Sichuanese Mandarin - Vocabulary

Vocabulary

Only 47.8% of Sichuanese vocabulary is in common with the Beijing dialect on which Standard Chinese is based; indeed Sichuanese shares more vocabulary with the Xiang and Gan varieties of Chinese, even though Sichuanese is usually classified as a dialect of Mandarin.

The vocabulary of Sichuanese has three main origins: Bashu (or Ancient Sichuanese), Middle Chinese and the languages of the immigrants, including Proto-Mandarin from Hubei, Xiang, Gan and Hakka, which were brought to Sichuan during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Recently, many loanwords have been introduced to Sichuanese from standard Mandarin and English. Meanwhile, new Sichuanese words are developing in large cities, such as Chengdu and Chongqing, which then spread at a dramatic speed through Sichuan. "雄起" (xiong2qi3) (meaning "to cheer someone on") is a typical example of a novel Sichuanese word, equivalent to "加油" (jiāyóu) in standard Mandarin. The table below presents some common words in Sichuanese and their standard equivalents.

**Words with the same number of syllables**
	Sichuanese	standard	meaning	Sichuanese	standard	meaning	Sichuanese	standard	meaning
entirely different	躂 da2	跌 diē	to fall down	耍 sua3	玩 wán	to play	院 yuan4	绕 rào	to go around
	车 ce1	转 zhuàn	to rotate	膀 pang3	碰 pòng	to touch	膼 zua2	踢 tī	to kick
	煪 qiu1	熏 xūn	to smoke	豁 ho1	骗 piàn	to cheat	挼 rua2	揉 róu	to knead
	破 po4	剖 pōu	to cut open	掌 zang3	扶 fú	to support	挎 kua3	脱 tuō	to get undressed
	晏 ngan4	晚 wǎn	late	拢 nong3	到 dào	to arrive	蹅 ca1	踩 cǎi	to step on
	校 gao4	试 shì	to try	痨 nao4	毒 dú	to poison	滗 bi2	滤 lǜ	to filter
	角孽 go2nie2	吵架 chǎojià	to quarrel	噗鼾 pu2han4	呼噜 hūlu	to snore	活路 ho2nu4	工作 gōngzuò	job
	经佑 jin1you1	照顾 zhàogù	to look after	刹角 sa2go2	结束 jiéshù	to end	横顺 huan2sen1	反正 fǎnzhèng	anyway
	行市 hang2si4	能干 nénggàn	capable	背时 bei4si2	倒霉 dǎoméi	bad luck	伸抖 cen1tou3	整齐 zhěngqí	neat
	往回 wang3hui2	以前 yǐqián	before	二回 er4hui2	下次 xiàcì	next time	颈项 jin3hang2	脖子 bózi	neck
	晓得 xiao3de2	知道 zhīdào	know	造孽 zao4nie2	可怜 kělián	pitiful	安逸 ngan1yi2	舒服 shūfu	comfortable
	踏踏 ta2ta2	地方 dìfāng	place	各人 go2ren2	自己 zìjǐ	self	相应 xiang1yin1	便宜 piányi	cheap
partially different	拉丝 na1si1	拉链 lāliàn	zipper	火炮_儿 ho3per4	鞭炮 biānpào	fireworks	转来 zuan3nai2	回来 húilái	to return
	院坝 yuan4ba4	院子 yuànzi	yard	鼻子 bi2zi3	鼻涕 bítì	snot	火闪 ho3san3	闪电 shǎndiàn	lightning
	灰面 hui1mian4	面粉 miànfěn	flour	皮面 pi2mian4	表面 biǎomiàn	surface	缺缺 que2que1	缺口 quēkǒu	gap
	抽抽 cou1cou1	抽屉 chōutì	drawer	别个 bie2go4	别人 biérén	other people	不了 bu2niao3	不止 bùzhǐ	more than
	晌午 sang3vu3	午饭 wǔfàn	lunch	侧边 ze2bian1	旁边 pángbiān	beside	声气 sen1qi4	声音 shēngyīn	sound
different sequence	鸡公 ji1gong1	公鸡 gōngjī	cockerel	鸡母 ji1mu2	母鸡 mǔjī	hen	气力 qi4ni2	力气 lìqì	strength
different sequence	闹热 nao4re2	热闹 rènào	noisy	人客 ren2ke2	客人 kèrén	guest	欢喜 huan1xi3	喜欢 xǐhuān	to like

**Words with different numbers of syllables**
Sichuanese	standard	meaning	Sichuanese	standard	meaning	Sichuanese	standard	meaning
歪 wai1	凶恶 xiōng'è	rude	巴 ba1	粘贴 zhāntiē	to stick	谙 ngan2	以为 yĭwéi	to think
奓 za1	张开 zhāngkāi	to splay	饮 yin4	浇灌 jiāoguàn	to water	抱 bao4	孵化 fūhuà	to incubate
左 zo3	调换 diàohuàn	to switch	马 ma3	欺负 qīfù	to bully	费 fei4	调皮 tiáopí	naughty
撵 nian3	追赶 zhūigǎn	to run after	号 hao4	批阅 pīyuè	to correct	咀 ju2	吮吸 shǔnxī	to suck
搌 zan3	挪动 nuódòng	to move	争 zen1	欠缺 qiànquē	to lack	摸 mo1	磨蹭 mócèng	to dally
湓 men4	溢出 yìchū	to overflow	槽 cao4	翻动 fāndòng	to stir	翕 xie1	裂开 lièkāi	to crack
瓢羹_儿 piao2ger1	勺 sháo	spoon	估到 gu3dao3	逼 bī	to force	巴适 ba1si2	好 hǎo	good
嘎嘎 ga3ga3	肉 ròu	meat	啪啦 pa1la1	堆 dūi	pile	几下 ji3ha4	快 kuài	to hurry
巴壁虎 ba1bi2fu3	壁虎 bìhǔ	gecko	檐老鼠 yan2nao3su3	蝙蝠 biǎnfú	bat	扯把子 ce3ba3zi3	撒谎 sāhuǎng	to tell a lie
月母子 yue2mu3zi3	孕妇 yùnfù	pregnant woman	磕膝头 ke2qi1ter2	膝盖 xīgài	knee	丁丁猫_儿 din1din1mer1	蜻蜓 qīngtíng	dragonfly
雪弹子 xue2dan4zi3	冰雹 bīngbáo	hail	贼娃子 zui2wa2zi3	小偷 xiǎotōu	thief	冒皮皮 mao4pi2pi2	吹牛 chūiníu	to boast

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Famous quotes containing the word vocabulary:

“The vocabulary of pleasure depends on the imagery of pain.”
—Marina Warner (b. 1946)

“A new talker will often call her caregiver “mommy,” which makes parents worry that the child is confused about who is who. She isn’t. This is a case of limited vocabulary rather than mixed-up identities. When a child has only one word for the female person who takes care of her, calling both of them “mommy” is understandable.”
—Amy Laura Dombro (20th century)

“[T]here is no breaking out of the intentional vocabulary by explaining its members in other terms.”
—Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908)