Sage-Tips

Is Fuzhounese same as Hokkien?

No such thing as a “Hokkien” dialect in Hokkien (Fujian) province. If you are in the capital of Fujian, Fuzhou, they speak the Fuzhou dialect (variously referred to also as ‘Hockchew’ or the Min-dong dialect). So almost no one in the capital of Fujian speaks Hokkien. If you are in Putien, they speak Hinghua.

Can different dialects of Chinese understand each other?

Each can understand the other, but they are unable to speak the other’s dialect. For example, a storeowner who only speaks Cantonese has no problem doing business with a customer that only speaks Mandarin, but will reply either in Cantonese or through gestures; and vice-versa.

Why does China have so many different dialects?

In ancient times, due to the undeveloped transportation, it was difficult to reach even if only a few or a hundred miles apart, and there was little communication, which was called isolation. This isolation led to many differences in customs, languages and so on, which naturally included many different dialects.

Is Fuzhounese a dialect?

Fuzhounese (平話 / Bàng-uâ) Fuzhounese is a variety of Min Dong (Eastern Min), a branch of Min Chinese spoken in eastern parts of Fujian Province in China, and also in Singapore and Malaysia, by about 10 million people. It is also known as Fuzhou dialect, Foochow, Hoochew, Fuzhounese or Fuzhouhua (福州話).

How different is Fuzhounese?

Like all Chinese varieties, the Fuzhou dialect is a tonal language, and has extensive sandhi rules in the initials, rimes, and tones. These complicated rules make Fuzhou dialect one of the most difficult Chinese varieties.

How different are different Chinese languages?

Officially, there are ten different varieties of Chinese, although some sources only list eight because the last two are only spoken by less than 1\% of the population. These variants are written using Chinese characters and do not have their own written form.

Where is Fuzhounese?

China
Fuzhou (/fuːˈdʒoʊ/; Chinese: 福州; pinyin: Fúzhōu, Fuzhounese: Hokchew, Hók-ciŭ), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong (lit.