Literary and colloquial readings of Chinese characters
Encyclopedia
Differing literary and colloquial readings of certain Chinese character
s are common doublet
s in many Chinese language
s and the reading distinctions for certain phonetic features often typify a dialect group. Literary readings are usually used in formal loan words or names, when reading aloud and in formal settings, while colloquial readings are usually used in vernacular speech
.
, colloquial readings typically reflect native phonology, while literary readings typically originate from other Chinese languages, typically more prestigious varieties
. Colloquial readings are usually older, resembling the sound systems described by old rime dictionaries
such as Guangyun
. Literary readings are closer to the phonology of newer sound systems. Many literary readings are the result of Mandarin influence in Ming
and Qing
.
Literary readings are usually used in formal settings because past prestigious varieties were usually used in formal education
and discourse
. Although the phonology
of the Chinese variety in which this occurred did not entirely match that of the prestige variety when in formal settings, they tended to evolve toward the prestige variety. Also, neologisms usually use the pronunciation of prestigious varieties. Colloquial readings are usually used in informal settings because their usage in formal settings has been supplanted by the readings of the prestige varieties.
Because of this, the frequency of literary readings in a Chinese language reflects its history and status. For example, before the promotion of Modern Standard Chinese (Mandarin), the dialects of the central plains had few literary readings, but they now have literary readings that resemble the phonology of Modern Standard Chinese. Outside the central plains, the relatively influential Beijing
and Canton dialects have fewer literary readings than other varieties.
In some Chinese languages, there may be many instances of foreign readings replacing native readings, forming many sets of literary and colloquial readings. A newer literary reading may replace an older literary reading, and the older literary reading may become disused or become a new colloquial reading.
Sometimes literary and colloquial readings of the same character have different meanings.
, colloquial readings tend to resemble Middle Chinese
, while literary readings tend to resemble Mandarin. The meaning of a character is often differentiated depending on whether it is read with a colloquial or literary reading. There are regular relationships between the nuclei of literary and colloquial readings in Cantonese. Colloquial readings with [ɛ] nuclei correspond with literary [ɪ] and [i] nuclei. It is also the case with colloquial [a] and literary [ɐ], and colloquial [ɐi] and literary [i]. Of course, not all colloquial readings with a certain nucleus correspond to literary readings with another nucleus.
Examples:
Examples:
. Most instances where there are different literary and colloquial readings occur with characters that have entering tone
s. Among those are primarily literary readings that have not been adopted into the Beijing dialect
before the Yuan Dynasty
. Colloquial readings of other regions have also been adopted into the Beijing dialect, a major difference being that literary readings are usually adopted with the colloquial readings. Some differences between the Taiwanese Guoyu and mainland Chinese Putonghua are due to one standard adopting a colloquial reading for a character while another standard adopts a literary reading.
Examples of literary readings adopted into the Beijing dialect:
Examples of colloquial readings adopted into the Beijing dialect:
, colloquial readings tend to resemble Ba-Shu Chinese
(Middle Sichuanese) or Southern Proto-Mandarin
in Ming Dynasty, while literary readings tend to resemble modern standard Mandarin. For example, in Yaoling Dialect the colloquial reading of "" (means "things") is [væʔ], which is very similar to its prounciation of Ba-Shu Chinese in Song Dynasty
(960 - 1279). Meanwhile its literary reading, [voʔ], is relatively similar to the standard Mandarin pronunciation [u]. The table below shows some Chinese characters with both literary and colloquial readings in Sichuanese.
and Nanjing dialect
s during Ming
and Qing
, and Modern Standard Chinese. In the southern Wu-speaking region, literary readings tend to be adopted from the Hangzhou dialect
. Colloquial readings tend to reflect an older sound system.
Not all Wu dialects behave the same way. Some have more instances of discrepancies between literary and colloquial readings than others. For example, the character had a ŋ initial in Middle Chinese
, and in literary readings, there is a null initial. In colloquial readings it is pronounced /ŋuɛ/ in Songjiang
. About 100 years ago, it was pronounced /ŋuɛ/ in Suzhou
and Shanghai
, and now it is /uɛ/.
Some pairs of literary and colloquial readings are interchangeable in all cases, such as in the words and . Some must be read in one particular reading. For example, must be read using the literary reading, /zəɲmiɲ/, and must be read using the colloquial reading, /ɲiɲmiɲ/. Some differences in reading for the same characters have different meanings, such as , using the colloquial reading /pʊtɕɪʔ/ means "make great effort," and using the literary reading /pɑtɕɪʔ/ means "get a desired outcome." Some colloquial readings are almost never used, such as ŋ̍ for and /tɕiɑ̃/ for .
dictionaries in Taiwan often differentiate between such character readings with the prefixes 文 wén (Min Nan bûn) for the literary readings, and 白 bái (Min Nan pi̍k/pe̍h) for colloquial readings.
The following examples in Pe̍h-oē-jī show differences in literary and colloquial readings in Taiwanese Hokkien:
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
s are common doublet
Doublet (linguistics)
In etymology, two or more words in the same language are called doublets or etymological twins when they have different phonological forms but the same etymological root. Often, but not always, the variants have entered the language through different routes...
s in many Chinese language
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
s and the reading distinctions for certain phonetic features often typify a dialect group. Literary readings are usually used in formal loan words or names, when reading aloud and in formal settings, while colloquial readings are usually used in vernacular speech
Speech
Speech is the human faculty of speaking.It may also refer to:* Public speaking, the process of speaking to a group of people* Manner of articulation, how the body parts involved in making speech are manipulated...
.
Characteristics
For a given Chinese languageChinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, colloquial readings typically reflect native phonology, while literary readings typically originate from other Chinese languages, typically more prestigious varieties
Variety (linguistics)
In sociolinguistics a variety, also called a lect, is a specific form of a language or language cluster. This may include languages, dialects, accents, registers, styles or other sociolinguistic variation, as well as the standard variety itself...
. Colloquial readings are usually older, resembling the sound systems described by old rime dictionaries
Rime dictionary
thumb|upright=1.0|A page from Shiyun Hebi , a rime dictionary of the [[Qing Dynasty]]A rime dictionary, rhyme dictionary, or rime book is an ancient type of Chinese dictionary used for writing poetry or other genres requiring rhymes. A rime dictionary focuses on pronunciation and collates...
such as Guangyun
Guangyun
The Guangyun is a Chinese rime dictionary that was compiled from 1007 to 1008 under the auspices of Emperor Zhenzong of Song. Chen Pengnian and Qiu Yong were the chief editors....
. Literary readings are closer to the phonology of newer sound systems. Many literary readings are the result of Mandarin influence in Ming
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
and Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
.
Literary readings are usually used in formal settings because past prestigious varieties were usually used in formal education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and discourse
Discourse
Discourse generally refers to "written or spoken communication". The following are three more specific definitions:...
. Although the phonology
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
of the Chinese variety in which this occurred did not entirely match that of the prestige variety when in formal settings, they tended to evolve toward the prestige variety. Also, neologisms usually use the pronunciation of prestigious varieties. Colloquial readings are usually used in informal settings because their usage in formal settings has been supplanted by the readings of the prestige varieties.
Because of this, the frequency of literary readings in a Chinese language reflects its history and status. For example, before the promotion of Modern Standard Chinese (Mandarin), the dialects of the central plains had few literary readings, but they now have literary readings that resemble the phonology of Modern Standard Chinese. Outside the central plains, the relatively influential Beijing
Beijing dialect
Beijing dialect, or Pekingese , is the dialect of Mandarin spoken in the urban area of Beijing, China. It is the phonological basis of Standard Chinese, which is used by the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China , and Singapore....
and Canton dialects have fewer literary readings than other varieties.
In some Chinese languages, there may be many instances of foreign readings replacing native readings, forming many sets of literary and colloquial readings. A newer literary reading may replace an older literary reading, and the older literary reading may become disused or become a new colloquial reading.
Sometimes literary and colloquial readings of the same character have different meanings.
Cantonese
In CantoneseStandard Cantonese
Cantonese, or Standard Cantonese, is a language that originated in the vicinity of Canton in southern China, and is often regarded as the prestige dialect of Yue Chinese....
, colloquial readings tend to resemble Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese , also called Ancient Chinese by the linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties...
, while literary readings tend to resemble Mandarin. The meaning of a character is often differentiated depending on whether it is read with a colloquial or literary reading. There are regular relationships between the nuclei of literary and colloquial readings in Cantonese. Colloquial readings with [ɛ] nuclei correspond with literary [ɪ] and [i] nuclei. It is also the case with colloquial [a] and literary [ɐ], and colloquial [ɐi] and literary [i]. Of course, not all colloquial readings with a certain nucleus correspond to literary readings with another nucleus.
Examples:
| Chinese character | Middle Chinese1 | Colloquial reading | Meaning | Literary reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tsǐɛŋ平 | tsɛŋ˥ | clever | tsɪŋ˥ | spirit | |
| tɕǐɛŋ去 | tɕɛŋ˧ | correct, good | tɕɪŋ˧ | correct | |
| dzǐɛŋ去 | tsɛŋ˨ | clean | tsɪŋ˨ | clean | |
| kǐɐŋ平 | kɛŋ˥ | be afraid | kɪŋ˥ | frighten | |
| bʱǐɐŋ平 | pʰɛŋ˨˩ | inexpensive | pʰɪŋ˨˩ | flat | |
| tsʰieŋ平 | tsʰɛŋ˥ | blue/green, pale | tsʰɪŋ˥ | blue/green | |
| ɣiep入 | kɛp˨ | clamp | kip˨ | clamp | |
| sǐɛk入 | sɛk˧ | cherish, (v.) kiss | sɪk˥ | lament | |
| ʃɐŋ平 | ɕaŋ˥ | raw, (honorific name suffix) | ɕɐŋ˥ | (v.) live, person | |
| ʃɐŋ平 | ɕaŋ˥ | livestock | ɕɐŋ˥ | livestock | |
| dʱieu去 | tɛu˨ | discard | tiu˨ | turn, discard | |
| lɒi平 | lɐi˨˩ | come | lɔi˨˩ | come | |
| ʃǐə上 | ɕɐi˧˥ | use | ɕi˧˥ | (v.) cause, envoy | |
| Notes: 1. Middle Chinese reconstruction according to Wang Li. Middle Chinese tones Four tones The four tones of Chinese phonology are four traditional tone-classes of words derived from the four phonemic tones of Middle Chinese. They are even level , rising , going departing , and entering checked .-Names:In Middle Chinese, each of the tone names carries the tone it identifies: 平 even ,... in terms of level , rising , departing , and entering are given. |
|||||
Hakka
Hakka contains instances of differing literary and colloquial readings.Examples:
| Chinese character | Literary reading | Colloquial reading |
|---|---|---|
| 生 | saŋ˦ | sɛn˦ |
| 弟 | tʰi˥˧ | tʰɛ˦ |
| 家 | ka˦ | kʰa˦ |
| 肥 | fui˧˥ | pʰui˧˥ |
| 惜 | sit˩ | siak˩ |
| 正 | tʂin˥˧ (正宗), tʂaŋ˦ (正月) | tʂaŋ˥˧ |
Mandarin
Unlike most varieties of Chinese, literary readings in the national language are usually more conservative than colloquial readings. This is because they reflect readings from before Beijing was the capital, e.g. from the Ming DynastyMing Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
. Most instances where there are different literary and colloquial readings occur with characters that have entering tone
Entering tone
A checked tone, commonly known by its Chinese calque entering tone , is one of four syllable types in the phonology in Middle Chinese which are commonly translated as tone. However, it is not a tone in the phonetic sense, but rather describes a syllable that ends in a stop consonant, such as p, t,...
s. Among those are primarily literary readings that have not been adopted into the Beijing dialect
Beijing dialect
Beijing dialect, or Pekingese , is the dialect of Mandarin spoken in the urban area of Beijing, China. It is the phonological basis of Standard Chinese, which is used by the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China , and Singapore....
before the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
. Colloquial readings of other regions have also been adopted into the Beijing dialect, a major difference being that literary readings are usually adopted with the colloquial readings. Some differences between the Taiwanese Guoyu and mainland Chinese Putonghua are due to one standard adopting a colloquial reading for a character while another standard adopts a literary reading.
Examples of literary readings adopted into the Beijing dialect:
| Chinese character | Middle Chinese1 | Literary reading | Colloquial reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| xək入 | xɤ˥˩ | xei˥ | |
| bʱɐk入 | pwɔ˧˥ | pai˧˥ | |
| bʱuɑk入 | pwɔ˧˥ | pɑʊ˧˥ | |
| pɔk入 | pwɔ˥ | pɑʊ˥ | |
| kǐĕp入 | tɕi˨˩˦ | kei˨˩˦ | |
| kʰɔk入 | kʰɤ˧˥ | tɕʰjɑʊ˥˩ | |
| lu去 | lu˥˩ | lɤʊ˥˩ | |
| lǐuk入 | lu˥˩ | ljɤʊ˥˩ | |
| nǐo上 | ʐu˨˩˦ | ny˨˩˦ | |
| ʑǐuk入 | ʂu˧˥ | ʂɤʊ˧˥ | |
| ʃǐək入 | sɤ˥˩ | ʂai˨˩˦ | |
| sǐak入 | ɕɥɛ˥ | ɕjɑʊ˥ | |
| kɔk入 | tɕɥɛ˧˥ | tɕjɑʊ˨˩˦ | |
| xiwet入 | ɕɥɛ˥˩ | ɕjɛ˨˩˦ | |
| Notes: 1. Middle Chinese reconstruction according to Wang Li. Middle Chinese tones Four tones The four tones of Chinese phonology are four traditional tone-classes of words derived from the four phonemic tones of Middle Chinese. They are even level , rising , going departing , and entering checked .-Names:In Middle Chinese, each of the tone names carries the tone it identifies: 平 even ,... in terms of level , rising , departing , and entering are given. |
|||
Examples of colloquial readings adopted into the Beijing dialect:
| Chinese character | Middle Chinese1 | Literary reading | Colloquial reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| kɔŋ上 | tɕjɑŋ˨˩˦ | kɑŋ˨˩˦ | |
| ŋam平 | jɛn˧˥ | ai˧˥ | |
| Notes: 1. Middle Chinese reconstruction according to Wang Li. Middle Chinese tones Four tones The four tones of Chinese phonology are four traditional tone-classes of words derived from the four phonemic tones of Middle Chinese. They are even level , rising , going departing , and entering checked .-Names:In Middle Chinese, each of the tone names carries the tone it identifies: 平 even ,... in terms of level , rising , departing , and entering are given. |
|||
Sichuanese
In SichuaneseSichuanese Mandarin
Sichuanese Mandarin , commonly known as Sichuanese, Szechuanese or Szechwanese , is a branch of Southwestern Mandarin, spoken mainly in Sichuan and Chongqing, which was part of Sichuan until 1997, and the adjacent regions of their neighboring provinces, such as Hubei, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan and...
, colloquial readings tend to resemble Ba-Shu Chinese
Ba-Shu Chinese
Ba-Shu Chinese or Old Sichuanese , is an extinct Sinitic language spoken in what is now Sichuan province and Chongqing municipality of China. This language was first attested during the Western Han dynasty and represents one of the first splits from Old Chinese or Early Middle Chinese...
(Middle Sichuanese) or Southern Proto-Mandarin
Proto-Mandarin
Proto-Mandarin is a term that can be used to designate any earlier form of the most widely-spoken Chinese dialect, known in English as Mandarin; it's the descendant of "late Middle Chinese" in the Song Dynasty. "Early Mandarin" is the common name for the sound system described by the rhyme...
in Ming Dynasty, while literary readings tend to resemble modern standard Mandarin. For example, in Yaoling Dialect the colloquial reading of "" (means "things") is [væʔ], which is very similar to its prounciation of Ba-Shu Chinese in Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
(960 - 1279). Meanwhile its literary reading, [voʔ], is relatively similar to the standard Mandarin pronunciation [u]. The table below shows some Chinese characters with both literary and colloquial readings in Sichuanese.
| Example | Colloquial Reading | Literary Reading | Meaning | Standard Mandarin Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tɛ | tsai | at | tsai | |
| tia | tʰi | lift | tʰi | |
| tɕʰie | tɕʰy | go | tɕʰy | |
| kɛ | tɕy | cut | tɕy | |
| xa | ɕia | down | ɕia | |
| xuan | xuən | across | xəŋ | |
| ŋan | ȵian | stricked | ian | |
| suei | su | rat | ʂu | |
| tʰai | ta | big | ta | |
| toŋ | tsu | master | tʂu | |
Wu
In the northern Wu-speaking region, the main sources of literary readings are the BeijingBeijing dialect
Beijing dialect, or Pekingese , is the dialect of Mandarin spoken in the urban area of Beijing, China. It is the phonological basis of Standard Chinese, which is used by the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China , and Singapore....
and Nanjing dialect
Nanjing dialect
Nanjing dialect or Nanjing Mandarin is a dialect of Jianghuai Mandarin which is spoken in the city of Nanjing in China.-Family:Nanjing dialect is a dialect of Jianghuai Mandarin, which belongs to the broader Mandarin Chinese family, which is a Sinitic language like all other Chinese...
s during Ming
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
and Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, and Modern Standard Chinese. In the southern Wu-speaking region, literary readings tend to be adopted from the Hangzhou dialect
Hangzhou dialect
The Hangzhou dialect, or Rhangzei Rhwa , is spoken in the city of Hangzhou and its immediate suburbs, but excluding areas further away from Hangzhou such as Xiāoshān and Yúháng . The number of speakers of the Hangzhou dialect has been estimated to be about 1.2 to 1.5 million...
. Colloquial readings tend to reflect an older sound system.
Not all Wu dialects behave the same way. Some have more instances of discrepancies between literary and colloquial readings than others. For example, the character had a ŋ initial in Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese , also called Ancient Chinese by the linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties...
, and in literary readings, there is a null initial. In colloquial readings it is pronounced /ŋuɛ/ in Songjiang
Songjiang District
Songjiang District of Shanghai has a land area of 605.64 km² and a population of 1,582,398 as of 2010. Its main town is Songjiang, connected to Shanghai by Shanghai Metro Line 9.It was Songjiang County until 1998.-Significant Features:...
. About 100 years ago, it was pronounced /ŋuɛ/ in Suzhou
Suzhou
Suzhou , previously transliterated as Su-chou, Suchow, and Soochow, is a major city located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, located adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake and is a part...
and Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, and now it is /uɛ/.
Some pairs of literary and colloquial readings are interchangeable in all cases, such as in the words and . Some must be read in one particular reading. For example, must be read using the literary reading, /zəɲmiɲ/, and must be read using the colloquial reading, /ɲiɲmiɲ/. Some differences in reading for the same characters have different meanings, such as , using the colloquial reading /pʊtɕɪʔ/ means "make great effort," and using the literary reading /pɑtɕɪʔ/ means "get a desired outcome." Some colloquial readings are almost never used, such as ŋ̍ for and /tɕiɑ̃/ for .
Examples
| Chinese character | Literary reading | Colloquial reading |
|---|---|---|
| 生 | /səɲ/ in 生物 | /sɑ̃/ in 生熟 |
| 人 | /zəɲ/ in 人大 | /ɲiɲ/ in 大人 |
| 大 | /dɑ/ in 人大 | /dɯ/ in 大人 |
| 物 | /vəʔ/ in 事物 | /məʔ/ in 物事 |
| 家 | /tɕia/ in 家庭 | /kɑ/ in 家生 |
Min Nan
Min languages, such as Taiwanese Hokkien, separate reading pronunciations (dúyin, 讀音) from spoken pronunciations/explications (yǔyīn, 語音; jieshuō, 解說). Min NanMin Nan
The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora....
dictionaries in Taiwan often differentiate between such character readings with the prefixes 文 wén (Min Nan bûn) for the literary readings, and 白 bái (Min Nan pi̍k/pe̍h) for colloquial readings.
The following examples in Pe̍h-oē-jī show differences in literary and colloquial readings in Taiwanese Hokkien:
| Chinese character | Literary reading | Colloquial reading |
|---|---|---|
| 白 | pek as in 明白 (bîng-pek) | pèh as in 白菜 (pe̍h-chhài) |
| 面 | biān as in 面會 (biān-huē) | bīn as in 海面 (hái-bīn) |
| 書 | su | chu |
| 生 | seŋ as in 醫生 (i-sing) | seⁿ / siⁿ as in 先生 (sian-siⁿ) |
| 不 | put | m̄ |
| 要 | iàu | beh / ài |
| 返 | hoán | tńg |
| 返 | hoán | tńg |
| 學 | ha̍k | o̍h |
| 人 | jîn / lîn | lâng |
| 少 | siáu | chió |
| 轉 | choán | tńg |
| Hanji | 一 | 二 | 三 | 四 | 五 | 六 | 七 | 八 | 九 | 十 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lit. | it | jī/gī/lī | sam | sù/sɨ | ngō | lio̍k | chhit | pat | kiú | si̍p |
| Colloq. | chit | nn̄g/nō͘ | saⁿ | sì | gō | la̍k | peh/pueh/pəeh/piah | káu | cha̍p |
Gan
The following are examples of variations between literary and colloquial readings of Chinese characters in Gan Chinese.| Chinese character | Literary reading | Colloquial reading |
|---|---|---|
| 生 | /sɛn/ as in 學生 (student) | /saŋ/ as in 出生 (be born) |
| 軟 | /lon/ as in 微軟 (Microsoft) | /ɲion˧/ as in 軟骨 (cartilage) |
| 青 | /tɕʰin/ as in 青春 (youth) | /tɕʰiaŋ/ as in 青菜 (vegetables) |
| 望 | /uɔŋ/ as in 看望 (visit) | /mɔŋ/ as in 望相 (look) |