官話

See also: 官话

Chinese

		official; government; organ of body	spoken words; speech; dialect spoken words; speech; dialect; language; talk; conversation; what someone said
trad. (官話)		官	話
simp. (官话)		官	话

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): guānhuà

  (Zhuyin): ㄍㄨㄢ ㄏㄨㄚˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gun¹ waa^6-2
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): kôn-fa

  (Meixian, Guangdong): guon¹ fa⁴

• Eastern Min (BUC): guăng-uâ
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): guang¹ hua⁵ / guong¹ hua⁵
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): koaⁿ-ōe
• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹kuoe-gho

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: guānhuà
    • Zhuyin: ㄍㄨㄢ ㄏㄨㄚˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: guanhuà
    • Wade–Giles: kuan¹-hua⁴
    • Yale: gwān-hwà
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: guanhuah
    • Palladius: гуаньхуа (guanʹxua)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ku̯än⁵⁵ xu̯ä⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gun¹ waa^6-2
    • Yale: gūn wá
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gun¹ waa^6-2
    • Guangdong Romanization: gun¹ wa^6-2
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuːn⁵⁵ waː²²⁻³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kôn-fa
    • Hakka Romanization System: gon^ˊ fa
    • Hagfa Pinyim: gon¹ fa⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /kon²⁴⁻¹¹ fa⁵⁵/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: guon¹ fa⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /kuɔn⁴⁴⁻³⁵ fa⁵³/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: guăng-uâ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuaŋ⁵⁵⁻⁵³ ^(Ø-)ŋuɑ²⁴²/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: guang¹ hua⁵ [Phonetic: guang² nua⁵]
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: guang-huā
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuaŋ⁵³³⁻¹³ ^(h-)nua¹¹/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: guong¹ hua⁵ [Phonetic: guong² nua⁵]
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuoŋ⁵⁴⁴⁻²⁴ ^(h-)nua²¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: koaⁿ-ōe
    • Tâi-lô: kuann-uē
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kvoa'oe
    • Sinological IPA (Xiamen): /kuã⁴⁴⁻²² ue²²/
    • Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /kuã³³ ue⁴¹/
    • Sinological IPA (Zhangzhou): /kuã⁴⁴⁻²² ue²²/
    • Sinological IPA (Taipei): /kuã⁴⁴⁻³³ ue³³/
    • Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /kuã⁴⁴⁻³³ ue³³/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹kuoe-gho
    • MiniDict: kuoe^平 gho
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹kuoe-hho
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /kuø⁵⁵ ɦo²¹/

---

• Middle Chinese: kwan hwaejH

Rime
Character	官	話
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	桓 (62)	夬 (30)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Closed	Closed
Division (等)	I	II
Fanqie	古丸切	下快切
Baxter	kwan	hwaejH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kuɑn/	/ɦˠuaiH/
Pan Wuyun	/kʷɑn/	/ɦʷᵚaiH/
Shao Rongfen	/kuɑn/	/ɣuaiH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kwan/	/ɦwaɨjsH/
Li Rong	/kuɑn/	/ɣuaiH/
Wang Li	/kuɑn/	/ɣwæiH/
Bernhard Karlgren	/kuɑn/	/ɣwaiH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	guān	huài
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gun1	waai6

Noun

官話

1. Mandarin; Guanhua (group of Northern Chinese dialects including Putonghua (Standard Chinese))

   • 反譯甚好，而間有古語，不合時用，且不是官話，無人認聽。 [Korean Literary Sinitic, trad.]

     From: 《朝鮮王朝實錄》 (Joseon Veritable Records), 1483

     반역심호^(하나) 이간유고어^(하고) 불합시용^(하며) 차불시관화^(이니) 무인인청^(하리라)
     Banyeok sim ho[-hana] i gan yu goeo[-hago] bulhap siyong[-hamyeo] cha bul si gwanhwa[-ini] mu in in cheong[-harira]. [Sino-Korean]

     The [Koreans'] translation [into Chinese] is very good, but there is occasionally ancient language which is not in accordance with current usage; in addition, it is not Mandarin, [so] nobody will understand it by listening.

   • c. late 18th century, “各省事例”, in 素爾訥, editor, 欽定學政全書, volume 65, page 1:

     雍正六年議准，伏讀上諭，福建、廣東人多不諳官話，著地方官訓導。……應令該督撫學政，於凡係鄉音讀書之處，論令有力之家先於鄰近延請官話讀書之師，教其子弟，轉相授受，以八年爲限。八年之外，如生員貢監不能官話者，暫停其鄉試，學政不准取送科舉。 [MSC, trad.]
     雍正六年议准，伏读上谕，福建、广东人多不谙官话，著地方官训导。……应令该督抚学政，于凡系乡音读书之处，论令有力之家先于邻近延请官话读书之师，教其子弟，转相授受，以八年为限。八年之外，如生员贡监不能官话者，暂停其乡试，学政不准取送科举。 [MSC, simp.]

     Yōngzhèng liù nián yì zhǔn, fúdú shàngyù, Fújiàn, Guǎngdōng rén duō bù ān guānhuà, zhuó dìfāng guān xùndǎo....... Yìng lìng gāi dūfǔ xuézhèng, yú fán xì xiāngyīn dúshū zhī chù, lùn lìng yǒulì zhī jiā xiān yú línjìn yánqǐng guānhuà dúshū zhī shī, jiào qí zǐdì, zhuǎnxiàng shòushòu, yǐ bā nián wèi xiàn. Bā nián zhī wài, rú shēngyuán gòngjiān bùnéng guānhuà zhě, zàntíng qí xiāngshì, xuézhèng bùzhǔn qǔ sòng kējǔ. [Pinyin]

     C

   • 1877, Donald Bruce, “Lesson 9”, in Easy Phrases in the Canton Dialect of the Chinese Language, 2nd edition, San Francisco: Bruce's Printing House:

     佢噲講省城話唔噲講官話 [Cantonese, trad.]
     佢哙讲省城话唔哙讲官话 [Cantonese, simp.]

     keoi⁵ wui⁵ gong² saang² seng⁴ waa^6-2 m⁴ wui⁵ gong² gun¹ waa^6-2 [Jyutping]

     He speaks the Canton dialect; he does not speak the Mandarin dialect.

2. bureaucratic gibberish; high-sounding but insincere words; officialese

   Synonym: 官腔 (guānqiāng)

Synonyms

• (Mandarin): 北方話／北方话 (běifānghuà)

Derived terms

• 中原官話 / 中原官话 (Zhōngyuán guānhuà)
• 冀魯官話 / 冀鲁官话 (Jì-Lǔ Guānhuà)
• 北京官話 / 北京官话 (Běijīng guānhuà)
• 天不怕，地不怕，只怕廣東人說官話 / 天不怕，地不怕，只怕广东人说官话 (tiān bùpà, dì bùpà, zhǐ pà Guǎngdōngrén shuō guānhuà)
• 官話化 / 官话化 (guānhuàhuà)
• 官話合聲字母 / 官话合声字母 (Guānhuà Héshēng Zìmǔ)
• 官話字母 / 官话字母
• 戲棚官話 / 戏棚官话 (xìpéng guānhuà)
• 打官話 / 打官话
• 東北官話 / 东北官话 (dōngběi guānhuà)
• 江淮官話 / 江淮官话 (Jiānghuái guānhuà)
• 膠遼官話 / 胶辽官话
• 藍青官話 / 蓝青官话 (lánqīng guānhuà)
• 蘭銀官話 / 兰银官话
• 西南官話 / 西南官话 (xīnán guānhuà)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (官話):

• → Japanese: 官話(かんわ) (kanwa)
• → Okinawan: 官話(くゎんふぁー) (kwanfā)
• → Korean: 관화(官話) (gwanhwa)
• → Vietnamese: Quan thoại (官話)

References

• “官話”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.
• 陈浩淼 [CHEN, Haomiao] (June 2019), “莆仙方言连读音变中-n、-m韵尾的残留 [The Ｒesidual of-n，-m Tail Vowel in the Liaison of Puxian Dialect]”, in 莆田学院学报 [Journal of Putian University] (in Chinese), volume 26, number 3, Fuzhou

Japanese

Kanji in this term
官	話
かん Grade: 4	わ Grade: 2
on'yomi	kan'yōon

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 官話 (MC kwan hwaejH).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) かんわ [kàńwá] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [kã̠ɰ̃β̞a̠]

Noun

官(かん)話(わ) • (kanwa) ^{←くわんわ (kwan'wa)?}

1. Mandarin; Guanhua (group of Northern Chinese dialects including Putonghua (Standard Chinese))

Korean

Hanja in this term
官	話

Noun

官話 • (gwanhwa) (hangeul 관화)

1. hanja form^? of 관화 (“Mandarin; Guanhua (group of Northern Chinese dialects including Putonghua (Standard Chinese))”)

Okinawan

Kanji in this term
官	話
くゎん Grade: 4	ふぁー Grade: 2
on'yomi

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle Chinese 官話 (MC kwan hwaejH). Cognate to Japanese 官話 (kanwa).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kʷam̩ɸaː/

Noun

官(くゎん)話(ふぁー) (kwanfā) 

1. Mandarin; Guanhua (group of Northern Chinese dialects including Putonghua (Standard Chinese))

References

• “くぁんふぁー・くゎんふぁー【官話】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.
• “クヮンファー” in Okinawa Center of Language Study, Shuri-Naha Dialect Dictionary (archived; reopens 2024).

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
官	話

Noun

官話

1. chữ Hán form of Quan thoại (“Mandarin; Guanhua”)