Huizhou Chinese

Huizhou
徽州話 / 徽州话
Native toChina
RegionHuizhou, southern Anhui, neighbouring portions of Zhejiang and Jiangxi
Native speakers
5.4 million (2021)
Varieties
  • Ji–She
  • Xiu–Yi
  • Qi–De
  • Yanzhou
  • Jing–Zhan
Language codes
ISO 639-3czh
Glottologhuiz1242
Linguasphere79-AAA-da
Huizhou Chinese
Simplified Chinese徽州
Traditional Chinese徽州話
Hanyu PinyinHuīzhōuhuà
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinHuīzhōuhuà
Bopomofoㄏㄨㄟ ㄓㄡ ㄏㄨㄚˋ
Wade–GilesHui1-chou1-hua4
Tongyong PinyinHuei-jhou-huà
IPA[xwéɪ.ʈʂóʊ.xwâ]
other Mandarin
Xiao'erjingﺧُﻮِﺟِﻮْ ﺧُﻮَ
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationFāijāu Wá
Jyutpingzau1 waa6
IPA[fɐj˥ tsɐw˥ wa˨]
Alternative Chinese name
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese徽語
Hanyu PinyinHuīyǔ
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinHuīyǔ
Bopomofoㄏㄨㄟ ㄩˇ
Wade–GilesHui1-yü3
Tongyong PinyinHuei-yǔ
IPA[xwéɪ.ỳ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationFāi Yuh
Jyutpingfai1 jyu5
IPA[fɐj˥ jy˩˧]

Huizhou (Chinese: 徽州话), or the Hui dialect (Chinese: 徽语), is a group of Sinitic languages spoken in and around the historical region of Huizhou (for which it is named), in about ten or so mountainous counties in southern Anhui, plus a few more in neighbouring Zhejiang and Jiangxi.

Although the Hui area is small compared with other Chinese dialect groups, it displays a very high degree of internal variation, and the lect is also situated near many mutually unintelligible varieties, making its classification difficult. It has been previously grouped with Huai, Wu, and Gan, and some even believe that it does not even constitute a singular language family.