| T: | 文白異讀 |
| S: | 文白异读 |
| P: | wénbái yìdú |
| J: | man4 baak6 ji6 duk6 |
| Y: | màhnbaahk yihduhk |
| Poj: | bûn-pe̍k ī-tho̍k |
| Tl: | bûn-pi̍k ī-tho̍k |
Differing literary and colloquial readings for certain Chinese characters are a common feature of many Chinese varieties, and the reading distinctions for these linguistic doublets often typify a dialect group. Literary readings are usually used in loanwords, geographic and personal names, literary works such as poetry, and in formal contexts, while colloquial readings are used in everyday vernacular speech.
For example, the character for 'white' (Chinese: 白) is normally read with the colloquial pronunciation in Standard Chinese, but can also have the literary reading in names or in some formal or historical contexts. This example is particularly well known due to its effect on the modern pronunciations "Bo Juyi" and "Li Bo" for the names of the Tang dynasty (618–907) poets Bai Juyi and Li Bai.
The differing pronunciations have led linguists to explore the strata of Sinitic languages, as such differences reflect a history of dialect interchange and the influence of formal education and instruction on various regions in China.[1] [2] Colloquial readings are generally considered to represent a substratum, while their literary counterparts are considered a superstratum. [3]
Colloquial readings typically reflect the native phonology of a given Chinese variety, while literary readings typically originate from other Chinese varieties, typically more prestigious varieties. Colloquial readings are usually older, resembling the sound systems described by old rime dictionaries like the Guangyun, whereas literary readings are often closer to the phonology of newer sound systems. In certain Mandarin and Wu dialects, many literary readings are the result of influence from Nanjing Mandarin or Beijing Mandarin during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Formal education and discourse usually use past prestigious varieties, so formal words usually use literary readings. Although the phonology of the Chinese variety in which this occurred did not entirely match that of the prestige variety, literary readings 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 variety reflects its history and status. For example, before the promotion of Standard Chinese (based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin), the Central Plains Mandarin of the Central Plain had few literary readings, but they now have literary readings that resemble the phonology of Modern Standard Chinese.[4] On the other hand, the relatively influential Beijing and Guangzhou dialects have fewer literary readings than other varieties.
Some Chinese varieties may have many instances of foreign readings replacing native readings, forming multiple 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.
An analogous phenomenon exists to a much more significant degree in Japanese, where individual kanji generally have two common readings—the newer borrowed, more formal Sino-Japanese on'yomi, and the older native, more colloquial kun'yomi. Unlike in Chinese varieties, where readings are usually genetically related, in Japanese the borrowed readings are unrelated to the native readings. Furthermore, many kanji in fact have several on'yomi, reflecting borrowings at different periods – these multiple borrowings are generally doublets or triplets, and are sometimes quite distant in time. These readings are generally used in particular contexts, such as readings for Buddhist terms, many of which were earlier go-on borrowings.[5]
pronounced as /notice/
Cantonese literary and colloquial readings have quite regular relationships. A character's meaning is often different depending on whether it is read with a colloquial or literary reading.
Initials
Rimes
Tones
Examples:
| Chinese character | Middle Chinese1 | Colloquial reading | Literary reading | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPA | Jyutping | Meaning | IPA | Jyutping | Meaning | |||
| ||||||||
| 浮 | pʰou˨˩ | pou4 | (of a person) show up, appear | fɐu˨˩ | fau4 | float | ||
| 婦 | pʰou˩˧ | pou5 | bride | fu˩˧ | fu5 | woman | ||
| 埠 | pou˨꜔꜒ | bou6*2 | the original character in Sham Shui Po (埠→埗) | fɐu˨ | fau6 | pier, dock, port | ||
| ||||||||
| 吟 | ŋɐm˨˩ | ngam4 | groan | jɐm˨˩ | jam4 | recite, chant | ||
| 研 | ŋan˨˩ | ngaan4 | grind | jin˨˩ | jin4 | research | ||
| ||||||||
| 精 | pronounced as /tsiᴇŋ/平 | pronounced as /tsɛːŋ˥/ | zeng1 | clever | pronounced as /tsɪŋ˥/ | zing1 | spirit | |
| 正 | pronounced as /tɕiᴇŋ/去 | pronounced as /tsɛːŋ˧/ | zeng3 | correct, good | pronounced as /tsɪŋ˧/ | zing3 | correct | |
| 淨 | pronounced as /dziᴇŋ/去 | pronounced as /tsɛːŋ˨/ | zeng6 | clean | pronounced as /tsɪŋ˨/ | zing6< | clean | |
| 驚 | pronounced as /kɣiæŋ/平 | pronounced as /kɛːŋ˥/ | geng1 | be afraid | pronounced as /kɪŋ˥/ | ging1 | frighten | |
| 平 | pronounced as /bɣiæŋ/平 | pronounced as /pʰɛːŋ˨˩/ | peng4 | inexpensive | pronounced as /pʰɪŋ˨˩/ | ping4 | flat | |
| 青 | pronounced as /tsʰeŋ/平 | pronounced as /tsʰɛːŋ˥/ | ceng1 | blue/green, pale | pronounced as /tsʰɪŋ˥/ | cing1 | blue/green | |
| 惜 | pronounced as /siᴇk/入 | pronounced as /sɛːk˧/ | sek3 | cherish, (v.) kiss | pronounced as /sɪk˥/ | sik1 | lament | |
| ||||||||
| 生 | pronounced as /ʃɣæŋ/平 | pronounced as /saːŋ˥/ | saang1 | raw, (honorific name suffix) | pronounced as /sɐŋ˥/ | sang1 | (v.) live, person | |
| 牲 | pronounced as /ʃɣæŋ/平 | pronounced as /saːŋ˥/ | saang1 | livestock | pronounced as /sɐŋ˥/ | sang1 | livestock | |
| ||||||||
| 多 | tœ˥ | doe1 | just this much | tɔ˥ | do1 | many, more | ||
| 朵 | tœ˧˥ | doe2 | (classifier for flowers, clouds, etc.) | tɔ˧˥ | do2 | name, nickname, title | ||
| 墮 | tœ˨ | doe6 | droopy, saggy | tɔ˨ | do6 | (v.) fall, sink | ||
| ||||||||
| 被 | pʰei˩˧ | pei5 | blanket | pei˨ | bei6 | passive voice | ||
| 淡 | tʰam˩˧ | taam5 | bland, tasteless | tam˨ | daam6 | off-season | ||
| Chinese: 斷 | tʰyn˩˧ | tyun5 | (v.) break | tyn˨ | dyun6 | (v.) decide, determine | ||
| 坐 | tsʰɔ˩˧ | co5 | (v.) sit | tsɔ˨ | zo6 | compound with 骨 (bone) in 坐骨 (ischium) | ||
| 上 | sœŋ˩˧ | soeng5 | go up, board (vehicles) | sœŋ˨ | soeng6 | up there, previous | ||
| 近 | kʰɐn˩˧ | kan5 | near | kɐn˨ | gan6 | near (in nearsightedness) | ||
| ||||||||
| 挾 | pronounced as /ɦep/入 | pronounced as /kɛːp˨/ | gep6 | clamp | pronounced as /kiːp˨/ | gip6 | clamp | |
| 掉 | pronounced as /deu/去 | pronounced as /tɛːu˨/ | deu6 | discard | pronounced as /tiːu˨/ | diu6 | turn, discard | |
| 來 | pronounced as /lʌi/平 | pronounced as /lɐi˨˩/ | lai4 | come | pronounced as /lɔːi˨˩/ | loi4 | come | |
| 使 | pronounced as /ʃɨ/上 | pronounced as /sɐi˧˥/ | sai2 | use | pronounced as /siː˧˥/ | si2 | (v.) cause, envoy | |
| Notes:1. Middle Chinese reconstruction according to Zhengzhang Shangfang. Middle Chinese tones in terms of level (Chinese: 平), rising (Chinese: 上), departing (Chinese: 去), and entering (Chinese: 入) are given. | ||||||||
Examples:
| Chinese character | Literary reading | Colloquial reading | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 生 | sɛn˦ | saŋ˦ | |
| 弟 | pronounced as /tʰi˥˧/ | pronounced as /tʰɛ˦//pronounced as /tʰai˦/ | |
| 苦 | pronounced as /kʰu˧˩/ | pronounced as /fu˧˩/ | |
| 肥 | pronounced as /fui˧˥/ | pronounced as /pʰui˧˥/ | |
| 惜 | pronounced as /sit˩/ | pronounced as /siak˩/ | |
| 正 | pronounced as /tʃin˥˧/tʃən˥˧/ | pronounced as /tʃaŋ˥˧/ |
Literary readings in modern Standard Chinese are usually native pronunciations more conservative than colloquial readings. This is because they reflect readings from before Beijing was the capital, e.g. from the Ming dynasty. Most instances where there are different literary and colloquial readings occur with characters that have entering tones. 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 of the differences between the Standard Chinese of Taiwan and the mainland are due to the fact that Putonghua tends to adopt colloquial readings for a character[6] while Guoyu tends to adopt a literary reading.[7]
Examples of literary readings adopted into the Beijing dialect:
| Chinese character | Middle Chinese1 | Literary reading | Colloquial reading | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPA | Pinyin | IPA | Pinyin | |||
| Chinese: 黑 | pronounced as /hək/入 | pronounced as /xɤ˥˩/ | hè | pronounced as /xei˥/ | hēi | |
| Chinese: 白 | pronounced as /bɣæk/入 | pronounced as /pwɔ˧˥/ | bó | pronounced as /pai˧˥/ | bái | |
| Chinese: 薄 | pronounced as /bwɑk/入 | pronounced as /pwɔ˧˥/ | bó | pronounced as /pɑʊ˧˥/ | báo | |
| Chinese: 剝 | pronounced as /pɣʌk/入 | pronounced as /pwɔ˥/ | bō | pronounced as /pɑʊ˥/ | bāo | |
| Chinese: 給 | pronounced as /kɣiɪp/入 | pronounced as /tɕi˨˩˦/ | jǐ | pronounced as /kei˨˩˦/ | gěi | |
| Chinese: 殼 | pronounced as /kʰɣʌk/入 | pronounced as /tɕʰɥɛ˥˩/ | què | pronounced as /tɕʰjɑʊ˥˩/ | qiào | |
| Chinese: 露 | pronounced as /luo/去 | pronounced as /lu˥˩/ | lù | pronounced as /lɤʊ˥˩/ | lòu | |
| Chinese: 六 | pronounced as /lɨuk/入 | pronounced as /lu˥˩/ | lù | pronounced as /ljɤʊ˥˩/ | liù | |
| Chinese: 熟 | pronounced as /dʑɨuk/入 | pronounced as /ʂu˧˥/ | shú | pronounced as /ʂɤʊ˧˥/ | shóu | |
| Chinese: 色 | pronounced as /ʃɨk/入 | pronounced as /sɤ˥˩/ | sè | pronounced as /ʂai˨˩˦/ | shǎi | |
| Chinese: 削 | pronounced as /sɨɐk/入 | pronounced as /ɕɥɛ˥/ | xuē | pronounced as /ɕjɑʊ˥/ | xiāo | |
| Chinese: 角 | pronounced as /kɣʌk/入 | pronounced as /tɕɥɛ˧˥/ | jué | pronounced as /tɕjɑʊ˨˩˦/ | jiǎo | |
| Chinese: 血 | pronounced as /hwet/入 | pronounced as /ɕɥɛ˥˩/ | xuè | pronounced as /ɕjɛ˨˩˦/ | xiě | |
| Notes:1. Middle Chinese reconstruction according to Zhengzhang Shangfang. Middle Chinese tones in terms of level (Chinese: 平), rising (Chinese: 上), departing (Chinese: 去), and entering (Chinese: 入) are given. | ||||||
Examples of colloquial readings adopted into the Beijing dialect:
| Chinese character | Middle Chinese1 | Literary reading | Colloquial reading | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPA | Pinyin | IPA | Pinyin | |||
| Chinese: 港 | pronounced as /kɣʌŋ/上 | pronounced as /tɕjɑŋ˨˩˦/ | jiǎng2 | pronounced as /kɑŋ˨˩˦/ | gǎng | |
| Chinese: 癌 | pronounced as /ŋam/平 | pronounced as /jɛn˧˥/ | yán | pronounced as /ai˧˥/ | ái | |
| Chinese: 殼 | pronounced as /kʰɣʌk/入 | pronounced as /t͡ɕʰɥɛ˥˩/ / pronounced as /t͡ɕʰjɑʊ̯˥˩/ | què / qiào | pronounced as /kʰɤ˧˥/ | ké | |
| Notes:1. Middle Chinese reconstruction according to Zhengzhang Shangfang. Middle Chinese tones in terms of level (Chinese: 平), rising (Chinese: 上), departing (Chinese: 去), and entering (Chinese: 入) are given. 2. Chinese: 港's only attested reading is gǎng; **jiǎng is purely hypothetical. | ||||||
In Sichuanese Mandarin, colloquial readings tend to resemble Ba-Shu Chinese or southern Proto-Mandarin during the Ming, while literary readings tend to resemble modern standard Mandarin. For example, in the Yaoling dialect the colloquial reading of Chinese: 物 'things' is pronounced as /[væʔ]/,[8] which is very similar to its pronunciation of Ba-Shu Chinese in the Song dynasty (960–1279).[9] Meanwhile, its literary reading, [{{IPA|voʔ}}], is relatively similar to the standard Mandarin pronunciation [{{IPA|u}}]. The table below shows some Chinese characters with both literary and colloquial readings in Sichuanese.[10]
| Example | Colloquial reading | Literary reading | Meaning | Standard Chinese pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese: 在 | pronounced as /tɛ/ | pronounced as /tsai/ | at | pronounced as /tsai/ |
| Chinese: 提 | pronounced as /tia/ | pronounced as /tʰi/ | lift | pronounced as /tʰi/ |
| Chinese: 去 | pronounced as /tɕʰie/ | pronounced as /tɕʰy/ | go | pronounced as /tɕʰy/ |
| Chinese: 锯 | pronounced as /kɛ/ | pronounced as /tɕy/ | cut | pronounced as /tɕy/ |
| Chinese: 下 | pronounced as /xa/ | pronounced as /ɕia/ | down | pronounced as /ɕia/ |
| Chinese: 横 | pronounced as /xuan/ | pronounced as /xuən/ | across | pronounced as /xəŋ/ |
| Chinese: 严 | pronounced as /ŋan/ | pronounced as /ȵian/ | stricked | pronounced as /ian/ |
| Chinese: 鼠 | pronounced as /suei/ | pronounced as /su/ | rat | pronounced as /ʂu/ |
| Chinese: 大 | pronounced as /tʰai/ | pronounced as /ta/ | big | pronounced as /ta/ |
| Chinese: 主 | pronounced as /toŋ/ | pronounced as /tsu/ | master | pronounced as /tʂu/ |
In the northern Wu-speaking region, the main sources of literary readings are the Beijing and Nanjing dialects during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and modern Standard Chinese.[11] 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.[12]
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 魏 had a pronounced as /link/ initial in Middle Chinese, and in literary readings, there is a null initial. In colloquial readings it is pronounced pronounced as //ŋuɛ// in Songjiang.[13] About 100 years ago, it was pronounced pronounced as //ŋuɛ// in Suzhou[14] and Shanghai, and now it is pronounced as //uɛ//.
Some pairs of literary and colloquial readings are interchangeable in all cases, such as in the words 吳淞 and 松江. Some must be read in one particular reading. For example, 人民 must be read using the literary reading, pronounced as //zəɲmiɲ//, and 人命 must be read using the colloquial reading, pronounced as //ɲiɲmiɲ//. Some differences in reading for the same characters have different meanings, such as 巴結, using the colloquial reading pronounced as //pʊtɕɪʔ// means 'make great effort', and using the literary reading pronounced as //pɑtɕɪʔ// means 'get a desired outcome'. Some readings are almost never used, such as colloquial pronounced as /link/ for 吳 and literary pronounced as //tɕiɑ̃// for 江.
Examples:
| Chinese character | Literary reading | Colloquial reading | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 生 | /səɲ/ in 生物 | /sɑ̃/ in 生菜 | |
| 人 | /zəɲ/ in 人民 | /ɲiɲ/ in 大人 | |
| 大 | /dɑ/ in 大饼 | /dɯ/ in 大人 | |
| 物 | /vəʔ/ in 事物 | /məʔ/ in 物事 | |
| 家 | /tɕia/ in 家庭 | /kɑ/ in 家生 |
Min languages, which include Taiwanese Hokkien, separate reading pronunciations ({{linktext|讀音) from spoken pronunciations ({{linktext|語音) and explications ({{linktext|解說). Hokkien dictionaries in Taiwan often differentiate between such character readings with prefixes for literary readings and colloquial readings and, respectively.
The following examples in Pe̍h-oē-jī show differences in character readings in Taiwanese Hokkien:[15] [16]
In addition, some characters have multiple and unrelated pronunciations, adapted to represent Hokkien words. For example, the Hokkien word ('meat') is often written with the character 肉, which has etymologically unrelated colloquial and literary readings and, respectively).[17]
In the Fuzhou dialect of Min Dong, literary readings are mainly used in formal phrases and words derived from the written language, while the colloquial ones are used in more colloquial phrases. Phonologically, a large range of phonemes can differ between the character's two readings: in tone, final, initial, or any and all of these features.
The following table uses Foochow Romanized as well as IPA for some of the major differences in readings.
| Character | Literary | Colloquial | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Literary reading | Phrase | Meaning | Colloquial reading | Phrase | Meaning | ||
| Chinese: 行 | hèng pronounced as /[heiŋ˥˧]/ | Chinese: 行李 hèng-lī | luggage | giàng pronounced as /[kjaŋ˥˧]/ | Chinese: 行墿 giàng-duô | to walk | |
| 生 | sĕng pronounced as /[seiŋ˥]/ | 生態 sĕng-tái | zoology, ecology | săng pronounced as /[saŋ˥]/ | 生囝 săng-giāng | childbearing | |
| 江 | gŏng pronounced as /[kouŋ˥]/ | 江蘇 Gŏng-sŭ | Jiangsu | gĕ̤ng pronounced as /[køyŋ˥]/ | 閩江 Mìng-gĕ̤ng | Min River | |
| 百 | báik pronounced as /[paiʔ˨˦]/ | 百科 báik-kuŏ | encyclopedical | báh pronounced as /[paʔ˨˦]/ | 百姓 báh-sáng | common people | |
| 飛 | hĭ pronounced as /[hi˥]/ | 飛機 hĭ-gĭ | aeroplane | buŏi pronounced as /[pwi˥]/ | 飛鳥 buŏi-cēu | flying birds | |
| 寒 | hàng pronounced as /[haŋ˥˧]/ | 寒食 Hàng-sĭk | Cold Food Festival | gàng pronounced as /[kaŋ˥˧]/ | 天寒 tiĕng gàng | cold, freezing | |
| 廈 | hâ pronounced as /[ha˨˦˨]/ | 大廈 dâi-hâ | mansion | â pronounced as /[a˨˦˨]/ | 廈門 Â-muòng | Amoy | |
The following are examples of variations between literary and colloquial readings of Chinese characters in Gan Chinese.
| Chinese character | Literary reading | Colloquial reading | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 生 | pronounced as //sɛn// as in 學生 'student' | pronounced as //saŋ// as in 出生 'be born' | |
| 軟 | pronounced as //lon// as in 微軟 'Microsoft' | pronounced as //ɲion˧// as in 軟骨 'cartilage' | |
| 青 | pronounced as //tɕʰin// as in 青春 'youth' | pronounced as //tɕʰiaŋ// as in 青菜 'vegetables' | |
| 望 | pronounced as //uɔŋ// as in 看望 'visit' | pronounced as //mɔŋ// as in 望相 'look' |