Teochew Min: Difference between revisions

|ancestor=[[Proto-Sino-Tibetan language|Proto-Sino-Tibetan]]

|ancestor2=[[Old Chinese]]{{efn|group=lower-roman|name=minClassification|Min is believed to have split from Old Chinese, rather than Middle Chinese like other varieties of Chinese.<ref>{{citation |last=Mei |first=Tsu-lin |author1-link=Mei Tsu-lin |title=Tones and prosody in Middle Chinese and the origin of the rising tone |journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies |volume=30 |year=1970 |pages=86–110 |doi=10.2307/2718766 |jstor=2718766}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Pulleyblank |first=Edwin G. |author-link=Edwin G. Pulleyblank |title=Middle Chinese: A study in Historical Phonology |year=1984 |page=3 |location=Vancouver |publisher=University of British Columbia Press |isbn=978-0-7748-0192-8}}</ref><ref name="glottoMin">{{Cite journal |url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/minn1248 |title=Glottolog 4.8 - Min |date=2023-07-10 |access-date=2023-10-13 |website=[[Glottolog]] |last1=Hammarström |first1=Harald |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013171747/https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/minn1248 |archive-date=2023-10-13 |url-status=live |publisher=[[Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology]] |author-link=Harald Hammarström |last2=Forkel |first2=Robert |publication-place=[[Leipzig]] |doi=10.5281/zenodo.7398962 |last3=Haspelmath |first3=Martin |author-link3=Martin Haspelmath |last4=Bank |first4=Sebastian |doi-access=free}}</ref>}}

|ancestor3=[[Proto-Min]]

|map=Banlamgu.svg

|mapcaption={{legend|#677821|Teochew (Teo-Swa) within the [[Southern Min]] languages}}

|script=[[Chinese characters]]<br>[[Teochew Romanization]]<br>[[Peng'im]]

| teo = Dio⁵ziu¹ uê⁷

| poj = Tiô-chiu-ōe

'''Teochew'''{{efn|group=lower-roman|{{zh|t={{linktext|潮州話}}}}, Teochew: ''Tiô-tsiu-uē'' ([[Teochew Romanization|POJ]]) / ''Dio⁵ziu¹ uê⁷'' ([[Peng'im]]), [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]]: ''Cháozhōu huà''}}, also known as '''Teo-Swa''' (or '''Chaoshan'''){{efn|group=lower-roman|{{zh|t={{linktext|潮汕話}}}}, Teochew: ''Tiô-suaⁿ-uē'' ([[Teochew Romanization|POJ]]) / ''Dio⁵suan³ uê⁷'' ([[Peng'im]]), Mandarin: ''Cháoshàn huà''}}, is a [[Southern Min]] language spoken by the [[Teochew people]] in the [[Chaoshan]] region of eastern [[Guangdong]] and by their diaspora around the world. It is sometimes referred to as ''Chiuchow'', its [[Cantonese]] rendering, due to English romanization by colonial officials and explorers. It is closely related to [[Hokkien]], as it shares some [[cognate]]s and phonology with Hokkien.

As Teochew region was one of the major sources of Chinese emigration to [[Southeast Asia]] during the 18th to 20th centuries, a considerable [[Overseas Chinese]] community in that region is Teochew-speaking. In particular, the Teochew people settled in significant numbers in [[Cambodia]], [[Thailand]] and [[Laos]], where they form the largest Chinese sub-language group. Additionally, there are many Teochew-speakers among Chinese communities in [[Vietnam]], [[Singapore]], [[Malaysia]] (especially in the states of [[Johor]] and [[Selangor]]) and [[Indonesia]] (especially in [[West Kalimantan]] on [[Borneo]]). Waves of migration from Teochew region to [[Hong Kong]], especially after the communist victory of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, has also resulted in the formation of a community there, although most descendants now primarily speak Cantonese and English.

* Southern Teochew, or Chaopu division ({{lang|zh-Hant|潮普片}}), including:

Some classifications consider [[Haklau Min|Hai Lok Hong dialect]] a part of Teochew (as the third branch), while others consider it a part of [[Hokkien]] or an independent [[Southern Min]] variety.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=潘家懿 |last2=鄭守治 |date=2010-03-01 |title=粵東閩南語的分布及方言片的劃分 |url=https://www.airitilibrary.com/Article/Detail/P20170425003-201003-201704270015-201704270015-145-165 |journal=臺灣語文研究 |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=145–165 |doi=10.6710/JTLL.201003_5(1).0008}}</ref> In [[Nan'ao County|Nan'ao island]] there are two dialects, both distinct from the mainland Teochew, with Western Nan'ao dialect inclining towards the Northern Teochew, and Eastern Nan'ao dialect showing Hokkien influence, as this part of the island was included in [[Zhangzhou fu|Zhangzhou prefecture]] in 16—19 centuries.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lin |first=Lunlun |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/190795329 |title=Guangdong Nan'ao Dao fang yan yu yin ci hui yan jiu |last2=Lin |first2=Chunyu |date=2007 |publisher=Zhonghua shu ju |isbn=978-7-101-05600-6 |edition=Di 1 ban |series=Huaxia ying cai ji jin xue shu wen ku |location=Beijing |oclc=190795329}}</ref>

The main criterion in the classification of Teochew dialects is the presence or absence of the vowel {{IPA|/ɯ/}}. It is found in Northern Teochew in words like ''hṳ̂'' 魚 '''he⁵''' "fish" and ''sṳ̄'' 事 '''se⁷''' "thing; matter". Southern Teochew has {{IPA|/u/}} instead (''hû'' 魚 '''hu⁵''', ''sū'' 事 '''su⁷'''). Hai Lok Hong and Eastern Nan'ao dialects have {{IPA|/i/}} or {{IPA|/u/}} instead, depending on the etymology of the word (''hî'' 魚 '''hi⁵''', but ''sū'' 事 '''su⁷'''), similarly to the [[Zhangzhou dialects|Chiangchew Hokkien]]. Southern Teochew may be further divided into Huilai—Puning dialects and Teoyeo dialects, based on their tone contours.<ref name="tonotypes"/>

[[File:Teochew map.svg|350px|thumb|left|Major dialect groups of Teochew{{legend|#a2bdf3|Northern Teochew}}{{legend|#ffcc80|Southern Teochew}}{{legend|#b9d56d|[[Haklau Min|Hai Lok Hong Min]] (sometimes included in Teochew)}}<br>{{legend|#c5f5a5|[[Hokkien]]-Teochew transitional dialects}}{{legend|#b3f3e6|[[Zhangzhou dialects|Chiangchew Hokkien]]}}]]

[[Zhao'an County|Zhao'an]] dialect, spoken in [[Fujian]] along the Guangdong border, is quite different from other southern dialects of [[Hokkien]]. It has some lexical influence from Teochew and relatively higher mutual intelligibility with it, yet in other aspects it clusters more with Hokkien than Teochew.

Written Southern Min is known since at least 16th century. The earliest known work is a 1566 edition of the ''[[Tale of the Lychee Mirror]]'', a folk drama written in a mixture of Teochew and [[Quanzhou dialects|Chinchew Hokkien]].

Teochew [[Rime dictionary|rime dictionaries]] appered relatively late, the earliest of them being "Fifteen consonants of Teochew language" ({{lang|zh|潮語十五音}}, 1911) by Chio Ju-lim ({{lang|zh|蔣儒林}}) and "Fifteen consonants of Teochew sound" ({{lang|zh|潮聲十五音}}, 1913) by Teo See-tiang ({{lang|zh|張世珍}}).

* attemting to find an original character

|''pak'' / '''bag⁴''' "to know"

|''tiâng'' / '''diang⁵''' "who"

|''tsōi'' / '''zoi⁷''' "many"

|''thâi'' / '''tai⁵''' "to kill"

|''m̆'' / '''m⁶''' "not"

|''tse̍k'' / '''zêg⁸''' "one"

|''kûiⁿ'' / '''guin⁵''' "tall; high"

|''tshâng'' / '''cang⁵''' "field"

There are two principal romanization systems for Teochew: the ''[[Pe̍h-ūe-jī]]'', originally invented for Hokkien in the 19th century and adapted for Teochew (particularly the Swatow dialect), and ''[[Peng'im]]'', invented in 1960s and based on the Mandarin romanization (''[[Hanyu Pinyin]]''). While ''[[Peng'im]]'' has some presense in academic works published in PRC, many publications on Teochew use their custom IPA-based romanizations.

==== Consonants ====

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;margin-right:1.4em;"

|+

!IPA

!''[[Pe̍h-ūe-jī]]''

!''[[Peng'im]]''

! rowspan="10" |

!IPA

|/p/

|''p''

|'''b'''

|/k/

|''k''

|'''g'''

|/pʰ/

|''ph''

|'''p'''

|/kʰ/

|''kh''

|'''k'''

|/b/

|''b''

|'''bh'''

|/g/

|''g''

|'''gh'''

|/m/

|''m''

|'''m'''

|/ŋ/

|''ng''

|'''ng'''

|/t/

|''t''

|'''d'''

|/ts/

|''ts''{{efn|name=tsch|Many missionary publications use ''ch'' and ''chh'' before ''i'', and ''ts'' and ''tsh'' elsewhere, like some versions of [[Pe̍h-ōe-jī#Maturity|Hokkien ''Pe̍h-ōe-jī'']].}}

|'''z'''

|/tʰ/

|''th''

|'''t'''

|/tsʰ/

|''tsh''{{efn|name=tsch}}

|'''c'''

|/l/

|''l''

|'''l'''

|/dz/

|''j''

|'''r'''

|/n/

|''n''

|'''n'''

|/s/

|''s''

|'''s'''

|/h/

|''h''

|'''h'''

| colspan="3" |

==== Vowels ====

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;margin-right:1.4em;"

!IPA

!''[[Pe̍h-ūe-jī]]''

!''[[Peng'im]]''

! rowspan="13" |

!IPA

|/a/

|''a''

|'''a'''

|/e/ ''or'' /ɛ/

|''e''

|'''ê'''

|/ia/

|''ia''

|'''ia'''

|/ie/ ''or'' /iɛ/

|''ie''

|'''iê'''

|/ua/

|''ua''

|'''ua'''

|/ue/ ''or'' /uɛ/

|''ue''

|'''uê'''

|/ai/

|''ai''

|'''ai'''

|/ɯ/ ''or'' /ə/

|''ṳ''

|'''e'''

|/au/

|''au''

|'''ao'''

|/i/

|''i''

|'''i'''

|/uai/

|''uai''

|'''uai'''

|/u/

|''u''

|'''u'''

|/iau/

|''iau''

|'''iao'''

|/ui/

|''ui''

|'''ui'''

|/o/

|''o''

|'''o'''

|/iu/

|''iu''

|'''iu'''

|/io/

|''io''

|'''io'''

| colspan="3" rowspan="4" |

|/oi/

|''oi''

|'''oi'''

|/ou/

|''ou''

|'''ou'''

|/iou/

|''iou''

|'''iou'''

==== Codas ====

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;margin-right:1.4em;"

!IPA

!''[[Pe̍h-ūe-jī]]''

!''[[Peng'im]]''

! rowspan="5" |

!IPA

|/-ŋ/

|/-m/

| ''-m''

| '''-m'''

|/-k/

|/-p/

| ''-p''

| '''-b'''

|/-ʔ/

|/-n/{{efn|name=nto|Obsolete in most Teochew dialects.}}

| ''-n''

|—

|/-◌̃/

|/-t/{{efn|name=nto}}

|—

| description = {{wikt-lang|zh|買}}{{wikt-lang|zh|鵝}}{{wikt-lang|zh|來}}{{wikt-lang|zh|食}} "buy geese to eat"<br>''bói gô lāi tsia̍h'' / '''bhoi² gho⁵ lai⁷ ziah⁸'''<br>{{IPA-nan|ᵐ̥boi ᵑ̊ɡo ⁿ̥ɺai tsiaʔ|}}

Teochew, like other Southern Min varieties, is one of the few modern Sinitic languages which have [[Phonation#Voicing|voiced]] [[obstruent]]s (stops, fricatives and affricates); however, unlike [[Wu Chinese|Wu]] and [[Xiang Chinese]], the Teochew voiced [[Stop consonant|stops]] and [[fricative consonant|fricatives]] did not evolve from [[Middle Chinese]] voiced obstruents, but from [[nasal consonant|nasals]]. The voiced stops {{IPA|[b]}} and {{IPA|[ɡ]}} and also {{IPA|[l]}} are voicelessly [[prenasalized consonant|prenasalized]] {{IPA|[ᵐ̥b]}}, {{IPA|[ᵑ̊ɡ]}}, {{IPA|[ⁿ̥ɺ]}}, respectively. The voiced affricate {{IPA link|dz}}, initial in such words as ''jī'' {{wikt-lang|zh|字}} '''ri⁷''' (/dzi˩/), ''jĭ'' {{wikt-lang|zh|二}} '''ri⁶''' (/dzi˧˥/), ''jiâng'' {{wikt-lang|zh|然}} '''riang⁵''' (/dziaŋ˥/), ''jia̍k'' {{wikt-lang|zh|若}} '''riag⁸''' (/dziak˦/) loses its affricate property with some younger speakers abroad, and is relaxed to [z].

Unlike in Hokkien, nasal initials in Teochew are not generally considered [[allophone]]s of the voiced plosives, as nasals are relatively more common in Teochew and have less usage restrictions. For example, Teochew allows for syllables like ''nge̍k'' 逆 '''ngêg⁸''', which are impossible in Hokkien.

In Southern dialects of Teochew, labial initials (/p/, /pʰ/, /b/, /m/) have [[Labiodental consonant|labiodental]] allophones ([pf], [pfʰ], [bv], [mv~ɱ]) before /-u-/.

|'''bu³'''

|'''buan¹'''

|'''pua⁵'''

|'''puê³'''

|'''bhu²'''

|'''bhuê²'''

|'''muê⁷'''

|'''muan²'''

! colspan="2" |

|21 ˨˩ ~ 22 ˨

|21 ˨˩ ~ 22 ˨

|22 ˨ ~ 21 ˨˩

|22 ˨ ~ 21 ˨˩

Some works refer to the neutral tone as "left-dominant tone sandhi". However, unlike the general ("right-dominant") Teochew tone sandhi, which is a regular phonetic change, the neutral tone is lexical and its occurrence cannot be predicted. Compare the following examples with the morpheme ''nî'' {{wikt-lang|zh|年}} '''ni⁵''' "year", where some words have the neutral tone, while others preserve the original tone.<ref name="aspect">{{Cite journal |last=Ling |first=XU Hui |last2=许惠玲 |date=2007 |title=Aspect of Chaozhou Grammar A Synchronic Description of the Jieyang Variety / 潮州話揭陽方言語法研究 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23826160 |journal=Journal of Chinese Linguistics Monograph Series |issue=22 |pages=i–304 |issn=2409-2878}}</ref>

:''tsâiⁿ--nî'' {{wikt-lang|zh|前年}} '''zain⁵ ni⁵''' "year before last"

:''ău--nî'' {{wikt-lang|zh|後年}} '''ao⁶ ni⁵''' "year after next"

:''tuā-tsâiⁿ--nî'' {{wikt-lang|zh|大前年}} '''dua⁷ zain⁵ ni⁵''' "three years ago"

:''jĭ-káu--nî'' {{lang|zh|二九年}} '''ri⁶ gao² ni⁵''' "year 29"

:''kim-nî'' {{wikt-lang|zh|今年}} '''gim¹ ni⁵''' "this year"

:''kū-nî'' {{wikt-lang|zh|舊年}} '''gu⁷ ni⁵''' "last year"

:''mê-nî'' {{wikt-lang|zh|明年}} '''mên⁵ ni⁵''' "next year"

:''jĭ-tsa̍p-ngŏu-nî'' {{lang|zh|二十五年}} '''ri⁶ zab⁸ ngou⁶ ni⁵''' "25 years"

{{more citations needed|date=September 2012}}

The personal pronouns in Teochew, like in other Chinese languages, do not show case marking, therefore ''uá'' {{lang|zh-Hant|我}} '''ua²''' means both ''I'' and ''me'' and ''i-nâng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|伊人}} '''i¹ nang⁵''' means ''they'' and ''them''. The Southern Min languages, like some Mandarin dialects, have a distinction between an [[clusivity|inclusive]] and [[clusivity|exclusive]] we, meaning that when the addressee is being included, the inclusive pronoun ''náng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|咱}} '''nang²''' would be used, otherwise ''uáng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|阮}} '''uang²''' is employed. Outside Southern Min varieties like Teochew, no other southern Chinese variety has this distinction.<ref name="aspect"/>

| &nbsp;

| rowspan=2 | ''uá'' {{lang|zh-Hant|我}} '''ua²'''

| ''náng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|咱}} '''nang²'''

| ''uáng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|阮}} '''uang²'''{{efn|Also pronounced ''úng'' / '''ung²''' in Chaozhou, ''ńg'' / '''ng²''' in Chenghai}}

| ''lṳ́'' {{lang|zh-Hant|汝}} '''le²'''

| colspan=2 | ''nṳ́ng, níng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|恁}} '''neng², ning²'''

| ''i'' {{lang|zh-Hant|伊}} '''i¹'''

| colspan=2 | ''ing'' {{lang|zh-Hant|𪜶}} '''ing¹'''<br>''i-nâng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|伊儂}} '''i¹ nang⁵'''

Teochew does not distinguish the possessive pronouns from the possessive adjectives. As a general rule, the possessive pronouns or adjectives are formed by adding the [[genitive]] or possessive marker ''kâi'' {{lang|zh-Hant|個}} '''gai⁵''' to their respective personal pronouns, as summarized below:

| &nbsp;

| rowspan=2 | ''uá-kâi'' {{lang|zh-Hant|我個}} '''ua² gai⁵'''

| ''náng-kâi'' {{lang|zh-Hant|咱個}} '''nang² gai⁵'''

| ''uáng-kâi'' {{lang|zh-Hant|阮個}} '''uang² gai⁵'''

| ''lṳ́-kâi'' {{lang|zh-Hant|汝個}} '''le² gai⁵'''

| colspan=2 | ''nṳ́ng-kâi, níng-kâi'' {{lang|zh-Hant|恁個}} '''neng² gai⁵, ning² gai⁵'''

| ''i-kâi'' {{lang|zh-Hant|伊個}} '''i¹ gai⁵'''

| colspan=2 | ''i-nâng-kâi'' {{lang|zh-Hant|伊儂個}} '''i¹ nang⁵ gai⁵'''

:{|

|本||書||是||'''我'''||'''個'''。

|-

|''púng''||''tsṳ''||''sĭ''||''uá''||''kâi''

|-

|'''bung²'''||'''ze¹'''||'''si⁶'''||'''ua²'''||'''gai⁵'''

|-

|<small>CL</small>-books||book||be||I||<small>POS</small>

|-

|colspan=5|"The book is mine."

|}

As ''kâi'' {{wikt-lang|zh|個}} '''gai⁵''' is the generic [[Chinese classifier|measure word]], it may be replaced by other more appropriate classifiers:<ref name="aspect"/>

:{|

|我||'''條'''||裙

|-

|''uá''||''tiâu''||''kûng''

|-

|'''ua²'''||'''diao⁵'''||'''gung⁵'''

|-

|I||<small>CL</small>-clothes||skirt

|-

|colspan=3|"my skirt"

|}

Teochew has the typical two-way distinction between the demonstratives, namely the proximals and the distals. The basic determiners are ''tsí'' {{lang|zh-Hant|只}} '''zi²''' "this" and ''hṳ́'' {{lang|zh-Hant|許}} '''he²''' "that", and they require at least a classifier (generic ''kâi'' {{lang|zh-Hant|個}} '''gai⁵''', collective ''tshoh'' {{lang|zh-Hant|撮}} '''coh⁴''', or another), which can be optionally preceded by a numeral.

| colspan=2 | &nbsp;

| ''tsí (kâi)'' {{lang|zh-Hant|只(個)}} '''zi² (gai⁵)'''

| ''hṳ́ (kâi)'' {{lang|zh-Hant|許(個)}} '''he² (gai⁵)'''

| ''tsí tshoh'' {{lang|zh-Hant|只撮}} '''zi² coh⁴'''

| ''hṳ́ tshoh'' {{lang|zh-Hant|許撮}} '''he² coh⁴'''

| ''tsió'' {{lang|zh-Hant|照}} '''zio²'''

| ''hió'' {{lang|zh-Hant|向}} '''hio²'''

| ''tsiá'' {{lang|zh-Hant|者}} '''zia²'''

| ''hiá'' {{lang|zh-Hant|遐}} '''hia²'''

| ''tsí kò'' {{lang|zh-Hant|只塊}} '''zi² go³'''

| ''hṳ́ kò'' {{lang|zh-Hant|許塊}} '''he² go³'''

| ''tsí lăi'' {{lang|zh-Hant|只內}} '''zi² lai⁶'''

| ''hṳ́ lăi'' {{lang|zh-Hant|許內}} '''he² lai⁶'''

| ''tsí kháu'' {{lang|zh-Hant|只口}} '''zi² kao²'''

| ''hṳ́ kháu'' {{lang|zh-Hant|許口}} '''he² kao²'''

| ''tsí tsûng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|只陣}} '''zi² zung⁵'''

| ''hṳ́ tsûng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|許陣}} '''he² zung⁵'''

| ''tsiòⁿ'' {{lang|zh-Hant|照}} '''zion³'''

| ''hiòⁿ'' {{lang|zh-Hant|向}} '''hion³'''

| ''tsiòⁿ seⁿ (iōⁿ)'' {{lang|zh-Hant|照生(樣)}} '''zion³ sên¹ (ion⁷)'''

| ''hiòⁿ seⁿ (iōⁿ)'' {{lang|zh-Hant|向生(樣)}} '''hion³ sên¹ (ion⁷)'''

| ''tiâng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|𫢗}} '''diang⁵'''

| ''tī tiâng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|底𫢗}} '''di⁷ diang⁵'''

| ''tī nâng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|底儂}} '''di⁷ nang⁵'''

| ''mih kâi'' {{lang|zh-Hant|乜個}} '''mih⁴ gai⁵'''

| ''mih'' {{lang|zh-Hant|乜}} '''mih⁴''' + [[noun|N]]

| ''tī'' {{lang|zh-Hant|底}} '''di⁷''' + [[numeral system|NUM]] + [[Classifier (linguistics)|CL]] + N

| ''tī kâi'' {{lang|zh-Hant|底個}} '''di⁷ gai⁵'''

| ''tī kò'' {{lang|zh-Hant|底塊}} '''di⁷ go³'''

| ''tiang sî'' {{lang|zh-Hant|𫢗時}} '''diang¹ si⁵'''

| ''tsò nî'' {{lang|zh-Hant|做呢}} '''zo³ ni⁵'''

| ''mih seⁿ iōⁿ'' {{lang|zh-Hant|乜生樣}} '''mih⁴ sên¹ ion⁷'''

| ''tsò nî iōⁿ'' {{lang|zh-Hant|做呢樣}} '''zo³ ni⁵ ion⁷'''

| ''tsăi seⁿ (iōⁿ)'' {{lang|zh-Hant|在生(樣)}} '''zai⁶ sên¹ (ion⁷)'''

| ''kúi'' {{lang|zh-Hant|幾}} '''gui²''' + CL + N

| ''jio̍h tsōi'' {{lang|zh-Hant|若濟}} '''rioh⁸ zoi⁷''' + CL + N

|{{wikt-lang|zh|零}} ''lêng'' / '''lêng5'''

|{{wikt-lang|zh|空}} ''khàng'' / '''kang3'''

|{{wikt-lang|zh|一}} ''ik'' / '''ig4'''

|{{wikt-lang|zh|一}} ''tse̍k'' / '''zêg8'''

|{{wikt-lang|zh|蜀}} is often considered the original character for ''tse̍k'' / '''zêg8'''.<br>When spelling numbers digit by digit, ''iau'' {{wikt-lang|zh|幺}} '''iao1''' is also used for "one".

|{{wikt-lang|zh|二}} ''jĭ'' / '''ri6'''

|{{wikt-lang|zh|兩}} ''nŏ'' / '''no6'''

|{{wikt-lang|zh|兩}} ''nŏ'' / '''no6''' may also be written as {{wikt-lang|zh|二}}<br>The character {{wikt-lang|zh|兩}} has a literary reading ''liáng'' / '''liang2'''.

|{{wikt-lang|zh|三}} ''sam'' / '''sam1'''

|{{wikt-lang|zh|三}} ''saⁿ'' / '''san1'''

|{{wikt-lang|zh|四}} ''sṳ̀'' / '''se3'''

|{{wikt-lang|zh|四}} ''sì'' / '''si3'''

|{{wikt-lang|zh|五}} ''ngóu'' / '''ngou2'''

|{{wikt-lang|zh|五}} ''ngŏu'' / '''ngou6'''

|Literary reading is used in some set compounds.<br>Also pronounced as ''ngŏm'' / '''ngom6''' in Southern Teochew.

| colspan="2" |{{wikt-lang|zh|六}} ''la̍k'' / '''lag8'''

| colspan="2" |{{wikt-lang|zh|七}} ''tshik'' / '''cig4'''

| colspan="2" |{{wikt-lang|zh|八}} ''poih'' / '''boih4'''

|{{wikt-lang|zh|九}} ''kiú'' / '''giu2'''

|{{wikt-lang|zh|九}} ''káu'' / '''gao2'''

| colspan="2" |{{wikt-lang|zh|十}} ''tsa̍p'' / '''zab8'''

| colspan="2" |{{wikt-lang|zh|百}} ''peh'' / '''bêh4'''

| colspan="2" |{{wikt-lang|zh|千}} ''tshoiⁿ'' / '''coin1'''

|Only vernacular reading.<br>Also ''tshaiⁿ'' / '''cain1''' (in Kekyeo and Southern Teochew).

| colspan="2" |{{wikt-lang|zh|萬}} ''buāng'' / '''bhuang7'''

|Only literary reading<br>Also ''buēng'' / '''bhuêng7''' (in Chaozhou).<br>Also ''bāng'' / '''bang7''' (variant in Southern Teochew).

::''tsa̍p ik'' {{lang|zh|十一}} '''zab8 ig4''' "eleven"

::''saⁿ tsa̍p jĭ'' {{lang|zh|三十二}} '''san1 zab8 ri6''' "thirty two"

::''jĭ tsa̍p ik'' {{lang|zh|二十一}} '''ri6 zab8 ig4''' "twenty one"

::''tse̍k peh'' {{lang|zh|一百}} '''zêg8 bêh4''' "one hundred"

::''nŏ tshoiⁿ'' {{lang|zh|兩千}} '''no6 coin1''' "two thousands"

::''tŏiⁿ jĭ'' {{lang|zh|第二}} '''doin6 ri6''' "second"

::''tsheⁿ khî ik'' {{lang|zh|星期一}} '''cên1 ki5 ig4''' "Monday"

::''tsiaⁿ gue̍h tshiu ik'' {{lang|zh|正月初一}} '''zian1 ghuêh8 ciu1 ig4''' "first day of the [[Lunar New Year]]"

::''jĭ-khàng-iau-poih-nî jĭ-gue̍h jĭ-hō'' {{lang|zh|2018年二月二號}} '''ri6 kang3 iao1 boih4 ni5 ri6 ghuêh8 ri6 ho7''' "February 2, 2018"

In Teochew passive construction, the [[agent (grammar)|agent]] [[phrase]] ''by somebody'' always has to be present, and is introduced by the preposition ''khṳh'' {{lang|zh-Hant|乞}} '''keh4''' or ''pung'' {{lang|zh-Hant|分}} '''bung1''', both literally meaning "to give". If the agent is not explicitly named, its position is taken by ''nâng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|儂}} '''nang5''' (lit. "a person; one; somebody").

:{|

|伊||'''分'''||'''儂'''||刣||掉。

|-

|''i''||''pung''||''nâng''||''thâi''||''tiāu''

|-

|'''i1'''||'''bung1'''||'''nang5'''||'''tai5'''||'''diao7'''

|-

|s/he||GIVE||PERSON||kill||be lost

|-

|colspan=5|"S/he was killed (by someone)."

|}

While in Mandarin one can have the agent introducer {{zh|t=被|p=bèi|labels=no}} or {{zh|t=給|p=gěi|labels=no}} alone without the agent itself, in Teochew it is not grammatical to omit this dummy agent ''nâng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|儂}}'''nang5'''.

:{|

|個||杯||'''分'''||'''儂'''||敲||掉。

|-

|''kâi''||''pue''||''pung''||''nâng''||''khà''||''tiāu''

|-

|'''gai5'''||'''buê1'''||'''bung1'''||'''nang5'''||'''ka3'''||'''diao7'''

|-

|<small>CL</small>||cup||GIVE||PERSON||break||be lost

|-

|colspan=6|"The cup was broken."

|}

The agent phrase ''pung nâng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|分儂}} '''bung1 nang5''' always comes immediately after the subject, not at the end of the sentence or between the [[auxiliary verb|auxiliary]] and the past [[participle]] like in some European languages (e.g. [[German language|German]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]]).

Teochew, like Cantonese but unlike Hokkien, uses the construction "X ADJ ''kuè'' {{lang|zh-Hant|過}} '''guê3''' Y", to express the comparison:

:{|

|伊||雅||過||汝。

|-

|''i''||''ngiá''||''kuè''||''lṳ́''

|-

|'''i1'''||'''ngia2'''||'''guê3'''||'''le2'''

|-

|s/he||beautiful||EXCEED||you

|-

|colspan=4|"She is more beautiful than you."

|}

:{|

|伊||比||汝||雅。

|-

|''i''||''pí''||''lṳ́''||''ngiá''

|-

|'''i1'''||'''bi2'''||'''le2'''||'''ngia2'''

|-

|s/he||COMPARE||you||beautiful

|-

|colspan=4|"She is more beautiful than you."

|}

:{|

|伊||夭||雅。

|-

|''i''||''iău''||''ngiá''

|-

|'''i1'''||'''iau6'''||'''ngia2'''

|-

|s/he||comparatively||beautiful

|-

|colspan=3|"She is more beautiful."

|}

{{fs interlinear|lang=zh|indent=3

There are two words which are intrinsically comparative in meaning, i.e. ''iâⁿ'' {{lang|zh-Hant|贏}} '''ian5''' "to win" and ''su'' {{lang|zh-Hant|輸}} '''su1''' "to lose". They can be used alone or in conjunction with the {{lang|zh-Hant|過}}-structure:

:{|

|只||領||裙||輸||(過)||許||領。

|-

|''tsí''||''niá''||''kûng''||''su''||''(kuè)''||''hṳ́''||''niá''

|-

|'''zi2'''||'''nian2'''||'''gung5'''||'''su1'''||'''(guê3)'''||'''he2'''||'''nian2'''

|-

|colspan=7|"This skirt is not as good as that one."

|}

:{|

|我||內||個||電腦||贏||伊||個||好||濟。

|-

|''uá''||''lăi''||''kâi''||''tiĕng-náu''||''iâⁿ''||''i''||''kâi''||''hoh''||''tsōi''

|-

|'''ua2'''||'''lai6'''||'''gai5'''||'''diêng6 nao2'''||'''ian5'''||'''i1'''||'''gai5'''||'''hoh4'''||'''zoi7'''

|-

|colspan=7|"My computer (at home) is far better than his."

|}

Note the use of the adverbial ''hoh tsōi'' {{lang|zh-Hant|好濟}} '''hoh4 zoi7''' at the end of the sentence to express a higher degree.

In Teochew, the idea of equality is expressed with the word ''pêⁿ'' {{lang|zh-Hant|平}} '''bên5''' or ''pêⁿ-iōⁿ'' {{lang|zh-Hant|平樣}} '''bên5 ion7''':

:{|

|只||本||書||佮||許||本||平||重。

|-

|''tsí''||''púng''||''tsṳ''||''kah''||''hṳ́''||''púng''||''pêⁿ''||''tăng''

|-

|'''zi2'''||'''bung2'''||'''ze1'''||'''gah4'''||'''he2'''||'''bung2'''||'''bên5'''||'''dang6'''

|-

|colspan=8|"This book is as heavy as that one."

|}

:{|

|伊||兩||儂||平||平樣。

|-

|''i''||''nŏ''||''nâng''||''pêⁿ''||''pêⁿ-iōⁿ''

|-

|'''i1'''||'''no6'''||'''nang5'''||'''bên5'''||'''bên5 ion7'''

|-

|colspan=5|"They are the same."

|}

To express the superlative, Teochew uses the adverb ''siăng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|上}} '''siang6''' or ''siăng-téng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|上頂}} '''siang6 dêng2'''. The latter variant is usually used with a complimentary connotation.

:{|

|只||間||物||上頂||好食。

|-

|''tsí''||''koiⁿ''||''mue̍h''||''siăng-téng''||''hó-tsia̍h''

|-

|'''zi2'''||'''goin1'''||'''muêh8'''||'''siang6 dêng2'''||'''ho2 ziah8'''

|-

|colspan=5|"This (restaurant) is (absolutely) the most delicious."

|}

:{|

|伊儂||對||我||上||好。

|-

|''i-nâng''||''tùi''||''uá''||''siăng''||''hó''

|-

|'''i1 nang5'''||'''dui3'''||'''ua2'''||'''siang6'''||'''ho2'''

|-

|colspan=5|"They treat me best." {{Lit}} "The people treat me very well."

|}

* Pan-Sinitic words, found in most other languages of the [[Sinosphere]] (such as Hokkien, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, etc), often derived from [[Literary Chinese]] or orthographically borrowed from [[Japanese]] or [[Mandarin]]

::''ì-kièng'' {{linktext|意見}} '''i3 giêng3''' "opinion",

::''kok-ke'' {{linktext|國家}} '''gog4 gê1''' "state; country",

::''kak-hung'' {{linktext|結婚}} '''gag4 hung1''' "to marry",

::''khùng-nâng'' {{linktext|困難}} '''kung3 nang5''' "hard; difficult",

::''seng-mĕng'' {{linktext|生命}} '''sêng1 mêng6''' "life",

::''tāu-hū'' {{linktext|豆腐}} '''dao7 hu7''' "[[tofu]]"

::''tiĕng-uē'' {{linktext|電話}} '''diêng6-uê7''' "telephone",

::''tshuk-kháu'' {{linktext|出口}} '''cug4 kao2''' "exit",

::''huang-uàⁿ'' {{linktext|方案}} '''huang1 uan3''' "plan; scheme",

::''bûng-huè'' {{linktext|文化}} '''bhung5 huê3''' "culture",

::''kāng-huâ-kok'' {{linktext|共和國}} '''gang7 hua5 gog4''' "republic",

::''tiĕng-náu'' {{linktext|電腦}} '''diêng6 nao2''' "computer"

::''lṳ́'' {{linktext|汝}} '''le2''' "you",

::''ma̍k'' {{linktext|目}} '''mag8''' "eye",

::''tṳ̄'' {{linktext|箸}} '''de7''' "chopsticks",

::''nâng'' {{linktext|儂}} '''nang5''' "man; person",

::''saⁿ'' {{linktext|衫}} '''san1''' "shirt"

::''ta'' {{linktext|灱}} '''da1''' "dry",

::''khṳ̀ng'' {{linktext|囥}} '''keng3''' "to hide",

::''khṳh'' {{linktext|乞}} '''keh4''' "to give",

::''lim'' {{linktext|啉}} '''lim1''' "to drink"

::''tàⁿ'' {{linktext|呾}} '''dan3''' "to say; to talk",

::''ĭⁿ'' {{linktext|夗}} '''in6''' "to sleep",

::''ngà'' {{linktext|㦙}} '''nga3''' "stupid; foolish",

::''jṳ̂'' {{linktext|㧫}} '''re5''' "to wipe; to mop",

::''tsò-nî'' {{linktext|做呢}} '''zo3-ni5''' "why; how"

In Teochew, like in other Min languages, it is common for a character to have at least two reading, called "literary" and "vernacular". The number of such doublets in Teochew is somewhat smaller than in Hokkien, due to Teochew being prone to use only vernacular readings and lose their literary counterparts.

* Teochew uses relevant classifiers to indicate possesion; e.g., the phrase "my book" may be expressed with both ''uá púng tsṳ'' {{lang|zh|我本書}} (with classifier for books) and ''uá kâi tsṳ'' {{lang|zh|我個書}} (with possessive particle) in Teochew, but in Hokkien, only ''góa ê tsṳ'' {{lang|zh|我兮書}} is used.