Dialectal correspondences

The voiced obstruents (the 濁 "muddy" column) are only distinct in Wu dialects. In Min, they are collapsed with the consonants of the tenuis column. Elsewhere they are generally collapsed with the aspirated column in the even tone, and with the tenuis column in other tones. An exception is Cantonese, where in the rising tone they are aspirated in colloquial speech, but tenuis in reading pronunciations. The sonorants do not vary much apart from ⟨v⟩, ⟨r⟩, which in Wu are nasals [m], [ɲ] colloquially but fricatives [v], [z] when read.

Velars ⟨c⟩, ⟨k⟩, ⟨g⟩ are palatalized to affricates before ⟨i⟩, ⟨iu⟩ (the high-front vowels [i], [y]) apart from Min and Yue, where they remain stops before all vowels; ⟨x⟩, ⟨h⟩ also palatalize, but remain fricatives. For instance in Mandarin, they are g, k, h before non-palatalizing vowels and j, q, x before palatalizing vowels, whereas in Cantonese they remain g, k, h everywhere. (Compare the alternate spellings of Beijing and Peking; see Palatalization (sound change) § Mandarin Chinese) The alveolar sibilants ⟨z⟩, ⟨ts⟩, ⟨dz⟩, ⟨s⟩, ⟨sz⟩ (Mandarin z, c, s) are also generally palatalized before ⟨i⟩, ⟨iu⟩ (to Mandarin j, q, x), collapsing with the palatalized velars ⟨c⟩, ⟨k⟩, ⟨g⟩, ⟨x⟩, ⟨h⟩ in dialects which have lost the "round-sharp" distinction so important to Peking opera.

The palatal stops ⟨dy⟩, ⟨ty⟩, ⟨dhy⟩ remain stops only in Min among the Chinese topolects (though also in Japanese and Vietnamese loan words); elsewhere they are conflated with the affricates. The palatal and retroflex sibilants are generally conflated; in Yue and Min, as well as in much of Wu and Mandarin, they are further conflated with the alveolar sibilants. This contrast remains in Beijing, where [sán] 'three' is distinct from [ʂán] 'mountain'; both are [sán] in Sichuanese and Taiwanese Mandarin.

There are numerous more sporadic correlations. For instance, the alveolar affricates ⟨z⟩, ⟨ts⟩, ⟨dz⟩ become stops [t], [tʰ] in Taishan Yue, whereas the alveolar stops are debuccalized to [ʔ], [h], as in Hoisaan for Cantonese Toisaan (Taishan). In Yüchi, Yunnan,^{[clarification needed]} it is the velars ⟨c⟩, ⟨k⟩, ⟨g⟩ which are debuccalized, to [ʔ], [ʔʰ]. In the Min dialects, ⟨f⟩, ⟨fv⟩ become [h] or [ʍ]. In Xi'an Mandarin, the fricatives ⟨sh⟩, ⟨sr⟩, ⟨zh⟩, ⟨zr⟩ are rounded to [f] before rounded vowels, as in [fêi] 'water' (Beijing shuǐ [ʂwèi]).

Dialectal correspondences

The medial ⟨e⟩ is used for syllables which have a palatalizing medial [i] in Mandarin, but no medial in Yue. That is, in Mandarin ⟨e⟩ should be read as ⟨i⟩, with the same effect on consonants as ⟨i⟩ has, whereas in Cantonese it is silent. In Shanghainese both situations occur: ⟨e⟩ is equivalent to ⟨i⟩ in reading pronunciations, as [i] or [y], but is not found in colloquial speech.

In Cantonese, medial ⟨i⟩ can be ignored after sibilants, as palatalization has been lost in these series. That is, siao, shao are read the same.

Dialectal correspondences

The most salient dialectal difference in rimes is perhaps the lack of the obstruent codas ⟨p⟩, ⟨t⟩, ⟨c⟩ in most dialects of Mandarin and independently in the Wencheng dialect of Oujiang, though this has traditionally been seen as a loss of tone (see below). In Wu, Min (generally), New Xiang (Hunanese), Jin, and in the Lower Yangtze and Minjiang dialects of Mandarin, these codas conflate to glottal stop /ʔ/. In others, such as Gan, they are reduced to [t], [k], while Yue dialects, Hakka, and Old Xiang maintain the original [p], [t], [k] system.

Nasal codas are also reduced in many dialects. Mandarin and Wu do not distinguish between ⟨m⟩ and ⟨n⟩, with them being reduced to [n] or nasal vowels, or in some cases dropped altogether. In Shanghainese many instances of ⟨nɡ⟩ have conflated as well, or been dropped, but a phonemic distinction is maintained.

In Mandarin, an additional coda is found, -er [ɻ], from GC ⟨ri⟩.^[12]

In Cantonese, the simple vowels i u iu o a e are [iː uː yː ɔː aː ɛː], apart from ⟨i⟩ and ⟨iu⟩ after velars, which open to diphthongs, as in ci [kei] and ciu [kɵy]. Diphthongs may vary markedly depending on initial and medial, as in cau [kou], ceau [kaːu], ciau [kiːu], though both ceu ~ cieu are [kɐu], following the general pattern of ⟨e⟩ before a coda (cf. cen [kɐn] vs can [kaːn]). Cantonese does not have medials, apart from gw, kw, though sometimes it is the nuclear vowel which drops: giung [kʰoŋ], xiong [hoŋ], but giuan [kʰyːn].

Dialectal correspondences

In Cantonese, after coronal stops and sibilants, rounded finals such as -on and -uan produce front rounded vowels, as in don [tyːn], and after velars, iung and iong lose their ⟨i⟩. Min dialects are similar, but in certain tones ⟨i⟩ and ⟨iu⟩ become diphthongs rather that their usual [i], [y]. For example, in Fuzhou, even-tone 星 sieng is [siŋ] but departing-tone 性 sieq is [seiŋ].

In Yunnan Mandarin, ⟨iu⟩ is pronounced as ⟨i⟩, so that the name of the province, yunnom, is [inna] rather than [ynnan] as in Beijing.

In Nanking, ⟨ien⟩ metathesizes to [ein] after alveolars, as in 天 [tʰein] for Beijing tian [tʰiɛn].

Dialectal correspondences

The realization of the tones in the various varieties of Chinese is generally predictable; see Four tones for details. In Beijing Mandarin, for example, even tone is split according to voicing, with muddy consonants becoming aspirates: ba, pa, ma, bha → bā, pā, má, pá (and mha → mā). Departing tone is not split, and muddy consonants become tenuis: bah, pah, mah, bhah → bà, pà, mà, bà. Rising tone splits, not along voicing, but with muddy-consonant syllables conflating with departing tone: baa, paa, maa, bhaa → bǎ, pǎ, mǎ, bà. That is, bhaa and bhah are homonyms in Beijing, as indeed they are in all of Mandarin, in Wu apart from Wenzhounese, in Hakka, and in reading pronunciations of Cantonese. Entering tone is likewise split in Beijing: mat, bhat → mà, bá.^[16]

However, the realization of entering tones in Beijing dialect, and thus in Standard Chinese, is not predictable when a syllable has a voiceless initial such as bat or pat. In such cases even syllables with the same GC spelling may have different tones in Beijing, though they remain homonyms in other Mandarin dialects, such as Xi'an and Sichuanese.^[17] This is due to historical dialect-mixing in the Chinese capital that resulted in unavoidably idiosyncratic correspondences.

In Yue, there is a straightforward split according to consonant voicing, with a postvocalic ⟨h⟩ in Yale romanization for the latter. Muddy onsets become aspirates in even and rising tones, but tenuis in departing and entering tones: ba, pa, ma, bha → bā, pā, māh, pāh; baa, paa, maa, bhaa → bá, pá, máh, páh; bah, pah, mah, bhah → ba, pa, mah, bah; bat, pat, mat, bhat → baat, paat, maht, baht. In addition, there is a split in entering tone according to vowel length, with Cantonese mid-entering tone for short vowels like bāt, pāt.^[18] In reading pronunciations, however, rising tone syllables with muddy onsets are treated as departing tone: bhaa → bah rather than → páh. There is also an unpredictable split in the even ping yin tone which indicates diminutives or a change in part of speech, but this is not written in all Cantonese romanizations (it is written in Yale, but not in Jyutping).