What’d you Say? An Introduction to the Sichuanese Mandarin Dialect

Photo: baike

Buzzes and lots of "er's" and "ol's" and "lo's" is all you'll hear the first time you touch down in Chengdu. But what you're actually hearing is Mandarin being spoken in a charming southwestern drawl. Just as English has its' own various styles, Mandarin is teeming with different accents and dialects as well. Quite often, words and pronunciation can vary drastically in different regions of China. One such dialect is the southwestern Mandarin dialect known as Sichuanhua. Expats in Chengdu hear the Sichuan dialect everywhere, from Chengdu's famous hotpot restaurants to its stores, clubs and bars. If you're living in Chengdu or nearby, you should definitely master a few useful Sichuanhua words and phrases. It will earn you more respect from the locals, get lower prices when haggling and provide you with a greater understanding of Sichuan's people and culture.

Notable Pronunciation Differences

1. The "h" sound in Mandarin pinyin is dropped when it is in the "sh", "ch" and "zh" form. For example, "shi" is pronounced as a slurred "si" in Sichuanese. This creates the buzzing sound of the Sichuan Mandarin accent.
2. The "ue" pinyin sound in pinyin forms like "jue" are pronounced like the "ol" sound in the English word "whole". For example, "jue" is pronounced as "jol".
3. The pinyin "an" sound is pronounced like the "an" in the English word "can".
4. Sometimes the "e" in "ge", "re", "de" and "ke" change to an "ei" sound. For example, the character for hot, rè热，pronounces as "rěi" in Sichuanese Mandarin. This is not 100 percent consistent; see number five below.
5. Sometimes "ge", "re", "le" and "ke" sound close to "go", "ro", "lo" and "ko". Note that the "o" there is pronounced like the "o" in the pinyin sounds "po" and "mo".
6. Chinese characters with the Mandarin pinyin pronunciation of "guo" take on the pronunciation of "gui" in Sichuanese Mandarin. For example, America, měiguó美国，is said as mèiguì.
7. If "h" starts a certain pinyin sound, like "hu", it is pronounced as an "f". For example, passport, hùzhào 护照, has the sound of fùzào. Note how the zhao loses the "h" sound.
8. If "n" starts a certain Mandarin pinyin sound, it is pronounced as a subtle and slurred "ln" combination.
9. There is no real magic formula for understanding tone differences in Sichuanese Mandarin. Explanations among experts vary. Many tones are the same as Mandarin, but a lot are also completely different. The examples presented here are some examples of elementary level words that are different from Mandarin.
10. The level tone (one) is used infrequently in Sichuanhua. It usually takes on the sound of the neutral tone (five) or the rising tone (two).

Ten Sichuanhua Words You Must Know

Below is a chart of some basic Sichuanhua words that differ greatly from standard Mandarin.

Some Useful Sichuanhua Phrases

Here are a few useful phrases to throw around. It will throw off, and maybe amaze, the locals a bit if you say the phrase correctly.

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