# 語言
## Chinese

* 語言 (Written Standard Chinese)
* 語言 (Cantonese)
* 語言 (Classical)
* 語言 (Gan)
* Ngî-ngièn (Hakka)
* Ngṳ̄-ngiòng (Eastern Min)
* Giân-gú (Southern Min)
* 語言 (Wu)

### Pronunciation 1

* Mandarin
    (Standard)
       (Pinyin): yǔyán
       (Zhuyin): ㄩˇ ㄧㄢˊ
    (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): йүян (yüi͡an, II-I)
* Cantonese
    (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): jyu$^5$ jin$^4$
    (Taishan, Wiktionary): ngui$^4$ ngun$^3$
* Hakka
    (Sixian, PFS): ngî-ngièn / ngî-ngiàn
    (Hailu, HRS): ngi$^ˋ$ ngien
    (Meixian, Guangdong): ngi$^1$ ngian$^2$
* Northern Min (KCR): ngṳ̌-ngṳ̂ing
* Eastern Min (BUC): ngṳ̄-ngiòng
* Southern Min
    (Hokkien, POJ): gú-giân / gír-giân / gí-gân / gí-giân
    (Teochew, Peng'im): ghe$^2$ ngang$^5$
* Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): $^6$gniu-yi
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: yǔyán
*** Zhuyin: ㄩˇ ㄧㄢˊ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: yǔyán
*** Wade–Giles: yü$^3$-yen$^2$
*** Yale: yǔ-yán
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yeuyan
*** Palladius: юйянь (jujjanʹ)
*** Sinological IPA : /y²¹⁴⁻²¹ jɛn³⁵/
** (Dungan)
*** Cyrillic and Wiktionary: йүян (yüi͡an, II-I)
*** Sinological IPA : /y⁵¹ iæ̃²⁴/
    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: jyu$^5$ jin$^4$
*** Yale: yúh yìhn
*** Cantonese Pinyin: jy$^5$ jin$^4$
*** Guangdong Romanization: yu$^5$ yin$^4$
*** Sinological IPA : /jyː¹³ jiːn²¹/
** (Taishanese, Taicheng)
*** Wiktionary: ngui$^4$ ngun$^3$
*** Sinological IPA : /ᵑɡui²¹ ᵑɡun²²/
* Hakka
** (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ngî-ngièn
*** Hakka Romanization System: ngi$^ˊ$ ngien$^ˇ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: ngi$^1$ ngian$^2$
*** Sinological IPA: /ŋi²⁴ ŋi̯en¹¹/
** (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ngî-ngiàn
*** Hakka Romanization System: ngi$^ˊ$ ngian$^ˇ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: ngi$^1$ ngian$^2$
*** Sinological IPA: /ŋi²⁴ ŋi̯an¹¹/
** (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
*** Hakka Romanization System: ngi$^ˋ$ ngien
*** Sinological IPA: /ŋi⁵³ ŋien⁵⁵/
** (Meixian)
*** Guangdong: ngi$^1$ ngian$^2$
*** Sinological IPA: /ŋi⁴⁴⁻³⁵ ŋian¹¹/
* Northern Min
** (Jian'ou)
*** Kienning Colloquial Romanized: ngṳ̌-ngṳ̂ing
*** Sinological IPA : /ŋy²¹ ŋyiŋ³³/
* Eastern Min
** (Fuzhou)
*** Bàng-uâ-cê: ngṳ̄-ngiòng
*** Sinological IPA : /ŋy³³⁻²¹ ŋyoŋ⁵³/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien: Xiamen, Taipei)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gú-giân
*** Tâi-lô: gú-giân
*** Phofsit Daibuun: gw'gieen
*** IPA (Xiamen, Taipei): /ɡu⁵³⁻⁴⁴ ɡiɛn²⁴/
** (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Kinmen)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gír-giân
*** Tâi-lô: gír-giân
*** IPA (Kinmen): /ɡɯ⁵³⁻²⁴ ɡiɛn²⁴/
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /ɡɯ⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ ɡiɛn²⁴/
** (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gí-gân
*** Tâi-lô: gí-gân
*** Phofsit Daibuun: gy'gaan
*** IPA (Zhangzhou): /ɡi⁵³⁻⁴⁴ ɡan¹³/
** (Hokkien: Kaohsiung, Jinjiang, Philippines)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gí-giân
*** Tâi-lô: gí-giân
*** Phofsit Daibuun: gy'gieen
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɡi⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ ɡiɛn²³/
*** IPA (Jinjiang, Philippines): /ɡi⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ ɡiɛn²⁴/
** (Teochew)
*** Peng'im: ghe$^2$ ngang$^5$
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: gṳ́ ngâng
*** Sinological IPA : /ɡɯ⁵²⁻³⁵ ŋaŋ⁵⁵/
* Wu
** (Northern: Shanghai)
*** Wugniu: $^6$gniu-yi
*** MiniDict: nyu$^去$ yi
*** Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): $^3$nyy-hhi
*** Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /n̠ʲy²² ɦi⁴⁴/
* Middle Chinese: ngjoX ngjon
Rime :
| Character | 語 | 言 |
| Reading # | 1/2 | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 疑 (31) | 疑 (31) |
| Final (韻) | 魚 (22) | 元 (65) |
| Tone (調) | Rising (X) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open | Open |
| Division (等) | III | III |
| Fanqie | 魚巨切 | 語軒切 |
| Baxter | ngjoX | ngjon |
| Reconstructions |||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /ŋɨʌ$^X$/ | /ŋɨɐn/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /ŋiɔ$^X$/ | /ŋiɐn/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /ŋiɔ$^X$/ | /ŋiɐn/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /ŋɨə̆$^X$/ | /ŋɨan/ |
| Li Rong | /ŋiɔ$^X$/ | /ŋiɐn/ |
| Wang Li | /ŋĭo$^X$/ | /ŋĭɐn/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /ŋi̯wo$^X$/ | /ŋɨ̯ɐn/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | yǔ | yán |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | jyu$^5$ | jin$^4$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Baxter–Sagart): /*ŋ(r)aʔ ŋa[n]/
    (Zhengzhang): /*ŋaʔ ŋan/
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) :
| Character | 語 | 言 |
| Reading # | 1/2 | 3/4 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | yǔ | yán |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ ngjo$^X$ › | ‹ ngjon › |
| Old Chinese | /*ŋ(r)aʔ/ | /*ŋa[n]/ |
| English | speak | speak; speech |
| Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary. |||
Zhengzhang system (2003) :
| Character | 語 | 言 |
| Reading # | 1/2 | 1/1 |
| No. | 13159 | 14271 |
| Phonetic component | 五 | 言 |
| Rime group | 魚 | 元 |
| Rime subdivision | 0 | 1 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 語 | 言 |
| Old Chinese | /*ŋaʔ/ | /*ŋan/ |

#### Noun

語言
* (countable, uncountable) language (Classifier: 種／种; 門／门 m)
    羅曼語言／罗曼语言 ― luómàn yǔyán ― Romance language
       shǎoshù zúqún yǔyán [Pinyin]
       minority language
    授課語言／授课语言 ― shòukè yǔyán ― medium of instruction
    瀕危語言／濒危语言 ― bīnwēi yǔyán ― endangered language
    語言慣例／语言惯例 ― yǔyán guànlì ― linguistic convention
    語言能力很強／语言能力很强 ― yǔyán nénglì hěn qiáng ― to have a strong capacity for language
       Nǐ huì shuō nǎ xiē yǔyán? [Pinyin]
       What languages do you speak?
       Fǎyǔ shì yīmén měilì de yǔyán. [Pinyin]
       French is a beautiful language.
       Yǔyán xuéxí de gēnběn fǎzé shì yòngjìnfèituì. [Pinyin]
       A fundamental rule of language learning is: Use it, or lose it.
* speech; spoken language
* (Can we verify this sense?) written language
* (literary) sound of a bird
* (literary) conversation

##### Usage notes

* Denotes spoken language when used parallel with 文字 (wénzì, “writing”).

##### Synonyms

* (speech):
* 口舌 (kǒushé)
* 嘴 (zuǐ) (figurative)
* 腔 (qiāng) (literary, or in compounds)
* 言語 / 言语
* 話 / 话
* 話語 / 话语 (huàyǔ)
* 說的話 / 说的话 (shuō de huà)

##### Derived terms

* 人工語言 / 人工语言 (réngōng yǔyán)
* 低級語言 / 低级语言
* 元語言 / 元语言 (yuányǔyán)
* 共同語言 / 共同语言 (gòngtóng yǔyán)
* 匯編語言 / 汇编语言 (huìbiān yǔyán)
* 古典語言 / 古典语言 (gǔdiǎn yǔyán)
* 多語言 / 多语言 (duōyǔyán)
* 孤立語言 / 孤立语言 (gūlì yǔyán)
* 官方語言 / 官方语言 (guānfāng yǔyán)
* 形而上語言 / 形而上语言 (xíng'érshàng yǔyán)
* 文學語言 / 文学语言 (wénxué yǔyán)
* 標記語言 / 标记语言 (biāojì yǔyán)
* 機器語言 / 机器语言 (jīqì yǔyán)
* 死語言 / 死语言 (sǐyǔyán)
* 滅絕語言 / 灭绝语言 (mièjué yǔyán)
* 第二語言 / 第二语言 (dì'èr yǔyán)
* 組合語言 / 组合语言 (zǔhé yǔyán)
* 網絡語言 / 网络语言 (wǎngluò yǔyán)
* 肢體語言 / 肢体语言 (zhītǐ yǔyán)
* 腳本語言 / 脚本语言 (jiǎoběn yǔyán)
* 自然語言 / 自然语言 (zìrán yǔyán)
* 計算機語言 / 计算机语言 (jìsuànjī yǔyán)
* 語言交換 / 语言交换 (yǔyán jiāohuàn)
* 語言交流 / 语言交流 (yǔyán jiāoliú)
* 語言學 / 语言学 (yǔyánxué)
* 語言接觸 / 语言接触 (yǔyán jiēchù)
* 語言聯盟 / 语言联盟 (yǔyán liánméng)
* 語言藝術 / 语言艺术 (yǔyán yìshù)
* 語言關 / 语言关 (yǔyánguān)
* 身體語言 / 身体语言 (shēntǐ yǔyán)
* 高級語言 / 高级语言 (gāojí yǔyán)

##### See also

* 書寫系統／书写系统 (shūxiě xìtǒng)
* 文學／文学 (wénxué)
* 文字 (wénzì)
* 語文／语文 (yǔwén)

### Pronunciation 2

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): yùyán
    (Zhuyin): ㄩˋ ㄧㄢˊ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): jyu$^6$ jin$^4$
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: yùyán
*** Zhuyin: ㄩˋ ㄧㄢˊ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: yùyán
*** Wade–Giles: yü$^4$-yen$^2$
*** Yale: yù-yán
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yuhyan
*** Palladius: юйянь (jujjanʹ)
*** Sinological IPA : /y⁵¹ jɛn³⁵/
*** Homophones: [Show/Hide]$^{edit}$寓言 預言 / 预言 浴鹽 / 浴盐
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: jyu$^6$ jin$^4$
*** Yale: yuh yìhn
*** Cantonese Pinyin: jy$^6$ jin$^4$
*** Guangdong Romanization: yu$^6$ yin$^4$
*** Sinological IPA : /jyː²² jiːn²¹/
*** Homophones: $^{edit}$寓言 預言 / 预言
* Middle Chinese: ngjoH ngjon
Rime :
| Character | 語 | 言 |
| Reading # | 2/2 | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 疑 (31) | 疑 (31) |
| Final (韻) | 魚 (22) | 元 (65) |
| Tone (調) | Departing (H) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open | Open |
| Division (等) | III | III |
| Fanqie | 牛倨切 | 語軒切 |
| Baxter | ngjoH | ngjon |
| Reconstructions |||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /ŋɨʌ$^H$/ | /ŋɨɐn/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /ŋiɔ$^H$/ | /ŋiɐn/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /ŋiɔ$^H$/ | /ŋiɐn/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /ŋɨə̆$^H$/ | /ŋɨan/ |
| Li Rong | /ŋiɔ$^H$/ | /ŋiɐn/ |
| Wang Li | /ŋĭo$^H$/ | /ŋĭɐn/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /ŋi̯wo$^H$/ | /ŋɨ̯ɐn/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | yù | yán |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | jyu$^6$ | jin$^4$ |

#### Verb

語言
* (literary) to tell

### Further reading

* “Entry #10867”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2025.