Wu Chinese
Tones

Wu varieties typically have 7-8 tonemes though varieties may have as many as 12 tones or as few as 5. Many merge the historical light rising category (陽上) with the light departing (陽去). The reflexes of the checked tone categories (入聲) may be complex. Jinhuanese irregularly merge it with other tone categories, while Wenzhounese has lengthened tone contours rather than the typological norm of short, contourless tones.

Tone sandhi in Sinitic languages can occur due to phonological, syntactic, or morphological reasons, though most varieties only employ it to a limited extent. This stands in stark contrast with Wu, in which all three can trigger tone sandhi. Examples of situations that can trigger unique tone sandhi chains include (but are not limited to):

The relevant changed tone is highlighted in bold.

Tone sandhi in Sinitic languages can typically be classified as left- or right-dominant systems, depending on whether the leftmost or rightmost item keeps its tone. Both systems exist in Wu Chinese, with most varieties having both concurrently. Right-dominant is more associated with changes in part of speech, whereas left-dominant is typically seen in polysyllabic terms. Minimal pairs between types of sandhi also exist, such as /tsʰɑ vɛ̃ / 炒飯; ' to fry rice ' and /tsʰɑ vɛ̃ / 炒飯; ' fried rice ' in Zhenhainese, or /tɕiɵ ʔʋ / 九壺; ' nine flasks ' and /tɕiɵ ʔʋ / 酒壺; ' wine flask ' in Chongmingese.
language:response_language[German]