开封话

Kaifeng Mandarin

Sinitic (Mandarin, Zhongyuan — Zheng-Cao)

FamilySinitic (Mandarin, Zhongyuan — Zheng-Cao) Speakers~5M (Kaifeng city + prefecture) ScriptHan characters (Simplified) CountriesChina (Henan: Kaifeng) Official inNo (regional; Putonghua is official) ISO 639-3cmn Glottocodezhon1235

Kaifeng Mandarin (开封话) is a Zheng-Cao subgroup variety of Zhongyuan (Central Plains) Mandarin spoken by ~5M people in and around Kaifeng, Henan. Kaifeng was the capital of the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) — the largest city in the world at the time — and its speech preserves an important early-Mandarin stratum: the historical Middle Chinese entering tone (rusheng) has merged into yinping ˨˦ for voiceless initials (unlike Beijing, where rusheng dispersed across all four tones), and the 4-tone system (yinping ˨˦, yangping ˦˨, shangsheng ˥˧, qusheng ˧˩˨) is shared in broad outline with Zhengzhou and other Zhongyuan dialects. Like other Henan varieties it preserves the /tsʰ/-/tʂʰ/ distinction less rigidly than Standard Mandarin and has a productive diminutive 儿 -er suffix (轻声 light tone).

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Kaifeng Mandarin

Water

水

ʂuei˥˧

Fire

火

xuo˥˧

Sun

日头

ʐəɻ˧˩˨ tʰou˦˨

Moon

月亮

yɛ˦˨ liaŋ˧˩˨

Star

星星

ɕiəŋ˨˦ ɕiəŋ

Night

晚上

wan˥˧ ʂaŋ

Rain

雨

y˥˧

Snow

雪

ɕyɛ˨˦

Wind

风

fəŋ˨˦

Earth

土

tʰu˥˧

Stone

石头

ʂʅ˦˨ tʰou

Mountain

山

ʂan˨˦

Sea

海

xai˥˧

Mother

妈

ma˨˦

Father

爹

tiɛ˨˦

I

我

uo˥˧

You

你

ȵi˥˧

We

咱 / 俺

tsan˦˨ / an˥˧

Name

名儿

miə̃ɻ˦˨

Person

人

ʐən˦˨

Head

头

tʰou˦˨

Eye

眼

ian˥˧

Ear

耳朵

ɚ˥˧ tuo

Nose

鼻子

pi˦˨ tsɨ

Mouth

嘴

tsuei˥˧

Tooth

牙

ja˦˨

Tongue

舌头

ʂɛ˦˨ tʰəu˦˨

Hand

手

ʂou˥˧

Foot

脚

tɕyo˨˦

Heart

心

ɕiən˨˦

Bone

骨头

ku˨˦ tʰəu˦˨

Blood

血

ɕiɛ˨˦

Poop

屎

ʂz̩˥˧

Love

爱

ai˧˩˨

Tree

树

ʂu˧˩˨

Dog

狗

kou˥˧

Cat

猫

mau˨˦

Fish

鱼

y˦˨

Bird

鸟

niau˥˧

Egg

鸡蛋

tɕi˨˦ tan˧˩˨

Bear

熊

ɕyəŋ˦˨

Horse

马

ma˥˧

House

屋

u˨˦

Milk

牛奶

niou˦˨ nai˥˧

Honey

蜂蜜

fəŋ˨˦ mi˨˦

Salt

盐

ian˦˨

Wine

葡萄酒

pʰu˦˨ tʰau˦˨ tɕiəu˥˧

Rice

米

mi˥˧

Iron

铁

tʰiɛ˨˦

Wheel

轮子

lwən˦˨ tsɨ

Silk

丝

sz̩˨˦

Book

书

ʂu˨˦

Eat

吃

tʂʰʅ˨˦

Drink

喝

xɤ˨˦

Sleep

睡觉

ʂwei˧˩˨ tɕjau˧˩˨

One

一

i˨˦

Two

二

ɚ˧˩˨

Three

三

san˨˦

Four

四

sɿ˧˩˨

Five

五

u˥˧

Hundred

百

pɛ˨˦

Hello

你好

ni˥˧ xau˥˧

Thank you

谢谢

ɕiɛ˧˩˨ ɕiɛ

Good

好

xau˥˧

New

新

ɕiən˨˦

Red

红

xuəŋ˦˨

White

白

pɛ˦˨

Black

黑

xei˨˦

Green

绿

ly˨˦

Blue

蓝

lan˦˨

Cuckoo

布谷鸟

pu˧˩˨ ku˨˦ niau˥˧

Computer

电脑

tiɛn˧˩˨ nau˥˧

Sushi

寿司

ʂou˧˩˨ sz̩˨˦

Tea

茶

tʂʰa˦˨

Sugar

糖

tʰaŋ˦˨

Orange

橙

tʂʰɤŋ˦˨

Ninety-nine

九十九

tɕiou˥˧ ʂʅ˦˨ tɕiou˥˧

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Sinitic (Mandarin, Zhongyuan — Zheng-Cao)

Meaning Kaifeng MandarinZhongyuan MandarinJinan MandarinXi'an MandarinTianjin MandarinChengdu MandarinSichuan Mandarin
Water 水 /ʂuei˥˧/ 水 /ʂuei˥˧/ 水 /ʂwei˥˥/ 水 /fei˥˧/ 水 /suei˩˧/ 水 /suei˥˧/ 水 /suei˥˧/
Fire 火 /xuo˥˧/ 火 /xuo˥˧/ 火 /xuo˥˥/ 火 /xuo˥˧/ 火 /xwo˩˧/ 火 /xo˥˧/ 火 /xo˥˧/
Sun 日头 /ʐəɻ˧˩˨ tʰou˦˨/ 太阳 /tʰai˧˩˨ iaŋ˦˨/ 太阳 /tʰai˨˩ iaŋ˦˨/ 日头 /ʐɿ˥˥ tʰou˨˦/ 日头 /ʐʅ˥˧ tʰoʊ˦˥/ 太阳 /tʰai˨˩˧ iaŋ˨˩/ 太阳 /tʰai˨˩˧ iaŋ˨˩/
Moon 月亮 /yɛ˦˨ liaŋ˧˩˨/ 月亮 /yɛ˨˦ liaŋ/ 月亮 /yɛ˨˩ liaŋ˨˩/ 月亮 /ye˥˥ liaŋ˨˩/ 月亮 /ɥɛ˥˧ ljaŋ/ 月亮 /ye˨˩ lia̠ŋ˨˩˧/ 月亮 /ye˨˩ liaŋ˨˩˧/
Star 星星 /ɕiəŋ˨˦ ɕiəŋ/ 星星 /ɕiŋ˨˦ ɕiŋ/ 星 /ɕiŋ˨˩˧/ 星星 /ɕiɣ̃˨˩ ɕiɣ̃/ 星星 /ɕiŋ˨˩ ɕiŋ/ 星星 /ɕin˥˥ ɕin˥˥/ 星星 /ɕin˥ ɕin/
Night 晚上 /wan˥˧ ʂaŋ/ 晚上 /uan˥˧ saŋ/ 晚上 /wã˥˥ ʂaŋ/ 晚上 /van˥˧ ʂaŋ/ 晚上 /wan˩˧ ʂɑŋ/ 晚上 /wan˥˧ saŋ/ 晚上 /wan˥˧ saŋ/
Rain 雨 /y˥˧/ 雨 /y˥˧/ 雨 /y˥˥/ 雨 /y˥˧/ 雨 /y˩˧/ 雨 /y˥˧/ 雨 /y˥˧/
Snow 雪 /ɕyɛ˨˦/ 雪 /ɕyɛ˨˦/ 雪 /ɕyə˨˩˧/ 雪 /ɕyɛ˨˩/ 雪 /ɕye˨˩/ 雪 /ɕye˨˩/ 雪 /ɕye˨˩/
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Han readings compared

Character Kaifeng MandarinJinan MandarinTianjin MandarinSichuan MandarinChengdu MandarinQingdao MandarinKunming Mandarin
一 yi²⁴ /i˨˦/ yi²¹³ /i˨˩˧/ yi²¹ /i˨˩/ yi²¹ /i˨˩/ yi²¹ /i˨˩/ yi⁵⁵ /i˥˥/ yi³¹ /i˧˩/
二 er³¹² /ɚ˧˩˨/ er²¹ /ɚ˨˩/ er⁵³ /ɚ˥˧/ er²¹³ /ɚ˨˩˧/ er²¹³ /ɚ˨˩˧/ er⁵³ /ɚ˥˧/ er²¹² /ɚ˨˩˨/
三 san²⁴ /san˨˦/ san²¹³ /sã˨˩˧/ san²¹ /sɑn˨˩/ san⁵⁵ /san˥˥/ san⁵⁵ /san˥˥/ san²¹³ /sã˨˩˧/ san⁴⁴ /sã˦˦/
四 si³¹² /sɿ˧˩˨/ si²¹ /sɿ˨˩/ si⁵³ /sɿ˥˧/ si²¹³ /sɿ˨˩˧/ si²¹³ /sɿ˨˩˧/ si⁵³ /sɿ˥˧/ si²¹² /sɿ˨˩˨/
五 wu⁵³ /u˥˧/ wu⁵⁵ /u˥˥/ wu¹³ /u˩˧/ wu⁵³ /u˥˧/ wu⁵³ /u˥˧/ wu⁵⁵ /u˥˥/ wu⁵³ /u˥˧/
六 liu²⁴ /liəu˨˦/ lou²¹ /lou˨˩/ liu⁵³ /liou˥˧/ neu²¹ /nəu˨˩/ nu²¹ /nu˨˩/ liou⁵³ /liou˥˧/ liu³¹ /liu˧˩/
七 qi²⁴ /tɕʰi˨˦/ qi²¹³ /tɕʰi˨˩˧/ qi²¹ /tɕʰi˨˩/ qi²¹ /tɕʰi˨˩/ qi²¹ /tɕʰi˨˩/ qi⁵⁵ /tɕʰi˥˥/ qi³¹ /tɕʰi˧˩/
八 ba²⁴ /pa˨˦/ ba²¹³ /pa˨˩˧/ ba²¹ /pa˨˩/ ba²¹ /pa˨˩/ ba²¹ /pa˨˩/ ba⁵⁵ /pa˥˥/ ba³¹ /pa˧˩/
九 jiu⁵³ /tɕiəu˥˧/ jiu⁵⁵ /tɕiou˥˥/ jiu¹³ /tɕiou˩˧/ jiu⁵³ /tɕiəu˥˧/ jiu⁵³ /tɕiəu˥˧/ jiu⁵⁵ /tɕiou˥˥/ jiu⁵³ /tɕiou˥˧/
十 shi⁴² /ʂʐ̩˦˨/ shi⁴² /ʂʐ̩˦˨/ shi⁴⁵ /ʂʐ̩˦˥/ si²¹ /sɿ˨˩/ si²¹ /sɿ˨˩/ shi⁴² /ʂʐ̩˦˨/ si³¹ /sɿ˧˩/
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