information:classification, stylistic:tone
Vocabulary

Most Min vocabulary corresponds directly to cognates in other Chinese varieties, but there are also a significant number of distinctively Min words that may be traced back to proto-Min.In some cases a semantic shift has occurred in Min or the rest of Chinese:

Norman and Mei Tsu-lin have suggested an Austroasiatic origin for some Min words:

However, Norman and Mei Tsu-lin's suggestion is rejected by Laurent Sagart (2008), with some linguists arguing that the Austroasiatic predecessor of the modern Vietnamese language originated in the mountainous region in Central Laos and Vietnam, rather than in the region north of the Red River delta.

In other cases, the origin of the Min word is obscure. Such words include: