Teochew Min

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:More footnotes {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other Template:Chinese Teochew,Template:Efn also known as SwatowTemplate:Efn or Teo-SwaTemplate:Efn, is a Southern Min language spoken by the Teochew people in the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong and by their diaspora around the world. It is sometimes referred to as Chiuchow, its Cantonese rendering, due to English romanization by colonial officials and explorers. It is closely related to Hokkien, as it shares some cognates and phonology with Hokkien.

Teochew preserves many Old Chinese pronunciations and vocabulary that have been lost in some of the other modern varieties of Chinese. As such, Teochew is described as one of the most conservative Chinese languages.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

History and geography

Historically, the TeochewTemplate:Efn prefecture included modern prefecture-level cities of Chaozhou, Jieyang and Shantou. In China, this region is now known as TeoswaTemplate:Efn. Parts of the Hakka-speaking Meizhou city, such as Dabu County and Fengshun, were also parts of the Teochew prefecture and contain pocket communities of Teochew speakers.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

As the Teochew region was one of the major sources of Chinese emigration to Southeast Asia during the 18th to 20th centuries, a considerable Overseas Chinese community in that region is Teochew-speaking.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In particular, the Teochew people settled in significant numbers in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, where they form the largest Chinese sub-language group.<ref>Szklarz, Z. (2024). Chinese Economic Behavior in Southeast Asia: A Historical and Cultural Overview of the Migration Patterns, Culture, and Business Practices of the Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia.</ref> Additionally, there are many Teochew-speakers among Chinese communities in Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia (especially in the states of Johor, Malacca, Penang, Kedah and Selangor with significant minorities in Sarawak) and Indonesia (especially in West Kalimantan). Waves of migration from Teochew region to Hong Kong, especially after the communist victory of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, has also resulted in the formation of a community there, although most descendants now primarily speak Cantonese and English as a result of colonialism and assimilation to the dominant Cantonese culture.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Teochew speakers are also found among overseas Chinese communities in Japan and the Western world (notably in the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, France and Italy), a result of both direct emigration from the Chaoshan region to these nations and also secondary emigration from Southeast Asia.

In Singapore, Teochew remains the ancestral language of many Chinese Singaporeans, with Chinese of Teochew descent making up second largest Chinese group in Singapore, after the Hoklo. Despite this many Teochew people, particularly the younger generations, are shifting towards English and Mandarin as their main spoken language. This is due to the Singapore government's stringent bilingual policy that promotes English as the official language of education, government and commerce and promotes Mandarin at the expense of other Chinese languages. Some Teochew assimilated with the larger Hokkien community and speak Hokkien rather than Teochew due to Hokkien's prominent role as a lingua franca previously among the Singaporean Chinese community.

Classification

Teochew is a Southern Min language. As with other Sinitic languages, it is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin, Cantonese or Shanghainese. It has only limited intelligibility with Hokkien. Even within the Teochew dialects, there is substantial variation in phonology between different regions and between different Teochew communities overseas.

The dialects of Teochew include:<ref name="tonotypes">Template:Cite book</ref>

• Northern Teochew, or Chaozhou division ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), including:
  • Teochew proper ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), spoken in urban Chaozhou (Xiangqiao District); a similar dialect is spoken in Chenghai
  • Kekyeo dialect ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), spoken in urban Jieyang (Rongcheng District); related dialects are spoken in adjacent areas in Jiedong, Jiexi, as well as in northern parts of Puning and Chaoyang
  • Swatow dialect ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), spoken in urban Shantou (Jinping and Longhu)
  • Raoping dialect ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), spoken in Raoping County
• Southern Teochew, or Chaoyang-Puning division ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), including:
  • Teoyeo dialect ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), spoken in the historical Teoyeo (Chaoyang) county, which includes modern Chaoyang, Chaonan, and Haojiang
  • Puning dialect ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), spoken in urban Puning
  • Huilai dialect ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), spoken in Huilai County

Some classifications consider the Hai Lok Hong dialect a part of Teochew (as the third branch), while others consider it a part of Hokkien or an independent Southern Min variety.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In the Namoa island, there are two dialects, both distinct from the mainland Teochew, with Western Namoa dialect inclining towards the Northern Teochew, and Eastern Namoa dialect showing Hokkien influence, as this part of the island was included in Zhangzhou prefecture in 16—19 centuries.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Chawan dialect, spoken in Fujian along the Guangdong border, is quite different from other southern dialects of Hokkien. It has some lexical influence from Teochew and relatively higher mutual intelligibility with it, yet in other aspects it clusters more with Hokkien than Teochew.

The main criterion in the classification of Teochew dialects is the presence or absence of the vowel {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. It is found in Northern Teochew in words like hṳ̂ 魚 Template:Tonesup "fish" and sṳ̄ 事 Template:Tonesup "thing; matter". Southern Teochew has {{#invoke:IPA|main}} instead (hû 魚 Template:Tonesup, sū 事 Template:Tonesup). Hai Lok Hong and Eastern Namoa dialects have {{#invoke:IPA|main}} or {{#invoke:IPA|main}} instead, depending on the etymology of the word (hî 魚 Template:Tonesup, but sū 事 Template:Tonesup), similarly to the Chiangchew Hokkien. Southern Teochew may be further divided into Huilai—Puning dialects and Teoyeo dialects, based on their tone contours.<ref name="tonotypes"/>

• 潮州府位置图1820.svg

  lang}}) in Guangdong province during the Qing dynasty. Teochew language is spoken throughout the region, which is now called "Teoswa", as the former Teochew prefecture was dissolved.
• Teochew map.svg

  Major dialect groups of TeochewTemplate:LegendTemplate:LegendTemplate:Legend
  Template:LegendTemplate:Legend

The prestige dialects of Teochew all belong to the Northern branch. The Northern Teochew dialects are mutually intelligible between each other, but less so with the Southern branch.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Various stereotypes and cultural traits are associated with different Teochew dialects. For instance, within the Shantou city, the urban Swatow dialect is perceived as "energetic", "gentle", but also "snobbish" or "pretentious" by speakers of other dialects; the Chenghai dialect (similar to urban Chaozhou dialect) is perceived as "soft", "cute", and "high-pitched"; the Teoyeo dialect is perceived as "harsh", "aggressive" and "countrified".<ref name=":1" />

Writing system

Written Southern Min is known since at least the 16th century. The earliest known work is a 1566 edition of the Tale of the Lychee Mirror, a folk drama written in a mixture of Teochew and Chinchew Hokkien.

Teochew writing is neither standardized nor is widely used. In Imperial China, most writing was conducted in Classical Chinese, while vernacular writing was only used in novels, songbooks and opera scripts. After the Xinhai revolution, only written Mandarin was supported by the government, while speakers of other Sinitic languages, including Teochew, remaining largely illiterate in their own tongues.

Teochew rime dictionaries appeared relatively late, the earliest of them being "Fifteen consonants of Teochew language" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, 1911) by Chio Ju-lim ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) and "Fifteen consonants of Teochew sound" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, 1913) by Teo See-tiang ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).

Chinese characters

Most of the Teochew vocabulary can be traced back to Old Chinese, and thus can be written using Chinese characters. There are different ways to write words that do not have a clearly associated etymological character, including:

• using a character with the same meaning regardless of its reading
• borrowing a phonetically close character regardless of its meaning
• inventing a new character
• attempting to find an original character

Teochew shares characters with Hokkien for cognate words, but it is also influenced by the Cantonese written tradition.

Word	Possible spellings
	Semantic	Phonetic	Invented character	Presumed original character
pak / Template:Tonesup "to know"	Template:Wikt-lang	Template:Wikt-lang, Template:Wikt-lang	Template:Wikt-lang	Template:Wikt-lang
tiâng / Template:Tonesup "who"	Template:Wikt-lang	Template:Wikt-lang, Template:Wikt-lang	Template:Wikt-lang	[[[:Template:Wikt-lang]]]
tsōi / Template:Tonesup "many"	Template:Wikt-lang	Template:Wikt-lang, Template:Wikt-lang	Template:Wikt-lang	Template:Wikt-lang, Template:Wikt-lang
thâi / Template:Tonesup "to kill"	Template:Wikt-lang	Template:Wikt-lang	Template:Wikt-lang	Template:Wikt-lang
m̆ / Template:Tonesup "not"	Template:Wikt-lang	Template:Wikt-lang	Template:Wikt-lang	Template:Wikt-lang
tse̍k / Template:Tonesup "one"	Template:Wikt-lang	Template:Wikt-lang		Template:Wikt-lang, Template:Wikt-lang
kûiⁿ / Template:Tonesup "tall; high"	Template:Wikt-lang	Template:Wikt-lang		Template:Wikt-lang
tshâng / Template:Tonesup "field"	Template:Wikt-lang			Template:Wikt-lang, Template:Wikt-lang

Romanization

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} There are two principal romanization systems for Teochew:

• Pe̍h-ūe-jī, originally invented for Hokkien in the 19th century and adapted for Teochew (particularly the Swatow dialect)
• Peng'im, invented in the 1960s and based on the Hanyu Pinyin romanization for Mandarin

While Peng'im has some presence in academic works published in PRC, many publications on Teochew use their custom IPA-based romanizations.

Consonants

IPA	Pe̍h-ūe-jī	Peng'im
Template:IPAslink	p	b
Template:IPAslink	ph	p
Template:IPAslink	b	bh
Template:IPAslink	m	m
Template:IPAslink	t	d
Template:IPAslink	th	t
Template:IPAslink	l	l
Template:IPAslink	n	n
Template:IPAslink	h	h
Template:IPAslink	k	g
Template:IPAslink	kh	k
Template:IPAslink	g	gh
Template:IPAslink	ng	ng
Template:IPAslink	tsTemplate:Efn	z
Template:IPAslink	tshTemplate:Efn	c
Template:IPAslink	zTemplate:Efn	r
Template:IPAslink	s	s

Vowels

IPA	Pe̍h-ūe-jī	Peng'im
Template:IPAslink	a	a
main}}	ia	ia
main}}	ua	ua
main}}	ai	ai
main}}	au	ao
main}}	uai	uai
main}}	iau	iao
Template:IPAslink	o	o
main}}	io	io
main}}	oi	oi
main}}	ou	ou
main}}	iou	iou
Template:IPAslink or Template:IPAslink	e	ê
main}} or {{#invoke:IPA|main}}	ie	iê
main}} or {{#invoke:IPA|main}}	ue	uê
Template:IPAslink or Template:IPAslink	ṳ	e
Template:IPAslink	i	i
Template:IPAslink	u	u
main}}	ui	ui
main}}	iu	iu

Codas

IPA	Pe̍h-ūe-jī	Peng'im
Template:IPAslink	-ng	-ng
Template:IPAslink	-k	-g
Template:IPAslink	-h	-h
Template:IPAslink	-ⁿ	-n
Template:IPAslink	-m	-m
Template:IPAslink	-p	-b
Template:IPAslinkTemplate:Efn	-n	—
Template:IPAslinkTemplate:Efn	-t	—

Phonetics and phonology

Consonants

{{#invoke:Listen|main}} Teochew, like other Southern Min varieties, is one of the few modern Sinitic languages which have voiced obstruents (stops, fricatives and affricates); however, unlike Wu and Xiang Chinese, the Teochew voiced stops and fricatives did not evolve from Middle Chinese voiced obstruents, but from nasals.

The voiced stops {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and also {{#invoke:IPA|main}} are voicelessly prenasalized {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, respectively.

The voiced affricate Template:IPA link, initial in such words as jī Template:Wikt-lang Template:Tonesup (/dzi˩/), jĭ Template:Wikt-lang Template:Tonesup (/dzi˧˥/), jiâng Template:Wikt-lang Template:Tonesup (/dziaŋ˥/), jia̍k Template:Wikt-lang Template:Tonesup (/dziak˦/) loses its affricate property with some younger speakers abroad, and is relaxed to [z].

Teochew consonants

		Bilabial	Alveolar	Velar	Glottal
Voiced (no frictions)	nasal	Template:IPAlink 毛	Template:IPAlink 年	Template:IPAlink 雅
	plosive or lateral	Template:IPAlink 米	Template:IPAlink 來/內	Template:IPAlink 鵝/牙
Voiceless stops	aspirated	Template:IPAlink 皮	Template:IPAlink 台	Template:IPAlink 可
	plain	Template:IPAlink 比	Template:IPAlink 都	Template:IPAlink 歌	Template:IPAlink
Voiceless affricates	aspirated		Template:IPAlink 菜/樹
	plain		Template:IPAlink 書/指/食
Fricatives			Template:IPAlink 士/速		Template:IPAlink 海/系
			Template:IPAlink 爾/貳

Unlike in Hokkien, nasal initials in Teochew are not generally considered allophones of the voiced plosives, as nasals are relatively more common in Teochew and have less usage restrictions. For example, Teochew allows for syllables like nge̍k 逆 Template:Tonesup, which are impossible in Hokkien.

In Southern dialects of Teochew, labial initials (/p/, /pʰ/, /b/, /m/) have labiodental allophones ([pf], [pfʰ], [bv], [mv~ɱ]) before /-u-/.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Character	Pe̍h-ūe-jī	Peng'im	Swatow dialect	Teoyeo dialect
Template:Wikt-lang	pù	Template:Tonesup	main}}	main}}
Template:Wikt-lang	puaⁿ	Template:Tonesup	main}}	main}}
Template:Wikt-lang	phuâ	Template:Tonesup	main}}	main}}
Template:Wikt-lang	phuè	Template:Tonesup	main}}	main}}
Template:Wikt-lang	bú	Template:Tonesup	main}}	main}}
Template:Wikt-lang	bué	Template:Tonesup	main}}	main}}
Template:Wikt-lang	muē	Template:Tonesup	main}}	main}}
Template:Wikt-lang	muá	Template:Tonesup	main}}	main}}

Syllables

Syllables in Teochew contain an onset consonant, a medial glide, a nucleus, usually in the form of a vowel, but can also be occupied by a syllabic consonant like [ŋ], and a final consonant. All the elements of the syllable except for the nucleus are optional, which means a vowel or a syllabic consonant alone can stand as a fully-fledged syllable.

Onsets

All the consonants except for the glottal stop ʔ shown in the consonants chart above can act as the onset of a syllable; however, the onset position is not obligatorily occupied.

Finals

Teochew finals consist maximally of a medial, nucleus and coda. The medial can be /i-/ or /u-/, the nucleus can be a monophthong or diphthong, and the coda can be a nasal or a stop. A syllable must consist minimally of a vowel nucleus or syllabic nasal.

Nucleus		-Template:IPAlink-			-Template:IPAlink-			-Template:IPAlink-		-Template:IPAlink-Template:Efn	-Template:IPAlink-	-Template:IPAlink-	-ai-		-au-		-oi-	-ou-		-ui-	-iu-	∅-
Medial		∅-	i-	u-	∅-	i-	u-	∅-	i-	∅-	∅-	∅-	∅-	u-	∅-	i-	∅-	∅-	i-	∅-	∅-
Coda	-∅	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	Template:Efn	main}}	main}}	main}}Template:Efn	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}Template:Efn	main}}	main}}	Template:Efn	main}}	main}}
	-Template:IPAlink	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	Template:Efn	main}}		main}}Template:Efn	main}}	main}}		main}}Template:Efn	main}}Template:Efn	main}}	main}}Template:Efn	main}}Template:Efn	main}}	Template:Efn	main}}Template:Efn	main}}
	-Template:IPAlink	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	Template:Efn	main}}	main}}	main}}Template:Efn	main}}	main}}	main}}			main}}		main}}				main}}
	-Template:IPAlink	main}}	main}}	main}}							main}}											main}}
	-Template:IPAlink	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}Template:Efn	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}										main}}
	-Template:IPAlink	main}}	main}}	main}}							main}}
	-Template:IPAlink	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}Template:Efn	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}	main}}

Apart from the aforementioned rhymes, there are a few limitedly used finals with both glottal stop and nazalization, usually found in ideophones and interjections, e.g. he̍hⁿ Template:Wikt-lang /hẽʔ˥˦/ "agitated; confused", hauhⁿ Template:Wikt-lang /hãũʔ˧˨/ "to eat in large bites", khuàhⁿ-ua̍hⁿ Template:Wikt-lang /kʰũãʔ˨˩˨꜒꜔.ũãʔ˥˦/ "comfortable".

In most dialects of Teochew, historical codas {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} are merged with {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. They were still present in mainstream Teochew in the 19th century, but now they are found only in certain peripheral dialects of Teochew, as well as in Hai Lok Hong Min.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The rime /ɯ/ is only found in Northern Teochew. In Southern Teochew (the Teoyeo dialect), this rime is merged with /u/. Chaozhou and Swatow rimes /ɯŋ/ (as in Template:Wikt-lang /ŋɯŋ˥/) and /ɯk/ (as in Template:Wikt-lang /ŋɯk˧˨/), derived from historical /ɯn/ and /ɯt/, are merged with /iŋ/ and /ik/ in Southern Teochew (as well as in Kekyeo dialect, where /eŋ/ and /ek/ are used for /ɯŋ, iŋ/ and /ɯk, ik/).

The rime /ŋ̩/, used in vernacular readings, is preserved in all dialects, yet in Northern Teochew it is usually analyzed as identical to /ɯŋ/ (e.g. in Template:Wikt-lang /kɯŋ˧~kŋ̩˧/, Template:Wikt-lang /tɯŋ˥~kŋ̩˧/). In Teochew proper and Swatow dialects, this vernacular rime /ɯŋ~ŋ̩/ is merged with /uŋ/ after labial initials (e.g. general Teochew (including Kekyeo and Teoyeo) Template:Wikt-lang /mɯŋ˥~mŋ̩˥/ and Template:Wikt-lang /pɯŋ˨˩~pŋ̩˨˩/ are pronounced /muŋ˥/ and /puŋ˨˩/ in Chaozhou and Shantou).

Chaozhou /ieng/ and /iek/ are used in syllables that historically had /ien/ and /iet/, e.g. Template:Wikt-lang is different from Template:Wikt-lang in Chaozhou (as /hieŋ˥˧/ and /hiaŋ˥˧/) and Hokkien (as /hien˥˧/ and /hiaŋ˥˧/), but not Swatow (both are /hiaŋ˥˧/).

Similarly, Chaozhou /ueŋ/ (as in Template:Wikt-lang /lueŋ˧˥/) and /uek/ (as in Template:Wikt-lang /huek˧˨/), historically derived from /uan/ and /uat/, are merged with /uaŋ/ and /uak/ in other dialects (including Swatow, Kekyeo, and Teoyeo). There are few cases with the rimes /ueŋ/ and /uek/ in Kekyeo and Teoyeo, not derived from /uan/ and /uat/ and corresponding to Teochew proper and Swatow /uaŋ/ and /uak/, e.g. Template:Wikt-lang and Template:Wikt-lang are pronounced /kʰuaŋ˧/ and /uak˥˦/ in Chaozhou and Shantou, but /kʰueŋ˧/ and /uek˥˦/ in Kekyeo and Southern Teochew.

Tones

Teochew, like other Chinese varieties, is a tonal language. Like other Southern Min varieties, Teochew has split the Middle Chinese four tone into two registers (four "dark tones" and four "light tones"). The tones are numbered from 1 through 8, either in the "dark—light" order (the checked tones are 7 and 8) or in the "level—rising—departing—entering" order (the checked tones are 4 and 8). This section follows the second order, as used in Peng'im.

		lang}} level	lang}} rising	lang}} departing	lang}} entering
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} dark	tone number (Peng'im)	lang}}	lang}}	lang}}	lang}}
	tone diacritic (Pe̍h-ūe-jī)	none	́	̀	none (ending on -p, -t, -k, -h)
	tone name	lang}} Im-phêⁿ "Dark-level"	lang}} Im-siăng "Dark-rising"	lang}} Im-khṳ̀ "Dark-departing"	lang}} Im-ji̍p "Dark-entering"
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} light	tone number (Peng'im)	lang}}	lang}}	lang}}	lang}}
	tone diacritic (Pe̍h-ūe-jī)	̂	̃	̄	̍ (ending on -p, -t, -k, -h)
	tone name	lang}} Iâng-phêⁿ "Light-level"	lang}} Iâng-siăng "Light-rising"	lang}} Iâng-khṳ̀ "Light-departing"	lang}} Iâng-ji̍p "Light-entering"

Depending on the position of a word in a phrase, the tones can change and adopt extensive tone sandhi.

Northern Teochew

Northern Teochew dialects are not too different from each other in their tones. There are small differences in pronunciation of the tone ⑦, which can vary between low falling (21 ˨˩) and low level (22 ˨) among different dialects and individual speakers.<ref name="tonotypes" /><ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref>

	citation tones					post-sandhi tones
	lang}} level	lang}} rising	lang}} departing	lang}} entering		lang}} level	lang}} rising	lang}} departing	lang}} entering
Chaozhou, Chenghai
lang}} dark	① 33 ˧	② 53 ˥˧	③ 212 ˨˩˨	④ 32 ˧˨		34 ˧˦	35 ˧˥	53 ˥˧	54 ˥˦
lang}} light	⑤ 55 ˥	⑥ 35 ˧˥	⑦ 21 ˨˩ ~ 22 ˨	⑧ 54 ˥˦		23 ˨˧	21 ˨˩ ~ 22 ˨	23 ˨˧	32 ˧˨
Jieyang
lang}} dark	① 33 ˧	② 53 ˥˧	③ 212 ˨˩˨	④ 32 ˧˨		33 ˧	35 ˧˥	53 ˥	54 ˥˦
lang}} light	⑤ 55 ˥	⑥ 35 ˧˥	⑦ 22 ˨ ~ 21 ˨˩	⑧ 54 ˥˦		22 ˨ ~ 21 ˨˩	21 ˨˩ ~ 22 ˨		32 ˧˨
Shantou, Raoping
lang}} dark	① 33 ˧	② 53 ˥˧	③ 212 ˨˩˨	④ 32 ˧˨		33 ˧	35 ˧˥	55 ˥	54 ˥˦
lang}} light	⑤ 55 ˥	⑥ 35 ˧˥	⑦ 21 ˨˩ ~ 22 ˨	⑧ 54 ˥˦		21 ˨˩ ~ 22 ˨	22 ˨ ~ 21 ˨˩		32 ˧˨

There are minor differences in tone sandhi among the Northern Teochew dialects:<ref name=":2" />

• The most important difference is that the dark departing tone (③) becomes high falling (53 ˥˧) in Chaozhou and Jieyang and high level (55 ˥) in Shantou and Raoping.
• In Chaozhou, the two level tones (① and ⑤) become slightly rising in sandhi (34 ˧˦ and 23 ˨˧ respectively), rather than level (33 ˧ and 22 ˨ ~ 21 ˨˩) as in other dialects.
• In Jieyang, Chenghai and Chaozhou, the sandhi of tones ②, ③, and ④ have two pronunciations, one being slightly higher (35 ˧˥, 53 ˥˧, 54 ˥˦), used before syllables with high-onset tones (⑤ 55 ˥, ② 53 ˥˧, and ⑧ 54 ˥˦), and another one slightly lower (24 ˨˦, 42 ˦˨, 43 ˦˧), used before all other tones. In Shantou and Raoping, these tones have the same post-sandhi value regardless of the next syllable's tone.
• In Jieyang, Chenghai and Chaozhou, the pronunciation of tone ② will become low level (21 ˨˩) after post-sandhi syllables of tone ②, ③, and ④, which is caused by the assimilation of falling tones.<ref name="LLL1996">Template:Cite book</ref>

The light departing tone (⑦) after sandhi is usually merged with the post-sandhi tone ⑤ or ⑥, depending on the dialect. For convenience, since the difference between them is still not large, all three light tones after sandhi may be described as identical and equal to pre-sandhi tone ⑦. The sandhi rules for Northern Teochew may be simplified as follows:

	citation tones					post-sandhi tones
	lang}} level	lang}} rising	lang}} departing	lang}} entering		lang}} level	lang}} rising	lang}} departing	lang}} entering
lang}} dark	lang}}	lang}}	lang}}	lang}}		lang}}	lang}}	lang}}Template:Efn or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}Template:Efn	lang}}
lang}} light	lang}}	lang}}	lang}}	lang}}		{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}			lang}}

Southern Teochew

Southern Teochew tones are noticeably diverse. Based on their tones, the Southern Teochew dialects can be divided into two broad areas: Teoyeo and Hui-Pou.<ref name="tonotypes" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

	citation tones					post-sandhi tones
	lang}} level	lang}} rising	lang}} departing	lang}} entering		lang}} level	lang}} rising	lang}} departing	lang}} entering
Teoyeo (old)
lang}} dark	① 21 ˨˩	② 551 ˥˥˩	③ 53 ˥˧	④ 43 ˦˧		33 ˧	53 ˥˧	33 ˧	5 ˥
lang}} light	⑤ 44 ˦	⑥ =③	⑦ 42 ˦˨	⑧ 45 ˦˥		44 ˦	21 ˨˩		3 ˧
Teoyeo (new)
lang}} dark	① 31 ˧˩	② 55 ˥˥ ~ 35 ˧˥	③ 52 ˥˨	④ 32 ˧˨		31 ˧˩	52 ˥˨	23 ˨˧	5 ˥
lang}} light	⑤ 33 ˧ ~ 23 ˨˧	⑥ =③	⑦ 43 ˦˧ ~ 44 ˦	⑧ 45 ˦˥		33 ˧ ~ 23 ˨˧	21 ˨˩		3 ˧
Haimen
lang}} dark	① 31 ˧˩	② 551 ˥˥˩	③ 51 ˥˩	④ 43 ˦˧		33 ˧	41 ˦˩	44 ˦	54 ˥˦
lang}} light	⑤ 44 ˦	⑥ =①	⑦ 441 ˦˦˩	⑧ 45 ˦˥		44 ˦	33 ˧		43 ˦˧
Dahao
lang}} dark	① 21 ˨˩	② 24 ˨˦	③ 52 ˥˨	④ 3 ˧		21 ˨˩	52 ˥˨	33 ˧	45 ˦˥
lang}} light	⑤ 33 ˧	⑥ =③	⑦ 31 ˧˩	⑧ 45 ˦˥		33 ˧	21 ˨˩		3 ˧
Puning and Huilai
lang}} dark	① 34 ˧˦	② 53 ˥˧Template:Efn or 55 ˥Template:Efn	③ 31 ˧˩	④ 32 ˧˨		33 ˧	34 ˧˦	55 ˥	54 ˥˦
lang}} light	⑤ 44 ˦	⑥ 23 ˨˧	⑦ 42 ˦˨Template:Efn or =③Template:Efn or =⑥Template:Efn	⑧ 54 ˥˦		31 ˧˩	33 ˧		32 ˧˨

Currently, a tone shift is ongoing in the Teoyeo dialect. There is a continuum between the "old accent" and "new accent". This shift is more advanced in urban dialects in Eastern Chaoyang (incl. Haojiang, especially the Dahao dialect), among female speakers, and in the younger generations (born after the 1980s). The principal features of this shift are as follows:<ref name="tonotypes" />

• Dark level tone (①) shifts from 21 ˨˩ to 31 ˧˩.
• Light level tone (⑤) shifts from high level 44 ˦ to mid-level 33 ˧ or mid-rising 23 ˨˧.
• Dark rising tone (②) shifts from high fallig 551 ˥˥˩ to high level 55 ˥, and in urban Eastern Teoyeo dialects it can even become high rising 45 ˦˥ or 35 ˧˥.
• Dark departing tone (③) and light departing tone (⑦) are falling in a "parallel" pattern (53 ˥˧ and 42 ˦˨ respectively) in the old accent, while in the new accent they are still falling, but the light departing tone (⑦) is more "flat" (52 ˥˨ and 43 ˦˧~44 ˦ respectively).

"Old" Teoyeo accent is notable for the fact that out of its five non-checked tones, four tones have falling contour.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Hui-Pou dialects are more homogeneous in their tones than Teoyeo dialects. Puning and Eastern Huilai dialects have 8 tones, while Central and Western Huilai have 7 tones (tone ⑦ is merged with other tones). Some of the Huilai dialects undergo tone shift similar to that in Teoyeo dialects, but to a lesser extent (particularly, tone ② becomes high level 55 rather than high falling 53).

Neutral tone

Like Hokkien, Teochew has the neutral tone. In pronunciation, the neutral tone is considered to be identical to the light departing tone (⑦) in the respective dialect, but when the original tone of the syllable was dark rising (②), the neutral tone is identical to the dark departing tone (③), and when the original tone was an entering tone (④ or ⑧), the neutral tone is identical to the dark entering tone (④).

	citation tones					neutral tone
	lang}} level	lang}} rising	lang}} departing	lang}} entering		lang}} level	lang}} rising	lang}} departing	lang}} entering
lang}} dark	lang}}	lang}}	lang}}	lang}}		lang}}	lang}}	lang}}	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}
lang}} light	lang}}	lang}}	lang}}	lang}}		{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

Some works refer to the neutral tone as "left-dominant tone sandhi". However, unlike the general ("right-dominant") Teochew tone sandhi, which is a regular phonetic change, the neutral tone is lexical and its occurrence cannot be predicted. Compare the following examples with the morpheme nî Template:Wikt-lang Template:Tonesup "year", where some words have the neutral tone, while others preserve the original tone.<ref name="aspect">Template:Cite journal</ref>

tsâiⁿ--nî Template:Wikt-lang Template:Tonesup "year before last"

ău--nî Template:Wikt-lang Template:Tonesup "year after next"

tuā-tsâiⁿ--nî Template:Wikt-lang Template:Tonesup "three years ago"

jĭ-káu--nî {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup "year 29"

but:

kim-nî Template:Wikt-lang Template:Tonesup "this year"

kū-nî Template:Wikt-lang Template:Tonesup "last year"

mê-nî Template:Wikt-lang Template:Tonesup "next year"

jĭ-tsa̍p-ngŏu-nî {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup "25 years"

Grammar

The grammar of Teochew is similar to other Min languages, as well as some southern varieties of Chinese, especially with Hakka, Yue and Wu. The sequence 'subject–verb–object' is typical, like Standard Mandarin, although the 'subject–object–verb' form is also possible using particles.

Morphology

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

The personal pronouns in Teochew, like in other Chinese languages, do not show case marking, therefore uá {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup means both I and me and i-nâng {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup means they and them. The Southern Min languages, like some Mandarin dialects, have a distinction between an inclusive and exclusive we, meaning that when the addressee is being included, the inclusive pronoun náng {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup would be used, otherwise uáng {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup is employed. Outside Southern Min varieties like Teochew, no other southern Chinese variety has this distinction.<ref name="aspect"/>

Personal Pronouns in Teochew

	Singular		Plural
1st person	uá {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup	I / me	Inclusive	lang}} Template:Tonesup	we / us
			Exclusive	lang}} Template:TonesupTemplate:Efn	we / us
2nd person	lang}} Template:Tonesup	you	nṳ́ng, níng {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup		you (plural)
3rd person	lang}} Template:Tonesup	he/she/it/him/her	ing {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup i-nâng {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup		they/them

Possessive pronouns

Teochew does not distinguish the possessive pronouns from the possessive adjectives. As a general rule, the possessive pronouns or adjectives are formed by adding the genitive or possessive marker kâi {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup to their respective personal pronouns, as summarized below:

Possessive Pronouns in Teochew

	Singular		Plural
1st person	uá-kâi {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup	my / mine	Inclusive	lang}} Template:Tonesup	our / ours
			Exclusive	lang}} Template:Tonesup	ours / ours
2nd person	lang}} Template:Tonesup	your / yours	nṳ́ng-kâi, níng-kâi {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup		your / yours (plural)
3rd person	lang}} Template:Tonesup	his / his; her / hers; its / its	i-nâng-kâi {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup		their / theirs

As kâi Template:Wikt-lang Template:Tonesup is the generic measure word, it may be replaced by other more appropriate classifiers:<ref name="aspect"/>

Demonstrative pronouns

Teochew has the typical two-way distinction between the demonstratives, namely the proximals and the distals. The basic determiners are tsí {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup "this" and hṳ́ {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup "that", and they require at least a classifier (generic kâi {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup, collective tshoh {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup, or another), which can be optionally preceded by a numeral.

The Teochew Demonstratives

		Proximal		Distal
General	Singular	lang}} Template:Tonesup	this (one)	lang}} Template:Tonesup	that (one)
	Collective	lang}} Template:Tonesup	these (few)	lang}} Template:Tonesup	those (few)
	Plural (non-specific)	lang}} Template:Tonesup	these	lang}} Template:Tonesup	those
Type		lang}} Template:Tonesup	this kind of	lang}} Template:Tonesup	that kind of
Spatial		lang}} Template:Tonesup	here	lang}} Template:Tonesup	there
		lang}} Template:Tonesup	here inside	lang}} Template:Tonesup	there inside
		lang}} Template:Tonesup	here outside	lang}} Template:Tonesup	there outside
Temporal		lang}} Template:Tonesup	now; recently	lang}} Template:Tonesup	then
Degree		lang}} Template:Tonesup	this much	lang}} Template:Tonesup	that much
Adverbial		lang}} Template:Tonesup	like this	lang}} Template:Tonesup	like that

Interrogative pronouns

The Teochew Interrogative Pronouns

who / whom		lang}} Template:Tonesup
		lang}} Template:Tonesup
		lang}} Template:Tonesup
what		lang}} Template:Tonesup
what (kind of) + noun		lang}} Template:Tonesup + N
which		lang}} Template:Tonesup + NUM + CL + N
		lang}} Template:Tonesup
where		lang}} Template:Tonesup
when		lang}} Template:Tonesup
how, why	manner	lang}} Template:Tonesup
	state	lang}} Template:Tonesup
		lang}} Template:Tonesup
		lang}} Template:Tonesup
how many; how much		lang}} Template:Tonesup + CL + N
		lang}} Template:Tonesup + CL + N

Numerals

Some numerals in Teochew have two variants: the literary one and the vernacular one.

Value	Literary	Vernacular	Notes
0	Template:Wikt-lang lêng / Template:Tonesup	Template:Wikt-lang khàng / Template:Tonesup	Template:Wikt-lang may also be written as Template:Wikt-lang.
1	Template:Wikt-lang ik / Template:Tonesup	Template:Wikt-lang tse̍k / Template:Tonesup	Template:Wikt-lang is often considered the original character for tse̍k / Template:Tonesup. When spelling numbers digit by digit, iau Template:Wikt-lang Template:Tonesup is also used for "one".
2	Template:Wikt-lang jĭ / Template:Tonesup	Template:Wikt-lang nŏ / Template:Tonesup	Template:Wikt-lang nŏ / Template:Tonesup may also be written as Template:Wikt-lang The character Template:Wikt-lang has a literary reading liáng / Template:Tonesup.
3	Template:Wikt-lang sam / Template:Tonesup	Template:Wikt-lang saⁿ / Template:Tonesup	Literary reading is used in some set compounds.
4	Template:Wikt-lang sṳ̀ / Template:Tonesup	Template:Wikt-lang sì / Template:Tonesup	Literary reading is extremely rare.
5	Template:Wikt-lang ngóu / Template:Tonesup	Template:Wikt-lang ngŏu / Template:Tonesup	Literary reading is used in some set compounds. Also pronounced as ngŏm / Template:Tonesup in Southern Teochew.
6	Template:Wikt-lang la̍k / Template:Tonesup		Only vernacular reading.
7	Template:Wikt-lang tshik / Template:Tonesup		Only literary reading.
8	Template:Wikt-lang poih / Template:Tonesup		Only vernacular reading.
9	Template:Wikt-lang kiú / Template:Tonesup	Template:Wikt-lang káu / Template:Tonesup	Literary reading is used in some set compounds.
10	Template:Wikt-lang tsa̍p / Template:Tonesup		Only vernacular reading.
100	Template:Wikt-lang peh / Template:Tonesup		Only vernacular reading.
1000	Template:Wikt-lang tshoiⁿ / Template:Tonesup		Only vernacular reading. Also tshaiⁿ / Template:Tonesup (in Kekyeo and Southern Teochew).
10000	Template:Wikt-lang buāng / Template:Tonesup		Only literary reading Also buēng / Template:Tonesup (in Chaozhou). Also bāng / Template:Tonesup (variant in Southern Teochew).

Generally, vernacular variants are used, and literary readings are limited to certain set compounds and idioms, e.g.: Sam-kok Template:Wikt-lang, ngóu-kim Template:Wikt-lang, kiú-siau Template:Wikt-lang, ngóu-tsháiⁿ-phiang-hung Template:Wikt-lang, sam-sṳ-jṳ̂-kiâⁿ Template:Wikt-lang, kiú-liû-sam-kàu Template:Wikt-lang, etc.

However, literary forms of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} are more commonly used, particularly in the following cases:

• for the last digit in compound numbers:

tsa̍p ik {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup "eleven"

saⁿ tsa̍p jĭ {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup "thirty two"

• for counting tens (but not hundreds or thousands) in compound numbers

jĭ tsa̍p ik {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup "twenty one"

but:

tse̍k peh {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup "one hundred"

nŏ tshoiⁿ {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup "two thousands"

• in ordinal numbers, names for days, and dates

tŏiⁿ jĭ {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup "second"

tsheⁿ khî ik {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup "Monday"

tsiaⁿ gue̍h tshiu ik {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup "first day of the Lunar New Year"

jĭ-khàng-iau-poih-nî jĭ-gue̍h jĭ-hō {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup "February 2, 2018"

Passive construction

In Teochew passive construction, the agent phrase by somebody always has to be present, and is introduced by the preposition khṳh {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup or pung {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup, both literally meaning "to give". If the agent is not explicitly named, its position is taken by nâng {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup (Template:Lit).

While in Mandarin one can have the agent introducer Template:Zh or Template:Zh alone without the agent itself, in Teochew it is not grammatical to omit this dummy agent nâng {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup.

(cf. Mandarin Template:Zh)

The agent phrase pung nâng {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup always comes immediately after the subject, not at the end of the sentence or between the auxiliary and the past participle like in some European languages (e.g. German, Dutch).

Comparison

Comparative construction with two or more nouns

Teochew, like Cantonese but unlike Hokkien, uses the construction "X ADJ kuè {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup Y", to express the comparison:

(cf. Cantonese Template:Zh)

However, due to modern influences from Mandarin, the Mandarin structure "X {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Y ADJ" has also gained popularity over the years. Therefore, the same sentence can be re-structured and becomes:

(cf. Mandarin Template:Zh)

Comparative construction with only one noun

The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}- or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}-construction must involve two or more nouns to be compared; an ill-formed sentence will be yielded when only one is being mentioned:

* {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (?)

Teochew is different from English, where the second noun being compared can be left out ("Tatyana is more beautiful (than Lisa)". In cases like this, the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}-construction must be used instead:

The same holds true for Mandarin and Cantonese in that another structure needs to be used when only one of the nouns being compared is mentioned. Teochew and Mandarin both use a pre-modifier (before the adjective) while Cantonese uses a post-modifier (after the adjective).

• Mandarin

• Cantonese

There are two words which are intrinsically comparative in meaning, i.e. iâⁿ {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup "to win" and su {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup "to lose". They can be used alone or in conjunction with the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}-structure:

Note the use of the adverbial hoh tsōi {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup at the end of the sentence to express a higher degree.

Equal construction

In Teochew, the idea of equality is expressed with the word pêⁿ {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup or pêⁿ-iōⁿ {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup:

("They look the same/They're as good as each other/They're as bad as each other"; Template:Lit "The two people are the same same way")

Superlative construction

To express the superlative, Teochew uses the adverb siăng {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup or siăng-téng {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Template:Tonesup. The latter variant is usually used with a complimentary connotation.

Vocabulary

Teochew vocabulary consists of several layers, including:

• Pan-Sinitic words, found in most other languages of the Sinosphere (such as Hokkien, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, etc), often derived from Literary Chinese or orthographically borrowed from Japanese or Mandarin

ì-kièng Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "opinion",

kok-ke Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "state; country",

kak-hung Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "to marry",

khùng-nâng Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "hard; difficult",

seng-mĕng Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "life",

tāu-hū Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "tofu"

tiĕng-uē Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "telephone",

tshuk-kháu Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "exit",

huang-uàⁿ Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "plan; scheme",

bûng-huè Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "culture",

kāng-huâ-kok Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "republic",

tiĕng-náu Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "computer"

• Basic words derived from Old Chinese, usually via Proto-Min; generally, they are not found in other languages of the Sinosphere, except as morphemes in compound words

lṳ́ Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "you",

ma̍k Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "eye",

tṳ̄ Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "chopsticks",

nâng Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "man; person",

saⁿ Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "shirt"

• Min-specific words, usually shared with other Min languages (or at least Southern Min languages like Hokkien)

ta Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "dry",

khṳ̀ng Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "to hide",

khṳh Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "to give",

lim Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "to drink"

• Teochew-specific words

tàⁿ Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "to say; to talk",

ĭⁿ Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "to sleep",

ngà Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "stupid; foolish",

jṳ̂ Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "to wipe; to mop",

tsò-nî Template:Linktext Template:Tonesup "why; how"

Most of the Teochew vocabulary (around 70-80%) consists of the pan-Sinitic words. However, their proportion is much lower among the most basic words used in daily speech, as they tend to belong to the last three categories. This pattern is also seen in other languages of the Sinosphere, e.g. in Japanese, where the Sino-Japanese words constitute around 60-70% of total vocabulary, but only around 20% of words used in common speech.

Literary and vernacular readings

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

In Teochew, like in other Min languages, it is common for a character to have at least two readings, called "literary" and "vernacular". The number of such doublets in Teochew is somewhat smaller than in Hokkien, due to Teochew being prone to use only vernacular readings and lose their literary counterparts.

Relationship with Hokkien

Teochew and Hokkien are both Southern Min languages. Hokkien, which is spoken in southern Fujian, shares many phonetic similarities with Teochew, but they have low lexical similarity. Although Teochew and Hokkien share some cognates, there are pronounced differences in most vowels with some consonant and tone shifts.

Teochew has only 51% intelligibility with the Tong'an Xiamen dialect of Hokkien (Cheng 1997), approximately the same as the percentage of intelligibility as between Russian and Ukrainian languages, while it has even lower mutual intelligibility language with other dialects of the Hokkien language.Template:Cn

Most Teochew people do not speak Hokkien and the majority of Hokkien and Teochew people both see themselves as a distinct ethnic groups / nation. There are a minority of Teochew people who speak Hokkien as their mother tongue, most of whom have close contact or relatives in the neighbouring three originally-Teochew counties of what is now South Fujian, which were seceded to Fujian during the early Tang dynasty and subsequently assimilated into the Hokkien population. These Hokkien-speaking Teochews are more likely to treat Teochew simply as accented dialect of Hokkien. These people usually have a strong sense of Hokkien identity.Template:Cn

Pronunciation

In Hokkien, denasalization of initial consonants is extensive, and sounds [m], [n], [ng] are usually viewed as allophones of /b/, /l~d/, /g/ used with nasalized rhymes. In Teochew and Hai Lok Hong, denasalization is less common.

Character	Teochew	Hokkien
Template:Wikt-lang 'to go against'	nge̍k	ge̍k
Template:Wikt-lang 'jade'	ge̍k
Template:Wikt-lang 'suitable'	ngî	gî
Template:Wikt-lang 'doubt'	gî
Template:Wikt-lang 'handle; knob'	niú	liú
Template:Wikt-lang 'willow'	liú
Template:Wikt-lang 'man'	nâng	lâng
Template:Wikt-lang 'cage'	lâng
Template:Wikt-lang 'slow'	măng	bān
Template:Wikt-lang 'ten thousand'	buāng
Template:Wikt-lang 'eye'	ma̍k	ba̍k
Template:Wikt-lang 'ink'	ba̍k

Hokkien and Hai Lok Hong have three pairs of codas: -ng/-k, -m/-p and -n/-t. Most dialects of Teochew have merged -n/-t with -ng/-k. On the other hand, many Teochew dialects, except urban Swatow and Chenghai, do not dissimilate the Middle Chinese rhyme Template:Wikt-lang -jom, e.g. they have huàm Template:Wikt-lang, huăm Template:Wikt-lang, huap Template:Wikt-lang, while Hokkien has huàn Template:Wikt-lang, huǎn Template:Wikt-lang, huat Template:Wikt-lang.

Teochew (except some Southern Teochew dialects) and Hai Lok Hong have 8 citation tones, while most dialects of Hokkien have 7 tones.

In individual rhymes, the differences between Hokkien and Teochew are comparable to differences between the dialects of each language. For example, both Northern Hokkien and Northern Teochew have the /ɯ/ sound, which is not found in Southern Teochew and Southern Hokkien. Northern Hokkien and Teochew both have -ng (in Hokkien and Southern Teochew) or -ung (in Northern Teochew) rhyme in words like Template:Wikt-lang pn̄g/pūng, Template:Wikt-lang mn̂g/mûng, while Southern Hokkien and Hai Lok Hong have -uiⁿ instead (Template:Wikt-lang pūiⁿ, Template:Wikt-lang mûi).

Grammar

Teochew grammar shows some Cantonese or Hakka influence. For example,

• Teochew uses comparative structure with -kuè Template:Wikt-lang "to exceed, to surpass", as in Cantonese, while Hokkien uses native Min comparative construction with an adverb khah Template:Wikt-lang "more".
• Teochew, like Cantonese, uses bare classifiers to mean "this", but this usage is not typical for Hokkien.
• Teochew uses relevant classifiers to indicate possession; e.g., the phrase "my book" may be expressed with both uá púng tsṳ {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (with classifier for books) and uá kâi tsṳ {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (with possessive particle) in Teochew, but in Hokkien, only góa ê tsṳ {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is used.

Teochew differs from Hokkien in function words:

Teochew	Hai Lok Hong	Hokkien	explanation
Template:Wikt-lang kâi	Template:Wikt-lang kâi	Template:Wikt-lang ê	possessive particle
Template:Wikt-lang tŏ Template:Wikt-lang lŏ (dialectal)	Template:Wikt-lang ló	Template:Wikt-lang leh Template:Wikt-lang tǐ-leh	progressive aspect marker
Template:Wikt-lang -tŏ-kò	Template:Wikt-lang -nín	Template:Wikt-lang --leh	durative aspect marker
Template:Wikt-lang pung Template:Wikt-lang khṳh	Template:Wikt-lang pun Template:Wikt-lang kho	Template:Wikt-lang hō͘	passive or causative agent preposition
Template:Wikt-lang àiⁿ	Template:Wikt-lang àiⁿ	Template:Wikt-lang beh	"to want" (modal verb)
Template:Wikt-lang hoh	Template:Wikt-lang hoh	Template:Wikt-lang chin	"very" (dummy adverb in adjectival sentences)

Vocabulary

Teochew has many differences with Hokkien in its basic vocabulary. Some of the differences are due to influence from Cantonese, while others are alternative yet still native Min words.

gloss	Teochew	Cantonese	Hokkien
"to see"	Template:Wikt-lang thóiⁿ	Template:Wikt-lang tái	Template:Wikt-lang khòaⁿ
"to read"	Template:Wikt-lang tha̍k-tsṳ	Template:Wikt-lang duhksyū	Template:Wikt-lang tha̍k-chheh
"to sleep"	Template:Wikt-lang n̍gh, ĭⁿ	Template:Wikt-lang fan	Template:Wikt-lang khùn
"beautiful"	Template:Wikt-lang ngiá	Template:Wikt-lang leng	Template:Wikt-lang súi
"to speak"	Template:Wikt-lang tàⁿ	Template:Wikt-lang góng	Template:Wikt-lang kóng Template:Wikt-lang seh
"what"	Template:Wikt-lang mih-kâi	Template:Wikt-lang mātyéh	Template:Wikt-lang siáⁿ-mi̍h
"child"	Template:Wikt-lang nou-kiáⁿ	Template:Wikt-lang sailouh	Template:Wikt-lang gín-á
"black"	Template:Wikt-lang ou	Template:Wikt-lang hāk	Template:Wikt-lang o͘

Teochew tends to use more vernacular readings where Hokkien prefers the literary readings. For instance, Hokkien uses Template:Wikt-lang to-siā for "Thank you", with literary reading for the first character, while Teochew reads it with the vernacular reading as tsōi-siā. The character Template:Wikt-lang has both literary reading (Teochew ang, Hokkien an) and vernacular reading (both uaⁿ), the latter more commonly used in Teochew (Template:Wikt-lang uaⁿ-tshuâng, Template:Wikt-lang uaⁿ-sim, Template:Wikt-lang uaⁿ-úng, Template:Wikt-lang tī-uaⁿ, etc), while being rare in Hokkien (used in a few place names: Template:Wikt-lang Tâng-uaⁿ, Template:Wikt-lang Lâm-uaⁿ, Template:Wikt-lang Hūi-uaⁿ).

For some characters, literary readings only exist in Hokkien (even if used exclusively for declamation of Classical Chinese texts), while many vernacular readings are used only in Teochew.

Character	Type of reading	Teochew	Hokkien		Middle Chinese (Baxter) or Proto-Southern-Min (Kwok Bit-Chee)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	Old Chinese (Baxter-Sagart)
Template:Wikt-lang 'meat'	literary		jio̍k		MC nyuwk	*k.nuk
	vernacular	ne̍k	he̍k		PSM *nhɯk3
Template:Wikt-lang 'white'	literary		pe̍k		MC baek	*bˤrak
	vernacular	pe̍h	pe̍h		PSM *peʔ8
Template:Wikt-lang 'before'	literary		chiân		MC dzen	*dzˤen
	vernacular	tsôiⁿ	chêng / châiⁿ / chûiⁿ		PSM *tsõi2
Template:Wikt-lang 'ant'	literary		gí		MC ngjeX	*m-qʰrajʔ
	vernacular	hiă	hiă		PSM *hia4
Template:Wikt-lang 'branch'	literary		chi		MC tsye	*ke
	vernacular	ki	ki		PSM *ki1
Template:Wikt-lang 'abundant'	literary		hù		MC pjuwH	*pək-s
	vernacular	pù	pù		PSM *pu5
Template:Wikt-lang 'beautiful'	literary	múi	bí		MC mijX	*mrəjʔ
	vernacular	bué			—

See also

• Southern Min
• Hokkien
  • Amoy Hokkien
  • Taiwanese Hokkien
  • Singaporean Hokkien
  • Penang Hokkien
• Languages of China
• List of varieties of Chinese
• Chinese Thais
• Chinese Singaporeans
• Malaysian Chinese
• Indonesian Chinese

Sources

• Beijing da xue Zhongguo yu yan wen xue xi yu yan xue jiao yan shi. (2003). Han yu fang yin zi hui. (Chinese dialectal vocabulary) Beijing: Yu wen chu ban she (北京大學中國語言文學系語言學教研室, 2003. 漢語方音字彙. 北京: 語文出版社) Template:ISBN
• Cai Junming. (1991). Putonghua dui zhao Chaozhou fang yan ci hui. (Chaozhou dialectal vocabulary, contrasted with Mandarin) Hong Kong: T. T. Ng Chinese Language Research Centre (蔡俊明, 1991. 普通話對照潮州方言詞彙. 香港: 香港中文大學吳多泰中國語文研究中心) Template:ISBN
• Chappell, Hilary (ed.) (2001). Sinitic Grammar: Synchronic and Diachronic Perspectives. Oxford; New York: OUP Template:ISBN
• Chen, Matthew Y. (2000). Tone Sandhi: patterns across Chinese dialects. Cambridge, England: CUP Template:ISBN
• DeFrancis, John. (1984). The Chinese language: fact and fantasy. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press Template:ISBN
• Li, Xin Kui. (1994). Guangdong di fang yan. (Dialects of Guangdong) Guangzhou, China: Guangdong ren min chu ban she (李新魁, 1994. 廣東的方言. 廣州: 廣東 人民出版社) Template:ISBN
• Li, Yongming. (1959). Chaozhou fang yan. (Chaozhou dialect) Beijing: Zhonghua. (李永明, 1959. 潮州方言. 北京: 中華)
• Lin, Lun Lun. (1997). Xin bian Chaozhou yin zi dian. (New Chaozhou pronunciation dictionary) Shantou, China: Shantou da xue chu ban she. (林倫倫, 1997. 新編潮州音字典. 汕頭: 汕頭大學出版社) Template:ISBN
• Norman, Jerry. [1988] (2002). Chinese. Cambridge, England: CUP Template:ISBN
• Ramsey, S. Robert (1986). Languages of China. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press Template:ISBN
• Xu, Huiling (2007). Aspects of Chaoshan grammar: A synchronic description of the Jieyang dialect. Monograph Series Journal of Chinese Linguistics 22
• Yap, FoongHa; Grunow-Hårsta, Karen; Wrona, Janick (ed.) (2011). "Nominalization in Asian Languages: Diachronic and typological perspectives". Hong Kong Polytechnic University /Oxford University : John Benjamins Publishing Company Template:ISBN

Further reading

• Template:Cite book (the New York Public Library) (digitized April 2, 2008)

• Template:Cite book (11 Samuel. (Tie-chiu dialect.)) (Harvard University) (digitized December 17, 2007)

External links

• 1883 American Presbyterian mission press – "A pronouncing and defining dictionary of the Swatow dialect, arranged according to syllables and tones" – by Fielde, Adele Marion (in English)Link to download(3,022 × 4,010 pixels, file size: 42.21 MB, MIME type: image/vnd.djvu, 648 pages)
• Database of Pronunciations of Chinese Dialects (in English, Chinese and Japanese)
• Teochew People - Teochew dialect (in Chinese)
• Glossika - Chinese Languages and Dialects
• Mogher (in Chinese, English and French)
• Omniglot
• The revival of teochew puj / teochew church romanisation on social media in 21th century
• Movie quotes in teochew language that written in teochew puj / teochew church romanisation
• Shantou University Chaozhou Studies Resources (in Chinese)
• Teochew Web (in Chinese and English)
• Tonal harmony and register contour in Chaozhou