This article uses Pe̍h-ōe-jī and IPA for transcription.
Syllables
A syllable in Hokkien consists of an initial, a final, and a tone.
In total, Hokkien uses around 800 toneless combinations of initials and finals, and around 2250~2450 total syllables with tones (counting only attested meaningful syllables, not all theoretically possible combinations).[1]
The number of syllables in Hokkien is far greater than in any other Sinitic language. For comparison, Cantonese and Hokchew use around 1800 toned syllables, Beijing Mandarin has 1350 syllables, and Suzhou Wu has only 1100 syllables.[1]
A total of 15 initials (or 14, in dialects with /dz/ merged with /l/) are used in Hokkien. This number does not include the three nasal consonants ([m], [n], [ŋ]), which are usually considered allophones of the non-nasal voiced initials (e.g. 命; miā; 'life' is analyzed as /bĩã⊇/, but pronounced as [mĩã²²]). This allophony also leads to a notable feature of the Hokkien accent in other languages, such as Japanese or Mandarin, when the nasal sounds like [m] are denasalized into non-nasal voiced consonants like [b].[2]
Syllables starting with vowels or approximants (/w/, /j/) are considered to have the zero initial /∅/ (which can be articulated as a glottal stop [ʔ]).
Allophones of the consonants in urban Zhangzhou Hokkien[3]
Phoneme
Phonetic realisation
_/[i; j]
_/[u; w]
_/[Ṽ; ŋ̍]
elsewhere
/p/
[p]
[pʷ]
[p]
[p]
/pʰ/
[pʰ]
[pʰʷ]
[pʰ]
[pʰ]
/b/
[ɓ]
[βʷ]
[m]
[ɓ]
/t/
[t̪]
[t̻ʷ]
[t]
[t]
/tʰ/
[t̪ʰ]
[t̻ʰʷ]
[tʰ]
[tʰ]
/l/
[ɗ̪]
[lʷ]
[n]
[ɗ]
/k/
[kʲ]
[kʷ]
[k]
[k]
/kʰ/
[kʰʲ]
[kʰʷ]
[kʰ]
[kʰ]
/g/
[ɠʲ]
[ɣʷ]
[ŋ]
[ɠ]
/∅/
[ʔʲ]/∅
[ʔʷ]/∅
[ʔ]/∅
[ʔ]/∅
/s/
[ɕ]
[ʃ]
[s]
[s]
/z/
[ʝ]
[ʒ]
[z]
[z]
/h/
[ħʲ]
[hʷ]
[ɦ]
[ħ]
/ts/
[tɕ]
[tʃ]
[ts]
[ts]
/tsʰ/
[tɕʰ]
[tʃʰ]
[tsʰ]
[tsʰ]
The phoneme /l/ in Hokkien has many possible articulations. It ranges between [d], [ɗ], [l] and [ɾ]. Its nasal allophone is uniformly described as [n]. In directly-borrowed loanwords (i.e. those not borrowed orthographically via Mandarin or Japanese), foreign /d/ may be represented with Hokkien /l/: 鐳; lui; 'coin' (from Dutchduit via Malay), 羅辛; lô-sin; 'dozen' (from English), 老君; ló-kun; 'doctor' (from Malay dukun), 棉蘭; Mî-lân; 'Medan'.
As a phoneme, /dz/ (also realized as [z]) is found predominantly in southern dialects of Hokkien. In many northern dialects, such as urban Quanzhou and Amoy, it has merged with /l/. This merger is still incomplete in some peripheral northern dialects, such as those of Tong'an or Yongchun, where /dz/ is reported to be present in some localities, in the speech of older speakers, or in a limited set of words (usually the more common ones, such as 日; ji̍t; 'day' or 二; jī; 'two').[4] Some Southern Hokkien and Lengna dialects merge /dz/ with /g/ (among the Southern Hokkien dialects, such merger is found in the north of Zhangpu, in Taichung, or, under the Lengna influence, in Hua'an).[5]
While generally preserving /dz/, Zhangzhou Hokkien may still merge it with /l/ in some words, usually before /-u-/. E.g., characters like 潤jūn 'wet', 軟joán 'soft', 偌jǒa 'how much' are now pronounced lūn, loán, lǒa even in Zhangzhou, although older Hokkien dictionaries record them with /dz/.
Finals
A final in Hokkien consists of a nucleus (a vowel, a diphthong, or a syllabic nasal /m̩/ or /ŋ̍/), with an optional medial (/i/ or /u/, some dialects also allow /ɯ/) and coda (/m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /p/, /t/, /k/, /ʔ/).
There are around 80 to 90 finals in Hokkien. The exact number can vary depending on the specific dialect, as well as the inclusion of marginal finals from onomatopoeia and contractions. Lengna Min, which is sometimes included in Hokkien, has around 60 finals, due to the loss of the /-ʔ/ coda.[6]
In the tables below, rare rimes used in a small number of words are shaded. Finals used only in the northern or southern dialects of Hokkien are marked with N and S respectively.
Open-vowel finals
Finals with the coda /-ʔ/ are considered to be the checked tone counterparts for the open-vowel finals.
↑ /ə/ is not found in Amoy Hokkien. In Pe̍h-ōe-jī, it may be written with -er, -ö, or -o̤.
↑ /ɛ/ is not found in Amoy Hokkien. The original Pe̍h-ōe-jī by W.H.Medhurst used -ay for it. In later variations of Pe̍h-ōe-jī, it may be written with -ee, -e͘, -ɛ, or -a̤.
↑ /ɯ/ is not found in Amoy Hokkien. In Pe̍h-ōe-jī, it may be written with -ir, -ü, or -ṳ.
↑ /iɔʔ/ — only found in urban Zhangzhou dialect in the interjection 諾io̍͘h "yeah; right".
↑ /iuʔ/ — used in onomatopoeia and ideophones, e.g. 搐搐彈 tiuh-tiuh-tōaⁿ "aching, painful", 密喌喌 ba̍t-chiuh-chiuh "very dense; thick".
↑ /iauʔ/ — used in onomatopoeia and ideophones, e.g. 靜悄悄 chēng-chiauh-chiauh "quiet; tranquil", 吱吱嚼嚼 chi-chi-chia̍uh-chia̍uh "(describes a rapid speech, chattering)", 硬碻碻 ngɛ̄-khia̍uh-khia̍uh "very hard, solid".
The vowel -a/a/ is usually [ɐ].
The vowel ɛ/ɛ/ is only found in Southern dialects of Hokkien.
The final -o͘/ɔ/ is realized as a diphthong -ou[ou] in many rural Zhangzhou dialects (in Pinghe, Zhangpu, Yunxiao, Chawan, etc), similarly to Teochew. Likewise, many of those dialects diphthongize -e/e/ into -ei[ei]. Some dialects, such as Zhangpu, realize them as triphthongs [uou] and [iei]. Changtai dialect uniquely pronounces general Hokkien -o͘/ɔ/ as [eu]. However, it still uses the vowel /ɔ/, mainly in place of general Hokkien /o/.
-o̤/ə/ and -ṳ/ɯ/ are found in many Northern Hokkien dialects, including Quanzhou and Tong'an. In Amoy, Jinjiang and among some younger urban Quanzhou speakers, -o̤/ə/ is merged with /e/. Similarly, the final -ṳ/ɯ/ may be merged with /i/ or /u/ in those dialects. These two finals are not found in Southern dialects of Hokkien.
Chawan dialect in Zhangzhou also has -o̤/ə/ and -ṳ/ɯ/. Thus, Chawan distinguishes the following finals: -ɛ/ɛ/, -o̤/ə/, and -ei[ei] (latter corresponding to urban Zhangzhou -e/e/). The dialects of Yunxiao and rural Dongshan are notable for having -ɛ/ɛ/, -e/e/ (in place of Chawan -o̤/ə/) and -ei/ei/ (in place of urban Zhangzhou -e/e/) as distinct finals.
In Northern Hokkien dialects where the final -o̤/ə/ is present, it is generally realized as [ɤ̟], and -o/o/ is realized as [o̜]. In dialects where -o̤/ə/ is absent, [ɤ̹] is a possible realization of -o/o/.
↑ /uẽʔ/ is used in 挼 noeh "to rub; to knead" in Chawan dialect, and in 夾 ngoeh "to clamp; to pick with a clamp (e.g. vegetables)" in Amoy and Changtai dialects.
↑ /ɯŋ~əŋ/ — used in some coastal Northern dialects (urban Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Nan'an). Also described as -ng/ŋ̍/
1 2 /ɯn~ən/ and /ɯt~ət/ — used in rural Northern dialects, such as Nan'an, Yongchun, Dehua, Huian, etc.
1 2 /uam/ and /uap/ are only used in the Chawan dialect in a few syllables. Most other Hokkien dialects have -oan/-oat instead of -oam/-oap.
↑ /uaŋ/ — used in Northern dialects of Hokkien almost exclusively in 風hoang "wind". Some dialects also have it in 光koang "the light". In Teochew and Lengna, this rhyme is used more widely, but in most dialects of Hokkien it has merged with -ong.
↑ /ɔp/ — used in onomatopoeia and ideophones, e.g. 啑啑叫 cho̍p-cho̍p-kiò "(describes the sound of chewing)", □□ ko̍p-ko̍p "(describes a sticky or claggy thing)", 𢫯 hop "to snare, to catch (with a small net)"
↑ /ɯk~ək/ — used limitedly in the most conservative Northern Hokkien dialects, such as Nan'an or operatic pronunciation.
The exact realization of /iŋ/ and /ik/ varies throughout the dialects. For most of them, they are described as [iɪŋ]/[iɪk] or [iəŋ]/[iək]. Many Hokkien dialects in rural Zhangzhou and SEA have them as [eŋ] and [ek]. In urban Quanzhou and Jinjiang, /ik/ is merged with /iak/, but /iŋ/ is preserved.
In dialects with -ṳng/ɯŋ~əŋ/ and -ng/ŋ̍/, the two finals are often confounded. Likewise, -m/m̩/ and -o̤m/əm/ may be used intechangeably. -m/m̩/ is assigned mainly to the syllables with zero initial, e.g. in 毋m̄ "not", 媒m̂, hm̂ "matchmaker", 梅m̂ "plum", 莓m̂ "berry", etc.
Hui'an dialect merges -im/im/ and -iam/iam/ into [em], or -ip/ip/ and -iap/iap/ into [ep], etc, and thus it has the following rhymes not found in other dialects: [em], [ep], [en], [et], [eŋ].
While -o̤/ə/ and -ṳ/ɯ/ are phonemically distinct as standalone finals, they are not distinct in compound finals, and /ɯŋ/, /ɯn/, /ɯk/, /ɯt/ may be described as /əŋ/, /ən/, /ək/, /ət/ as well (and they are usually described as such for Teochew). In Quanzhou operatic pronunciation, this sound is pronounced as [-ɯə-] in compound finals (except for the final /ək/, which is realized as [-ɯak], influenced by the urban Quanzhou -ṳk/-ek/-iak merger). These rimes also share some phonological constraints with /ɯ/ rather than /ə/, e.g. they do not cooccur with labial initials (so */pɯ/, */pʰɯk/~/pʰək/ or */mɯt/~/mət/ are not valid syllables in Hokkien, while /pə/ or /pʰə/ are possible).[7]
Rimes used in minor dialects
Rimes with medial /-ɯ-/
Finals with the medial -ṳ-/-ɯ-/ are mentioned in Lūi-im Biāu-gō͘ (彙音妙悟), an early 19th century Northern Hokkien rimebook, but now they are obsolete in most dialects of Hokkien. They are found only in a few exceptionally conservative dialects, such as Quanzhou operatic, or, per Ang Ui-jin's survey, in the Taiwanese "Old Anxi accent", spoken among older generations in some areas of New Taipei (namely Sanxia, Linkou, Pinglin, Xizhi, Qidu, Pingxi, and Taishan), in Baozhong Township, and in a few villages in Xihu and Puyan. For these dialects, Ang Ui-jin describes this medial as -o̤-/-ə-/ rather than -ṳ-/-ɯ-/, except in the final -ṳiⁿ/ɯĩ/.[8][7]
Some Southern Hokkien dialects (Yunxiao and Chawan) have /ue/ and /uɛ/ as distinct finals. The latter is used in a small number of vernacular readings:[9]
Other rural Zhangzhou dialects (Nanjing, Pinghe, Changtai, Yunxiao, etc) have /uẽ/ in both groups of characters.
Zhangpu dialect uses /uɛ/, /uɛʔ/ and /uɛ̃/ consistently in place of /ue/, /ueʔ/ and /uẽ/.
/õ/ and related rimes
Some Southern Zhangzhou dialects (such as Chawan, Yunxiao, and Zhangpu) differentiate between the rimes o͘ ⁿ/õu/ and oⁿ/õ/.
o͘ ⁿ/õu/ is used in a small number of characters, including 五ngó͘, 悟ngō͘, 奴nô͘, 努nó͘, 怒nō͘, 偶ngó͘, 午ngō͘, and 𩵱ngó͘. Chawan dialect also has this rime in 虎hó͘ ⁿ, perhaps due to Teochew influence.
oⁿ/õ/ is used in a much larger set of words, both derived from historical syllables with a nasal initial (我ngólit., 俄ngô, 娥ngô, 蛾ngô, 鵝ngô, 餓ngō, 訛ngô, 臥ngō, 毛mô, 耄mō, 磨môlit., 冒mō, 瑁mō, 摸molit., 魔mô, 兩nōcol., 猱nō, 娜nó, 糯nō, 懦nō) and those that never had a nasal consonant (可khóⁿ, 好hóⁿ, 火hóⁿ, 貨hòⁿ, 耗hòⁿ)
Changtai dialect also dfferentiates between these rimes, where they are pronounced as /ẽu/ and /ɔ̃/ respectively. Similar distinction is found in other Southern Min languages, such as Teochew or Luichow, but in most dialects of Hokkien the two rimes are merged into o͘ ⁿ/ɔ̃/.
The rimes ioⁿ/iɔ̃/ and ohⁿ/ɔ̃ʔ/ (as in 漠漠mo̍h-mo̍h, 膜mo̍h, 瘼moh) may be also described as /iõ/ and /õʔ/ for the aforementioned Southern Zhangzhou dialects. There are, however, no rimes */iõu/ or */õuʔ/.
Marginal finals
Some marginal finals (not mentioned in the above charts) may occur in specific contexts, such as contractions. For example, in Dongshan dialect there is a final -iohⁿ/iɔ̃ʔ/, used in 即樣chiohⁿ "like this" and 迄樣hiohⁿ "like that".[10] In Tong'an dialect, there is a final -iai/iai/, used in contractions (遐兮 hiâ--ê > hiâi "those") or in words with the final -ia suffixed with 仔á (e.g. 車仔chhia-á > chhiai-á).
"Dark tones" 陰im on the left, "light tones" 陽iông on the right. "Entering tones" 入ji̍p are in pale color. Tone ①陰平Tone ⑤陽平 Tone ②陰上Tone ⑥陽上 (only Quanzhou) Tone ③陰去Tone ⑦陽去 (only Amoy, Zhangzhou)
Traditionally, four Middle Chinese tones are called "level" 平piâⁿ, "rising" 上chiǔⁿ, "departing" 去khṳ̀ and "entering" 入ji̍p. These names are mnemonics illustrating the corresponding tone, e.g. the word "level" 平 piâⁿ has the level tone, the word "to enter" 入ji̍p has the entering tone, etc. In modern languages, these four tones are further divided into two categories: the "dark" (陰im) or "upper" (上chiǔⁿ) tones and the "light" (陽iông) or "lower" (下ě) tones, giving a total of 8 tones in traditional system.
The tones can be counted in two patterns: the "dark—light" order (the checked tones are 7 and 8) is more common in works published in China, and the "level—rising—departing—entering" order (the checked tones are 4 and 8) is more popular in Taiwan. This article follows the latter numbering system.
陰 "dark tones"
tone name
陰平
"dark level"
陰上
"dark rising"
陰去
"dark departing"
陰入
"dark entering"
Pe̍h-ōe-jī diacritic
a
á
à
ah (-p, -t, -k)
tone number
①
②
③
④
examples
詩si
死sí
四sì
薛sih
君kun
滾kún
棍kùn
骨kut
東tong
董tóng
棟tòng
督tok
耽tam
膽tám
擔tàm
答tap
陽 "light tones"
tone name
陽平
"light level"
陽上
"light rising"
陽去
"light departing"
陽入
"light entering"
Pe̍h-ōe-jī diacritic
â
ǎ
ā
a̍h (-p, -t, -k)
tone number
⑤
⑥
⑦
⑧
examples
時sî
是sǐ
示sī
蝕si̍h
群kûn
窘kǔn
郡kūn
滑ku̍t
同tông
動tǒng
洞tōng
獨to̍k
談tâm
湛tǎm
淡tām
踏ta̍p
In most dialects of Hokkien, there are only 7 distinct citation tones, as some of the 8 traditional tones merge into a single tone. Certain dialects (the Lengna dialect or the Changkeng-Yidu dialect in Anxi and Yongchun) distinguish all eight tones, and some (Jinjiang) have only 6 citation tones due to additional mergers. Many Northern dialects merge certain tones in the citation form, but not in the sandhi form.
May be slightly lower in Quanzhou dialects (33 ˧ ~ 44 ˦).
In urban Zhangzhou dialect it shifts towards high rising 34 ˧˦.[3]
"Dark rising" tone ②陰上
High falling 53 ˥˧ ~ 51 ˥˩ in most dialects.
Coastal Quanzhou dialects (urban Quanzhou, Nan'an, Jinjiang, etc) have it as high level with a small drop at the end (55 ˥ ~ 554 ˥˥˦).
"Dark departing" tone ③陰去
Low falling 31 ˧˩ in most dialects.
May have higher onset (41 ˦˩) in Northern Hokkien and lower onset (21 ˨˩ or even 11 ˩) in Southern dialects.
"Dark entering" tone ④陰入
Mid-falling 32 ˧˨ in Southern dialects, as well as in Amoy, Yongchun, Tong'an, etc.
High falling 54 ˥˦ in Quanzhou dialects.
"Light level" tone ⑤陽平
Mid or high dipping tone 214 ˨˩˦ in Northern Hokkien, including Amoy.[14]
Lower dipping 212 ˨˩˨ ~ 213 ˨˩˧ in Southern Hokkien, although sometimes it may become more level 22 ˨ or lose its rising part (in this case, however, it does not merge with the low-falling tone (③陰去), but has a longer low segment with an overall contour 211 ˨˩˩).[3]
Since the initial falling part is natural for rising tones in tonal languages, many works ignore it and describe this tone as rising instead of dipping (as 13 ˩˧ for Southern dialects of Hokkien or 24 ˨˦ for Northern dialects).
"Light rising" tone ⑥陽上
Mid-level with a slight drop 22 ˨ ~ 221 ˨˨˩ in some Northern dialects (urban Quanzhou, Nan'an, Hui'an, etc).
Merged with tone ⑦陽去 in Southern dialects and some peripheral Northern dialects (Amoy, Tong'an, Yongchun, etc).
"Light departing" tone ⑦陽去
Mid-level 22 ˨ ~ 33 ˧ in Southern dialects, as well as Amoy Hokkien.
Merged with tone ③陰去 in many Quanzhou dialects (but still distinguished in sandhi).
"Light entering" tone ⑧陽入
In greater Quanzhou and Zhangzhou Hokkien, its contour is similar to that of tone ⑤陽平 (mid- or low-rising).
In Amoy and Taiwanese Hokkien, it is a high level tone 4 ˦.
↑ 214 is used before rising 上 and departing 去 tones, as well as before the light entering tone 陽入; 33 is used before level 平 tones and the dark entering tone 陰入.
↑ 5 is used before rising 上 and departing 去 tones, as well as before the light entering tone 陽入; 31 is used before level 平 tones and the dark entering tone 陰入.
1 2 3 4 5 Tone ④陰入 after sandhi is often described as high level 4 ˦. However, some studies show that it is still not identical to pre-sandhi tone ⑧陽入 in Amoy and Taiwanese Hokkien, but has a slight falling contour, akin to shortened post-sandhi tone ③陰去.[13]
Tone sandhi
A phrase in Hokkien is divided into "tone groups", where each syllable except the last one undergoes the tone sandhi.
In examples below, the syllables that do not undergo tone sandhi are in bold. The Pe̍h-ōe-jī orthography of examples is adjusted to concisely represent as much dialectal variations as possible, e.g. distinguishing eight tones, the initial j-, the vowel ɛ along with the vowel ṳ, etc — note that no single Hokkien dialect maintains all of these distinctions.
The last syllable of a noun does not undergo sandhi. A noun may be preceded by a classifier with a numeral or a demonstrative pronoun, all of which do undergo sandhi. If the noun is omitted, however, the classifier preserves its original tone.
Components of the numerals generally undergo the sandhi, except the words 萬bān and 千chhṳiⁿ/chheng:[15]
北京大學｜中文系Pak-kiaⁿ tōa-o̍h Tiong-bûn-hē 'Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Peking University' — note that the word 北京Pak-kiaⁿ is a noun adjunct here and as such it undergoes tone sandhi
A name with a surname is treated as a single tone group:[16]
Four-character compounds are usually divided into two tone groups two characters each:[16]
內外｜交困lōe-gōe kau-khùn
橋過｜柺抽kiô-kè koáiⁿ-thiu
古今｜中外kó͘-kim tiong-gōe
一心｜一意it-sim it-ì
世外｜桃源sè-gōe thô-goân
欣欣｜向榮him-him hiòng-êng
斤斤｜計較kṳn-kṳn kè-kàu
萬事｜如意bān-sṳ̄ jû-ì
文武｜之道bûn-bú chi tǒ
平心｜而論pêng-sim jî lūn
分秒｜必爭hun-biáu pit-cheng
兵強｜馬壯peng-kiâng má-chòng
火眼｜金睛hóⁿ-gán kim-cheng
風吹｜日曝hong-chhe ji̍t-pha̍k
長喙｜短耳tn̂g-chhùi tér-hǐ
骹痠｜手軟kha-sng chhiú-nńg
Some four-character idioms are divided into tone groups of one and three characters, where the first character is the subject of an idiom:[16]
馬｜不停蹄má put-thêng-tê
金｜無足赤kim bû-chiok-chhek
氣｜吞山河khì thun-san-hô
得｜不償失tek put-siâng-sit
Words 之--chi (used as an object, 'him', not a possessive particle) and 者--chiá (used as a topic marker) are pronounced with neutral tone in idioms:[16]
姑妄聽之ko͘-bōng-theng--chi
聽之｜任之theng--chi jīm--chi
召之｜即來tiàu--chi chek-lâi
來者｜不拒lâi--chiá put-kṳ̆
Some non-literary idioms read with vernacular readings form a single tone segment:[16]
五花十色gō͘-hoe-cha̍p-sek
儂來客去lâng-lâi-khɛh-khṳ̀
無閒無工bô-êng-bô-kang
牛鬼蛇神gû-kúi-chôa-sîn
Neutral tone
Hokkien has neutral tone (marked with double dash -- before the syllable in Pe̍h-ōe-jī).
Neutral tone is pronounced as mid-low level 33~22. The syllable before neutral tone does not undergo tone sandhi, but preserves its original tone. Aside from having the neutral tone, unstressed syllables may undergo other changes, the most prominent of them being the loss the glottal stop and voicing of the initial:[16]
踢破that--phòa > that--bòa 'to kick and break'
跋倒poa̍h--tó > poa̍h--lə́ 'to fall down
掠着lia̍h--tio̍h > liah--lio̍ 'to catch; to grab'
寒冬kôaⁿ--tang > kôaⁿ--lang 'winter'
熱冬joa̍h--tang > joa̍h--lang 'summer'
走出去cháu--chhut-khì > cháu--chhut-ì or cháu--chhui 'to run away'
𣍐克得bǒe-khat--tit > bǒe-khat--le 'to be unwilling'
The following combinations with the generic classifier 個ê may have the preceding coda voiced and reduplicated:
即個chit--ê > chid--dê 'this'
迄個hit--ê > hid--dê 'that'
一個chi̍t--ê > chi̍d--dê 'one + classifier'
Neutral tone is used in the following contexts:[16]
in the possessive particle 兮--e
紅兮âng--ê 'red'
in some verbal particles, as well as the result and direction complements
in sentence-final particles (including negative particles forming questions)
汝說無？lṳ́ so̤h--bô
in suffixes used in direction words, such as 爿--pêng, 勢--si, 邊--piⁿ, and 頭--thau
in certain time phrases
前年chûn--nî 'the year before last'
後年ǎu--nî 'the year after next'
後日ǎu--ji̍t 'day after tomorrow' (but 後日ǎu-ji̍t 'the future, the days to come')
日時ji̍t--sî 'daytime'
日間ji̍t--kan 'daytime'
暝時mî--sî 'evening'
暗時àm--sî 'evening'
in personal pronouns when they are used as direct objects (unless emphasis is put on the pronoun)
叫我kiò--góa 'to call me'
叫伊kiò--i 'to call him/her'
particularly, in the indefinite pronoun 儂lâng
幫助儂pang-chō͘--lâng 'to help somebody'
做儂chòe--lâng 'to be bethrothed' (but 做儂 chòe-lâng 'to behave properly; to conduct oneself')
particularly, in placenames formed from a surname and the word 厝 chhù 'house'
黃厝N̂g--chhù
吳厝Ngô͘--chhù
蘇厝So͘--chhù
呂厝Lṳ̄--chhù
周厝Chiu--chhù
施厝Si--chhù
The suffix 仔 -á
The suffix 仔 -á is related to some special phonetic changes.
Syllables before 仔 -á may induce its change due to assimilation.[18]
word
nominal form
assimilated form
meaning
賊仔
chha̍t-á
> chha̍t-lá
> chha̍l-lá
«thief»
盒仔
a̍p-á
> a̍p-bá
> a̍b-bá
«small box»
竹仔
tek-á
> tek-gá
> teg-gá
«bamboo»
柑仔
kam-á
> kam-má
«tangerine»
囡仔
gín-á
> gín-ná
«child»
翁仔
ang-á
> ang-ngá
«doll»
圓仔
îⁿ-á
> îⁿ-áⁿ
«meatball»
美仔
bí-á
> bí-ah
«Bi-a (a girl's name)»
箬仔
hio̍h-á
> hio̍h-ah
«leaf»
Some assimilations are dialect-specific. E.g. in Tong'an dialect, a syllable ending in -a changes it to -ai before 仔-á: 車仔chhia-á > chhiai-á, 鴨仔ah-á > aih-á, 籃仔nâ-á > nâi-á, 衫仔saⁿ-á > saiⁿ-á, etc.
The tone sandhi before 仔-á is different from general Hokkien tone sandhi.
Historical phonology and internal differences
The territory of the Chheng-goân (Qingyuan) Circuit in 10th c. coincides with modern Hokkien-speaking area
The earliest sources on the Hokkien phonology are the rhyme dictionaries Lūi-im Biāu-ngō͘ (彙音妙悟) and Lūi-chi̍p Ngé-sio̍k-thong Si̍p-ngó͘-im (彙集雅俗通十五音). The former describes the Quanzhou Hokkien, while the latter describes the Zhangzhou Hokkien.
Current Hokkien-speaking area mostly coincides with the 10th century Chheng-goân Circuit, a de facto independent polity that emerged after the fall of the Min Empire. The polity was divided into two prefectures, Quanzhou (which also included modern Putian, Changtai and most of Xiamen) and Zhangzhou (which also included the Hokkien-speaking areas of modern Longyan), and the border between these medieval prefectures roughly coincides with certain modern Hokkien isoglosses. The Chiang-bú Circuit (彰武軍), which was under the rule of Wuyue, covers the Hokchew-speaking area, and Tiong-gī Circuit (忠義軍) ruled by Southern Tang lies in Inland Min- and Hakka-speaking area in Fujian.
Changtai dialect contains features of both Northern (Quanzhou) and Southern (Zhangzhou) dialect areas, atop of having some of its own unique characteristics. Changtai was a part of Quanzhou prefecture in 6—10 centuries, until being transferred under Zhangzhou's jurisdiction in 980.
Chawan dialect is a distinct variety of Hokkien. It may have received some influence from Teochew, but its amount is contestable.
The Eastern Namoa dialect shows some traits of Zhangzhou Hokkien, as this half of the Namoa island was previously included in the Zhangzhou prefecture, yet in most aspects it still clusters more with Teochew.
Hai Lok Hong dialect has even more features typical for southern dialects of Hokkien, and may be classified as a distinct dialect of either Teochew or Hokkien, or a variety of Southern Min separate from both of them. The charts below follow the classification of The Language Atlas of China, where Hai Lok Hong is included in Teochew.
The Lengna and Zhangping dialects are very different from mainstream Hokkien. At the same time, they form a continuum with Zhangzhou dialects. They are sometimes classified as the Western branch of Hokkien.
Datian Min is usually included in Southern Min as a distinct variety, apart from Hokkien and Teochew. It is divided into two dialects, Qianlu (the 'Frontlect') and Houlu, the former lying closer to Hokkien, and the latter having more Central Min influence. An undescribed variety of Southern Min in the north of Dehua is reported to be quite different from other Hokkien dialects and may belong to the same Hokkien—Central Min transitionary area as Datian Min.
Hinghwa is a language closely affiliated with Hokkien, yet it has received heavy Hokchew influence and is not usually considered a part of Hokkien itself.
Initial correspondences
Denasalization
One large difference between Hokkien and Teochew is the degree of denasalization. Teochew /n/, /m/ and /ŋ/ are usually considered phonemes rather than allophones of the voiced plosives /d/, /b/, /g/.
In Teochew, most syllables with codas preserve the nasal initial, with a few exceptions: denasalization frequently occurs in some specific syllables, like buang (亡, 忘, 望, 萬), bak (木, 墨, but mak: 目), leng (能, 寧, 獰), long (農, 膿, 濃), lang (濃, 難, 囊, but nang: 儂), lung (嫩, 媆), bung (悶, 聞, 文, 紋, but mung: 門, 晚, 問). It may also sporadically occur in some individual characters: 勿, 蜜, 玉, 獄, etc. In Hokkien on the other hand, syllables with codas (excluding -h) can never have nasal initials.
In Hinghwa, Hokkien voiced consonants /b/, /dz/, /g/, including cases when they are derived from nasal initials, are further devoiced into /p/, /ts/, /k/.
Final correspondences
The charts below illustrate the common correspondences in rimes between various dialects of Hokkien, as well as related Southern Min languages. Middle Chinese finals are transcribed using Baxter's transcription, and Proto-Southern-Min reconstructions are per Kwok Bit-chee.[19]
In the example characters, literary and vernacular readings are marked by different types of underlines. Note that the examples are given primarily for Hokkien correspondences, and other languages may lack corresponding readings for some of the example characters.
Open-vowel finals
In the tables below, characters after the double line ‖ have nasalization at least in some dialects of Hokkien.
↑ 虞三合 -ju with dental and retroflex sibilants, velars, laryngeals
↑ 虞三合 -ju with palatal sibilants and labials; vernacular readings cognate to 尤三開 -juw with velars and labials; some literary readings from 尤三開 -juw with labials
↑ 支三開 -j(i)e, 脂三開 -(j)ij, 之三開 -i, 微三開 -jɨj with all initials except sibilants; some readings from 齊四開 -ej
↑ 尤三開 -juw with retroflex sibilants; note that in Hokkien such characters often have more common vulgar readings (俗讀) with -o
↑ literary readings from 侯一開 -uw with non-labial initials; some literary readings from 尤三開 -juw with labials except 明 m- (mostly in Hokkien, e.g. 浮, 罘, 芣, 桴, 否, etc)
↑ literary readings from 侯一開 -uw with labial initials; some literary readings from 尤三開 -juw with 明 m-
↑ 麻三開 -jæ; vernacular readings cognate to 支三開 -j(i)e
↑ 咍一開 -oj, 皆二開 -ɛj, 夬二開 -æj, 佳二開 -ɛɨ, 廢三開 -joj; 泰一開 -aj with non-labial initials and 明 m-; vernacular readings cognate to 脂三開 -(j)ij and 之三開 -i
↑ 肴二開 -æw; vernacular readings cognate to 侯一開 -uw; variant readings cognate to 豪一開 -aw (more common in Teochew, less common in Hokkien; when present for a character, it is usually described as the literary reading, while readings with -o are considered vernacular)
↑ 支三合 -jw(i)e, 脂三合 -(j)wij, 微三合 -jwɨj, 齊四合 -wej; some 廢三合 -jwoj; vernacular readings cognate to 微三開 -jɨj; 灰一合 -woj with dental stop initials
↑ 幽三開 -jiw; some vernacular readings cognate to 虞三合 -ju; 尤三開 -juw with non-labial initials; few literary readings from 尤三開 -juw with labials (mostly in Teochew)
Teochew has mostly merged -n/-t with -ŋ/-k, except for some peripheral dialects. The dialect of Fenghuang County in Chaozhou preserves the most -n/-t finals (a total of six: -un, -in, -uan, -ien, -an, -ɯn). The Eastern Namoa dialect preserves only -in and -un. In Hai Lok Hong, while some dialects also preserve -in and -un, most Western Hai Lok Hong dialects only preserve -un, and most Eastern Hai Lok Hong dialects merge all -n/-t finals with -ŋ/-k, like in Teochew.
The choose of -ian/-iat or -uan/-uat for a given character derived from MC rhymes 仙三合 -jw(i)en and 先四合 -wen is not consistent among different languages. For 仙三合 -jw(i)en, the generally used reflex is -uan/-uat for most Southern Min languages, except Hinghwa and Lengna, where it is -ian/-iat. However, there is a tendency in Hokkien to have -ian/-iat here when the MC initial was 以 y-, either as the only reading or a non-standard popular variant. For 先四合 -wen, the general reflex is -ian/-iat.
The shape of a character may influence the choose of -ian/-iat or -uan/-uat. Characters with 肙 as the phonetic element (涓, 罥, 鵑, 鞙) tend to have -uan in Hokkien, but -ian in other languages. Characters derived from 矞, 血 and 穴 tend to have -iat in Hokkien, but -uat in Teochew. Characters derived from 夬 and 癸 tend to have -uat in mainstream Hokkien and Teochew, but -iat in Hinghwa, Lengna, Hai Lok Hong, etc.
Finals with the coda -ʔ are all used in vernacular readings. Their literary counterparts almost always have -p, -t, -k as a coda in Hokkien.
PSM
examples
Hokkien
Teochew
Lengna
Datian
Hinghwa
LK
SX
QZTA NAYC HA
JJ AM
CT
ZZ NJ YX
ZP
CA
ST TY
HLH
LN
JC
XQ
FL
XY
PT
*aʔ
甲鴨答較
aʔ
aʔ
aʔ
aʔ
aʔ
aʔ
aʔ
aʔ
aʔ
aʔ
a
a
a
a
ɒ
ɒ
*uʔ
托拓
uʔ
uʔ
uʔ
uʔ
uʔ
uʔ
uʔ
uʔ
oʔ
oʔ
—
—
—
—
*oʔ
索惡學落
oʔ
oʔ
oʔ
oʔ
oʔ
oʔ
oʔ
oʔ
o
uo
o
o
o
o
*iʔ
鐵舌裂篾
iʔ
iʔ
iʔ
iʔ
iʔ
iʔ
iʔ
iʔ
iʔ
iʔ
i
i
i
i
i
i
*eʔ
白百客密
eʔ
eʔ
eʔ
eʔ
eʔ
ɛʔ
ɛʔ
ɛʔ
eʔ
eʔ
iɛ
e
e
a
a
a
*øʔ
雪絕
əʔ
əʔ
əʔ
eʔ
əʔ
oʔ
oʔ, eʔ
ie
ie
ue
ue
ø
ø
*uøʔ
月說缺卜
ueʔ
ueʔ
uɛʔ
ueʔ
ueʔ
ueʔ
ue
ue
uoi
oe
*ueʔ
血
uiʔ
uiʔ
uiʔ
uiʔ
e
e
*oiʔ
八
ueʔ
ueʔ
ueʔ
ueʔ
eʔ
ɛʔ
eʔ
oiʔ
eʔ
ie
ie
ei
e
節夾截切
ɯeʔ
əeʔ
*iaʔ
削勺食壁
iaʔ
iaʔ
iaʔ
iaʔ
iaʔ
iaʔ
iaʔ
iaʔ
iaʔ
iaʔ
a
ia
a
ia
ia
ia
*ioʔ
着腳約藥
ioʔ
ioʔ
ioʔ
ioʔ
ioʔ
ioʔ
ioʔ
ioʔ
ioʔ
ioʔ
io
io
io
io
ieu
ieu
*uaʔ
辣活末熱
uaʔ
uaʔ
uaʔ
uaʔ
uaʔ
uaʔ
uaʔ
uaʔ
uaʔ
uaʔ
ua
ua
ua
ua
ua
ua
Nasalized finals
Nasalized finals in Hokkien have two principal etymological sources.
First category includes the nasalized finals that are cognate to finals with a full nasal coda. They are used only in vernacular readings.
PSM
examples
Hokkien
Teochew
Lengna
Datian
Hinghwa
gQZTA AMTP
KH TC
CT TN
ZZ
PH NJ ZP
YX
CA
STKY ENTY HLH
TC
LN
JC
XQ
FL
XY
PT
*ã
三林藍衫岩
ã
ã
ã
ã
ã
ã
ã
ã
ã
ã
ã
ã
ã
ɒ̃
ɒ
*ẽ
姓病硬青生
ĩ
ẽ
ẽ
ɛ̃
ɛ̃
ĩ
ɛ̃
ẽ
ẽ
iɛ̃
ẽ
ẽ
ã
a
*ĩ
天偏丸見箭
ĩ
ĩ
ĩ
ĩ
ĩ
ĩ
ĩ
ĩ
ĩ
in
iŋ
iŋ
iŋ
*iã
行命聲名京
iã
iã
iã
iã
iã
iã
iã
iã
iã
iã
iã
iã
iã
iã
ia
健營件贏燃
yã
yɒ
*uã
泉岸煎線換
uã
uã
uã
uã
uã
uã
uã
uã
uã
uã
uã
ɔ̃
uã
單半山傘旦
uã
ua
*iõ
丈場張章香
iũ
iũ
iɔ̃
iɔ̃
iũ
iũ
iõ
iõ
iẽ
iõ
iõ
iŋ
ŋ
iũ
iau
PSM
examples
Hokkien
Teochew
Lengna
Datian
Hinghwa
LK
gQZ
TA
AM
CT
ZZ
ZP
YX
CA
ST TC
TY HLH
LN
JC
XQ
FL
XY
PT
*õi
反
uĩ
uĩ
ãi
iŋ
an
iŋ
ioŋ
an
iŋ
oĩ
ãi
ĩ
an
in
iŋ
ĩ
e
先前閑肩千
ɯĩ
ian
*ãi
指
ãi
ãi
ai
ai
ai
ai
ãi
ai
ai
iɛ
ɛ
ai
ai
*uẽ
關
uĩ
uĩ
uãi
uã
uɛ̃
uẽ
uɛ̃
uẽ
uẽ
uɛ̃
uẽ
uɛ̃
uã
uĩ
ue
橫
uãi
uãi
uã
ua
*uõi
縣懸
uan
uan
uan
uan
uan
uĩ
uãi
uĩ
uan
uãi
uŋ
ĩ
e
PSM
examples
Hokkien
Teochew
Lengna
Datian
Hinghwa
gQZ TA AM
CT
gZZ
CA
ST TC
KY EN
TY
HLH
LN
JC
XQ
FL
XY
PT
*õ
唐堂向糖
ŋ
ɔ̃
ŋ
ŋ
ɯŋ
ɯŋ
ŋ
ŋ
õ
ŋ
ŋ
ŋ
ŋ
uŋ
*uĩ
全酸鑽斷頓
ŋ
uĩ
uĩ
ĩ
uĩ
ãi
uŋ
ỹ
ø
光廣
uĩ
uĩ
uãi
ŋ
uŋ
勸穿磚管傳
ãi
uĩ
ue
門問飯晚
uŋ
遠園荒
ŋ
ŋ
uãi
Another type of nasalized finals is used in syllables with nasal initials that did not undergo denasalization. Such syllables may be alternatively analyzed as having a plain, non-nasalized final and a nasal initial. Although this analysis is not typical for Hokkien, it is more common in the descriptions of Teochew (e.g. the Peng'im romanization would spell 迷 as mi5, and 棉 as min5, even though both are actually /mĩ⁵⁵/, or mî in Pe̍h-ūe-jī). This type of nasal finals occurs in both literary and vernacular readings.
While finals like /ĩ/, /ɛ̃/, /ã/, /iũ/, /uã/ may be induced by both contexts, finals /ãi/, /ãu/, /iãu/, /õ~ɔ̃/ are used exclusively in syllables that did not have an etymological nasal coda (see the section on the open-vowel finals for examples). Additionally, depending on the dialect, words like 糜 'congee' and 妹 'sister' may have finals /uẽ/ (in some Hokkien dialects: Changtai, Chawan, Southern Taiwan, as well as in Teochew) or /uãi/ (in urban Zhangzhou). Teochew preserves some other combinations of nasal initials and finals not found in Hokkien, such as 雅ngiá 'beautiful' and 語ngú 'language' (the latter only in the Teoyeo dialect of Teochew).
Occasionally, nasal finals occur in characters that never had a nasal coda or a nasal initial, e.g. 打táⁿ, 鼻phīⁿ, 怕phàⁿ.
Other correspondences
The following correspondences are less regular and common, and as such, they are illustrated by specific characters in which they occur.
↑ in central Anxi; previously known as 長坑鄉, now renamed as 長卿鎮, with the same pronunciation in Hokkien (Tn̂g-khiⁿ) but different pronunciations in Mandarin (長坑 Changkeng vs. 長卿 Changqing).
Kwok, Bit-Chee (2018). Southern Min: comparative phonology and subgrouping. Routledge studies in East Asian linguistics. Vol.2. New York: Routledge. ISBN978-1-138-94365-0.
Ng, Chin-po (2012). 當代泉州音字彙[A dictionary of modern Quanzhou pronunciation].
Nakajima, Motoki (1977). 閩語東山島方言基礎語彙集[The basic vocabulary of the Tangswa island Hokkien dialect].
Lin, Philip T. (2015). Taiwanese Grammar: A Concise Reference. Greenhorn Media.
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