùyǔ
Wu
Shanghainese Romanization
Wu6 gniu6 [ɦùȵỳ]
The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the central districts of the city of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Shanghainese, like the rest of the Wu language group, is mutually unintelligible with other varieties of Chinese, such as Mandarin.[1]
Shanghainese belongs to a separate group of the Taihu Wu subgroup. With nearly 14 million speakers, Shanghainese is also the largest single form of Wu Chinese. Since the late 19th century it has served as the lingua franca of the entire Yangtze River Delta region, but in recent decades its status has declined relative to Mandarin, which most Shanghainese speakers can also speak.[2]
Like other Wu varieties, Shanghainese is rich in vowels and consonants, with around twenty unique vowel qualities, twelve of which are phonemic. Similarly, Shanghainese also has voiced obstruent initials, which is rare outside of Wu and Xiang varieties. Shanghainese also has a low number of tones compared to other languages in Southern China and has a system of tone sandhi similar to Japanese pitch accent.
^Chinese languages at the Encyclopædia Britannica
^Chen, Yiya; Gussenhoven, Carlos (2015). "Shanghai Chinese". Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 45 (3): 321. doi:10.1017/S0025100315000043. ISSN 0025-1003. JSTOR 26352263. S2CID 232347404.
The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the central districts of the city of...
Shanghainese people (Chinese: 上海人; pinyin: Shànghǎirén; Shanghainese: Zaanhe-nyin [zɑ̃̀hɛ́.ɲɪ̀ɲ]) are an ethnic group of Shanghai Hukou descent or people...
flavour. It is used in Haipai cuisine, especially on pork chops and Shanghainese borscht. A descendant of an earlier form of the sauce is found in Taiwan...
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pinyin in general does not mark tones. The name Wugniu comes from the Shanghainese pronunciation of 吴语. Either of them is the default romanization scheme...
Jiangnan cuisine, which are strongly associated with Shanghai and Wuxi. In Shanghainese, these are also known as siaulon moedeu or xiaolong mantou, as Wu Chinese-speaking...
include Northern Wu lects such as Shanghainese and Suzhounese, though it is largely breaking down in Shanghainese due to Mandarin influence. Sinitic...
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Wang (Wang Mingzhu) Xin Zhilei as Li Li You Benchang as Ye Shu (Yaso in Shanghainese) Zheng Kai as Mr Wei Chen Long as Tao Tao Wu Yue as Jin Hua Papi Jiang...
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Teochew) as their mother tongue. Varieties of Wu Chinese, particularly Shanghainese and the mutually unintelligible Wenzhounese, are spoken by a minority...
non-Cantonese Chinese cuisines (especially Hakka, Teochew, Hokkien and Shanghainese), as well as Japanese, Korean and Southeast Asian cuisines, due to Hong...
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but cannot be inputted using certain IMEs, with one example being the Shanghainese-language character U+20C8E 𠲎 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-20C8E—a composition...
marked, including the present tense. For instance, in Suzhounese and Old Shanghainese, the word 哉 is used. The particle is placed at the end of a clause, and...
in transliteration from Cantonese 雲吞 / 云吞 (wan4 tan1) and wenden from Shanghainese 餛飩 / 馄饨 (hhun den). Even though there are many different styles of wonton...
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