Wu Shanghainese

 

Wu (Shanghainese) Numbers

Wu (Shanghainese) . In a word Shanghainese is quite different from Mandarin. And to an extent that they just share the same Chinese characters and some basic grammars. Shanghainese is a Wu dialect while Beijing Mandarin is a dialect of Mandarin. Both Mandarin and Wu are families within a broad category of Chinese languages. Wu (Shanghainese) Numbers belongs to the Taihu Wu subgroup. And contains vocabulary and expressions from the entire Taihu Wu area of southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. And it is nearly having 14 million speakers. Shanghainese is also the largest single form of Wu Chinese.

 

Numeral Pronunciation Number
〇 [零] ling2 0
yet1 1
ni2/liang3 2
sei4 3
si5 4
ng3 5
lok3 6
chet3 7
bat1 8
jiu3 9
sat3
10
十一 sat3-yet1 11
十二 sat3-ni2 12
十三 sat3-sei4 13
十四 sat3-si5 14
十五 sat3-ng3 15
十六 sat3-lok3 16
十七 sat3-chet3 17
十八 sat3-bat1 18
十九 sat3-jiu3 19
二十
nei2 (廿)
20
二十一 nei2-yet1 21
二十二 nei2-ni2 22
二十三 nei2-sei4 23
二十四 nei2-si5 24
二十五 nei2-ng3 25
二十六 nei2-lok3 26
二十七 nei2-chet3 27
二十八 nei2-bat1 28
二十九 nei2-jiu3 29
三十
sei4-sat3
30
三十一 sei4-sat3-yet1 31
三十二 sei4-sat3-ni2 32
三十三 sei4-sat3-sei4 33
三十四 sei4-sat3-si5 34
三十五 sei4-sat3-ng3 35
三十六 sei4-sat3-lok3 36
三十七 sei4-sat3-chet3 37
三十八 sei4-sat3-bat1 38
三十九 sei4-sat3-jiu3 39
四十 si5-sat3 40
五十
nei2-ng3
50
六十 lok3-sat3 60
七十 chet3-sat3 70
八十 bat1-sat3 80
九十 jiu3-sat3 90
一百 yet1bat1 100
一千 yet1qi1 1,000
一万 [萬] yet1vei 10,000
一百万 yet1bat1vei 1 million
一亿 [億] yet1yi1 100 million

These numerals are used for counting and expressing numerical values in the Shanghainese language. It’s worth noting that Shanghainese, like other Chinese dialects, may have different pronunciations and characters for numbers compared to Standard Mandarin. Additionally, Shanghainese may have its own set of counters and measure words used with numbers, similar to other Chinese languages.

For numbers beyond 10, Shanghainese may follow a similar pattern to Standard Mandarin, using combinations of these basic numerals to represent larger values. However, keep in mind that the pronunciation and characters used for larger numbers can vary between dialects and regions within the Wu-speaking area.

As with many aspects of language, including numerals, dialects like Shanghainese are influenced by historical, cultural, and regional factors, making them distinct from the official standard language (Mandarin) and from other dialects spoken across China.

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