How different are the Chinese dialects?

Chinese Dialects Are Actually Different Chinese Languages There are seven main dialects in China, and they are all very different. So, for example, if someone speaks Taiwanese, that is utterly and completely different from both Mandarin and Cantonese. Similarly, Shanghainese is completely different again.

What is the most beautiful Chinese dialect?

Northeastern Mandarin is beautiful and stardard,too,especial Harbin. Harbin dialect is even more close to stardard Mandarin than Beijing dialect.

What are the top 5 dialects spoken in China?

Nevertheless, here’s a list of the 8 most popular Chinese dialects;

• Mandarin. Less widely known in the Western world as Putonghua, meaning ‘common speak’.
• Cantonese. Also known as the Yue dialect.
• Min. Spoken in the Fujian province and other provinces in Southeastern region.
• Hakka.
• Gan.
• Xiang.
• Wu Chinese.

Which Chinese dialect is the hardest?

1. Mandarin Chinese. Interestingly, the hardest language to learn is also the most widely spoken native language in the world. Mandarin Chinese is challenging for a number of reasons.

How different is Cantonese vs Mandarin?

The pronunciation of shared words in Cantonese and Mandarin is totally different. Mandarin utilizes four tones, whereas Cantonese has at least six and sometimes as many as nine. And different tones have different meanings, even when used for the same word.

Is Putonghua a dialect?

In Mainland China, there is a standardised version of this dialect called Putonghua, literally ‘common language’. This is a somewhat artificial dialect based on the Northeastern version of standard Mandarin, promoted by the Chinese government to enable people across the mainland to communicate.

Which dialect is closest to Old Chinese?

The oldest Chinese dialect, Hokkien

• For me, while I can find plenty similarities between Cantonese and Mandarin, I find none between Hokkien and Mandarin.
• The reason for such a huge difference is that, Hokkien is a much older language, older than Cantonese.
• Hokkien is called Fujianhua (福建话) in Mandarin.

How many dialects are there in Chinese?

Eight different dialects, any of which might technically be their own language, depending on how you define it. Each of these eight “dialects” contains their own subdialects and regional variations – many of which could officially count as a dialect too.

What is the rarest dialect of Chinese?

Wenzhounese
Due to its long history and the isolation of the region in which it is spoken, Wenzhounese is so unusual in its phonology that it has the reputation of being the least comprehensible dialect for an average Mandarin speaker.

What language does WAYV sing in?

All of them are fluent in Mandarin. Most of them are fluent in English. WinWin states that many times the members will use 2 or 3 languages in one sentence.

Does China have different dialects?

Chinese Dialects and Regionality China is a huge country, and similar to the way in which there are different accents across America, there are different dialects spoken in China depending on the region: As mentioned earlier, Mandarin, or Putonghua, can be heard all over China as it is the official language.

What is the most widely spoken language in China?

1 As mentioned earlier, Mandarin, or Putonghua, can be heard all over China as it is the official language. 2 The Gan dialect can be heard in western parts of China. 3 Kejia, or Hakka, is the language of Hakka people who are spread out across pockets in Taiwan, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guizhou, and beyond.

Do Chinese characters have different pronunciations in different languages?

However, the same character is pronounced differently depending on which dialect one speaks. Let’s take 我 for example, the word for “I” or “me.” In Mandarin, it is pronounced “wo.” In Wu, it is pronounced “ngu.” In Min, “gua.” In Cantonese, “ngo.” You get the idea.

Why is Mandarin the official language of China?

This is largely because Mandarin has been the official national language since 1913. Despite the large differences among Chinese dialects, there is one thing in common—they all share the same writing system based on Chinese characters.