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The following is a list of Sinitic languages and their dialects. For a traditional dialectological overview, see also varieties of Chinese.

Classification

Proportions of first-language speakers

"Chinese" is a blanket term covering many different varieties spoken across China. Mandarin Chinese is the most popular dialect, and is used as a lingua franca across China.

Linguists classify these varieties as the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Within this broad classification, there are between seven and fourteen dialect groups, depending on the classification.

The conventionally accepted set of seven dialect groups first appeared in the second edition of the dialectology handbook edited by Yuan Jiahua (1961). In order of decreasing number of speakers, they are:

1. Mandarin (including Beijing and Nanjing variants)
2. Wu (including the Shanghainese and Suzhounese variants)
3. Yue (including the Cantonese and Taishanese variants)
4. Min (including the Hokkien and Fuzhounese variants)
5. Hakka (Kejia)
6. Xiang (Hunanese)
7. Gan (Jiangxinese)

The revised classification of Li Rong, used in the Language Atlas of China (1987) added three further groups split from these:

1. Mandarin → Jin
2. Wu → Huizhou
3. Yue → Pinghua
4. Min
5. Hakka (Kejia)
6. Xiang
7. Gan

Summary

The number of speakers derived from statistics or estimates (2019) and were rounded:

List of languages and dialects

In addition to the varieties listed below, it is customary to speak informally of dialects of each province (such as Sichuan dialect and Hainan dialect). These designations do not generally correspond to classifications used by linguists, but each nevertheless has characteristics of its own.

Gan

• 赣语/贛語

Mandarin

• 官话/官話

The number of speakers derived from statistics or estimates (2019) and were rounded:

Hui

• 徽语/徽語

Sometimes subcategory of Wu.

Jin

• 晋语/晉語

Sometimes a subcategory of Mandarin.

Hakka

• 客家话/客家話

Min

• 闽语/閩語

Wu

• 吴语/吳語

Xiang

• 湘语/湘語

Yue

• 粤语/粵語

Pinghua

• 平话/平話

Ba-Shu

• 巴蜀语/巴蜀語

Other

The non-Min dialects of Hainan were once considered Yue, but are now left unclassified:

Mixed languages

In addition to the varieties within the Sinitic branch of Sino-Tibetan, a number of mixed languages also exist that comprise elements of one or more Chinese varieties with other languages.

List in the Atlas

The extensive 1987 Language Atlas of China groups Chinese local varieties into the following units:

• Supergroup (大区 dàqū), of which there are but two: Mandarin and Min
• Group (区 qū), corresponding to the varieties of Chinese of the ISO standard
• Subgroup (片 piàn), which may be mutually unintelligible with other subgroups
• Cluster (小片 xiǎopiàn), which may be mutually unintelligible with other clusters
• Local dialect (点 diǎn), which are the dialects sampled by the Atlas

In the list below, local dialects are not listed. Groups are in bold, subgroups are numbered, and clusters are bulleted.

Northeastern Mandarin

1. Jishen
   • Jiaoning
   • Tongxi
   • Yanji
2. Hafu
   • Zhaofu
   • Changjin
3. Heisong
   • Nenke
   • Jiafu
   • Zhanhua

Jilu Mandarin

1. Baotang
   • Laifu
   • Dingba
   • Tianjin
   • Jizun
   • Luanchang
   • Fulong
2. Shiji
   • Zhaoshen
   • Xingheng
   • Liaotai
3. Canghui
   • Huangle
   • Yangshou
   • Juzhao
   • Zhanghuan

Beijing Mandarin

1. Jingshi
2. Huaicheng
3. Chaofeng
4. Shike

Jiaoliao Mandarin

1. Qingzhou
2. Denglian
3. Gaihuan

Central Plains Mandarin

1. Zhengcao
2. Cailu
3. Luoxu
4. Xinbeng
5. Fenhe
   • Pingyang
   • Jiangzhou
   • Xiezhou
6. Guanzhong
7. Qinlong
8. Longzhong
9. Nanjiang

Lanyin Mandarin

1. Jincheng
2. Yinwu
3. Hexi
4. Tami

Southwestern Mandarin

1. Chengyu
2. Dianxi
   • Yaoli
   • Baolu
3. Qianbei
4. Kungui
5. Guanchi
   • Minjiang
   • Renfu
   • Yamian
   • Lichuan
6. Ebei
7. Wutian
8. Cenjiang
9. Qiannan
10. Xiangnan
11. Guiliu
12. Changhe

Jianghuai Mandarin

1. Hongchao
2. Tairu
3. Huangxiao

(unclassified Mandarin)

1. Hubeihua
2. Henanhua
3. Nanping dialect
4. Yangyu dialect
5. Junhua
6. Longmen dialect

Jin

1. Bingzhou
2. Lüliang
   • Fenzhou
   • Xingxi
3. Shangdang
4. Wutai
5. Dabao
6. Zhanghu
7. Hanxin
   • Cizhang
   • Huoji
8. Zhiyan

Wu

1. Taihu
   • Piling
   • Suhujia
   • Tiaoxi
   • Hangzhou
   • Linshao
   • Yongjiang
2. Taizhou
3. Oujiang
4. Wuzhou
5. Chuqu
   • Chuzhou
   • Longqu
6. Xuanzhou
   • Tongjin
   • Taigao
   • Shiling

Hui

1. Jishe
2. Xiuyi
3. Qide
4. Yanzhou
5. Jingzhan

Gan

1. Changjing
2. Yiliu
3. Jicha
4. Fuguang
5. Yingyi
6. Datong
7. Leizi
8. Dongsui
9. Huaiyue

Xiang

1. Changyi
2. Loushao
3. Jixu

Yue

1. Guangfu
2. Yongxun
3. Gaoyang
4. Siyi
5. Goulou
6. Wuhua
7. Qinlian

Pinghua

1. Guibei
2. Guinan

Hakka

1. Yuetai
   • Jiaying
   • Xinghua
   • Xinhui
   • Shaonan
2. Yuezhong
3. Huizhou
4. Yuebei
5. Tingzhou
6. Ninglong
7. Yugui
8. Tonggu

Southern Min

1. Zaytonese (Quanzhang / Hokkien / Taiwanese / Minnan)
2. Hinghua (Puxian / Putianese)
3. Beitou (Quanpu / Zuanpo)
4. Liong-na (Longyan)
5. Datian (Duacan / Qianluhua)
6. Taoyuan
7. Teochew (Chaoshan / Chaozhou)
8. Sanxiang (Zhongshan Minnan)
9. Luichow (Leizhou)
10. Hainanese (Qiongwen)

Eastern Min

1. Fuqing (S. Houguan)
2. Foochow (C. Houguan)
3. Kutien (Gutian / N. Houguan)
4. Songkou (Yangzhong / W. Houguan / S. Minqing / W. Yongtai)
5. Ningde (S. Funing)
6. Fu'an (C. Funing)
7. Xiapu (E. Funing)
8. Fuding (N. Funing)
9. Taishun (Manjiang)
10. Cangnan (Manhua)
11. Longtu (Longdu)
12. Nanlang

Western Min

1. Jianzhou (Jianou / Nanping / Minbei)
2. Shaojiang
3. Yongan (Minzhong)
4. Xinqiao (Chitian / Houluhua / Wenjiang)

Central Min

1. Youxi (Chengguan)
2. Xibin
3. Zhongxian (Jihua)

Unclassified topolects

• She (the Chinese variety now spoken by the She people)
• Danzhou dialect
• Xianghua
• Shaoguan Tuhua
• Southern Hunan Tuhua

See also

• Varieties of Chinese
• Written Chinese

Notes

1. The official sanction of Mandarin as an official language has given rise to the following varieties of Standard Mandarin in areas that did not originally speak any dialect of the Mandarin group:
   • Cantonese Mandarin
   • Singaporean Mandarin
   • Taiwanese Mandarin
2. Includes:
   • Central Taiwanese
   • Northeastern coastal Taiwanese
   • Northern Taiwanese
   • Southern Taiwanese
3. For example, though the Southwestern Mandarin of Chengdu is intelligible to speakers of Standard Chinese, other local variants of Southwestern Mandarin may not be mutually intelligible to each other.

References

1. Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (2012), Zhōngguó yǔyán dìtú jí (dì 2 bǎn): Hànyǔ fāngyán juǎn 中国语言地图集(第2版):汉语方言卷 [Language Atlas of China (2nd edition): Chinese dialect volume], Beijing: The Commercial Press, pp. 3, 125, ISBN 978-7-100-07054-6.
2. "Home". ethnologue.com.
3. "Glottolog 4.5 -".
4. "Chinese".
5. "Chinese".
6. Wurm, Stephen Adolphe; Li, Rong; Baumann, Theo; Lee, Mei W. (1987), Language Atlas of China, Longman, ISBN 978-962-359-085-3.
7. Kurpaska, Maria (2010). Chinese Language(s): A Look Through the Prism of "The Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects". Walter de Gruyter. p. 63. ISBN 978-3-11-021914-2.
8. Kurpaska (2010), pp. 64–73.

v t e Chinese language
Sinitic languages
Major groups	Mandarin Northeastern Changchun Harbin Shenyang Taz Beijing Beijing Taiwan Jilu Tianjin Jinan Jiaoliao Dalian Qingdao Weihai Central Plains Dongping Gangou Guanzhong Xi'an Luoyang Xuzhou Dungan Xinjiang Southwestern Sichuanese Chengdu–Chongqing Minjiang Leshan Renshou–Fushun Zigong Kunming Nanping Wuhan Gui–Liu Wuming Jianghuai Nanjing Nantong Nanping Lanyin Lanzhou dialect [zh] Urumqi dialect [zh] Xinjiang Other Junjiahua Qinjiang Gyami Jin Zhangjiakou–Hohhot Zhi–Yan Wu Taihu Shanghai Suzhou Wuxi Changzhou Hangzhou (?) Shaoxing Ningbo Jinxiang Jiangyin Shadi Taizhou Wu Taizhou Tiantai Oujiang Wenzhou Rui'an Wencheng Wuzhou Jinhua Chu–Qu Quzhou Jiangshan Qingtian Xuanzhou Xuancheng Huizhou Ji-She [zh] Xiu-Yi [zh] Qi-De [zh] Yanzhou [zh] Jing-Zhan [zh] Gan Chang–Du Nanchang Yi–Liu Ying–Yi Da–Tong Xiang Changyi Changsha Loushao Shuangfeng Xiangxiang Wugang Ji–Xu Yong–Quan Qiyang Min Eastern Houguan Fuzhou Fuqing Changle Gutian Matsu Fu–Ning Ningde Fu'an Other Manjiang Zhongshan Longdu Nanlang Southern Hokkien Quanzhou Zhangzhou Amoy Chawan Taiwan Philippine Pedan Penang Singapore Malaysian Teochew Swatow Haklau Zhongshan Sanxiang Other Zhenan Longyan Other Northern Jian'ou Jianyang Central Pu–Xian Shao–Jiang Leizhou Zhanjiang Hainan Wenchang Haikou Banqiao Hakka Meixian Wuhua Huizhou Tingzhou Changting Taiwanese Sixian Hailu Raoping Yue Yuehai Guangzhou Hong Kong Malaysia Xiguan Jiujiang Shiqi Weitou Dapeng Siyi Taishan Xinhui Other Gao–Yang Goulou Wu–Hua Yong–Xun Luo–Guang Qin–Lian Pinghua Northern Tongdao Younian Southern Yongjiang Guandao Rongjiang Unclassified Shaozhou Tuhua Xiangnan Tuhua Badong Yao Danzhou Mai Shehua Waxiang Yeheni Huizhou Bai Cai-Long Caijia Longjia Luren Laobeizi
Standard forms	Standard Chinese Sichuanese Taiwanese Philippine Malaysian Singaporean Standard Singdarin Cantonese Hokkien Hakka
Phonology	Historical Old Old National Cantonese Hokkien Northern Wu Mandarin Literary and colloquial readings
Grammar	Numerals Classifiers Honorifics Cantonese grammar Classical grammar
Idioms	Chengyu Xiehouyu
Input	Biaoxingma Boshiamy Cangjie Simplified CKC Dayi Pinyin Google Microsoft Sogou Stroke count Wubi (Wang Ma) ZhengMa
History	Old Chinese Eastern Han Middle Chinese Old Mandarin Middle Mandarin Proto-Min Proto-Hakka Ba–Shu Gan
Literary forms	Official Classical Adoption in Japan in Vietnam Vernacular Written Cantonese Written Dungan Written Hokkien Written Sichuanese
Scripts	Logographic Script styles Oracle bone Bronze Seal Clerical Semi-cursive Cursive Chinese characters Simplified Traditional Punctuation Braille Cantonese Mainland Chinese Taiwanese Two-cell Phonetic Cyrillization Dungan Cyrillic Romanization Gwoyeu Romatzyh Hanyu Pinyin MPS II Postal Tongyong Pinyin Wade–Giles EFEO Lessing-Othmer Yale Bopomofo Cantonese Bopomofo Taiwanese Phonetic Symbols Taiwanese kana Taiwanese Hangul Xiao'erjing Nüshu
List of varieties of Chinese

v t e Sino-Tibetan branches
Western Himalayas (Himachal, Uttarakhand, Nepal, Sikkim)	West Himalayish Tamangic Newaric Newar Baram–Thangmi Kiranti Dhimalish Dhimal Toto Lhokpu Lepcha Greater Magaric Magaric Magar Kham Chepangic Chepang Bhujel Raji–Raute Dura–Tandrange
Eastern Himalayas (Tibet, Bhutan, Arunachal)	Bodish Tibetic East Bodish Tshangla Basum Nam? Gongduk ʼOle Tani Chamdo
Myanmar and Indo- Burmese border	Karbi Kuki-Chin Mruic Mru Hkongso Pyu Taman "Naga" Ao Angami–Pochuri Meitei Tangkhulic Zeme Sal Boro–Garo Konyak Jingpho–Luish
East and Southeast Asia	Sinitic Bai Tujia Nungish Karenic Gong Kathu Cai–Long Caijia Longjia Luren Burmo-Qiangic Qiangic Gyalrongic Ersuic Naic Lolo-Burmese Mondzish Burmish Loloish
Dubious (possible isolates) (Arunachal)	Hrusish Hruso Mijiic Kho-Bwa Puroik Miju–Meyor Songlin Greater Siangic Siangic Koro Milang Idu–Taraon
Proposed groupings	Central Tibeto-Burman Kuki-Chin–Naga Macro-Bai Mahakiranti Rung Tibeto-Burman Tibeto-Kanauri
Proto-languages	Proto-Sino-Tibetan Proto-Tibeto-Burman Proto-Loloish Proto-Karenic Proto-Min Proto-Hakka
Italics indicates single languages that are also considered to be separate branches.

• Varieties of Chinese
• Sino-Tibetan languages
• Lists of languages