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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
"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:
- Guan (including Beijing and Nanjing variants)
- Wu (including the Shanghainese and Suzhounese variants)
- Yue (including the Cantonese and Taishanese variants)
- Min (including the Hokkien and Fuzhounese variants)
- Hakka (Kejia)
- Xiang (Hunanese)
- Gan (Jiangxinese)
The revised classification of Li Rong, used in the Language Atlas of China (1987) added three further groups split from these:
Summary
The number of speakers derived from statistics or estimates (2019) and were rounded:[2][3][4]
| Number | Branch | Native Speakers | Dialects |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mandarin | 850,000,000 | 51 |
| 2 | Wu | 95,000,000 | 37 |
| 3 | Yue | 80,000,000 | 52 |
| 4 | Jin | 70,000,000 | 6 |
| 5 | Min | 60,000,000 | 61 |
| 6 | Hakka | 55,000,000 | 10 |
| 7 | Xiang | 50,000,000 | 25 |
| 8 | Gan | 30,000,000 | 9 |
| 9 | Huizhou | 7,000,000 | 13 |
| 10 | Pinghua | 3,000,000 | 2 |
| Total | Chinese | 1,300,000,000 | 266 |
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
| Dongkou Gan | 洞口话 | 洞口話 |
| Huaining Gan | 怀宁话 | 懷寧話 |
| Fuzhou Gan | 抚州话 | 撫州話 |
| Ji'an Gan | 吉安话 | 吉安話 |
| Leiyang Gan | 耒阳话 | 耒陽話 |
| Nanchang Gan | 南昌话 | 南昌話 |
| Xianning Gan | 咸宁话 | 鹹寧話 |
| Yichun Gan | 宜春话 | 宜春話 |
| Yingtan Gan | 鹰潭话 | 鷹潭話 |
Mandarin
- 官话/官話
The number of speakers derived from statistics or estimates (2019) and were rounded:[5]
| Number | Branch | Native Speakers | Dialects |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beijing | 35,000,000 | 7 |
| 2 | Ji–Lu | 110,000,000 | 4 |
| 3 | Jianghuai | 80,000,000 | 6 |
| 4 | Jiao–Liao | 35,000,000 | 4 |
| 5 | Lan–Yin | 10,000,000 | 3 |
| 6 | Northeastern | 100,000,000 | 4 |
| 7 | Southwestern | 280,000,000 | 11 |
| 8 | Zhongyuan | 200,000,000 | 11 |
| Total | Mandarin | 850,000,000 | 50 |
Hui
- 徽语/徽語
Sometimes subcategory of Wu.