Hokkien

Hokkien

See also: hokkien

English

Alternative forms

• Hokkian, Hok Kian, Hok-kian
• Hokien, Hukkien (proscribed)
• Hok-kien, Hok-Kien (archaic)
• Hokkeen, Hok-keen, Hokkeën, Hokkëèn (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Hokkien 福建 (Hok-kiàn, “Fujian / Fukien”). Doublet of Fukien and Fujian.

Proper noun

Hokkien

1. (chiefly Southeast Asia) A linguistic subgroup of the Min Nan branch of the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family which is mainly spoken in the south-eastern part of mainland China (Fujian province), Taiwan, and by overseas Chinese of Hoklo descent.
   • 2011, Shelley Rigger, Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, →ISBN, page 28:

     Almost 90 percent of Taiwan's 6 million occupants at the end of World War II spoke Hokkien.

   • 2020, Tsung-lun Alan Wan, “Language Revitalization and Perceived Language Shift: A Case of Kinmenese Hokkien”, in Jens Damm; Hauke Neddermann, editors, Intercultural Dialogue across Borders: China between Tradition and Modernity‎, Zürich: LIT Verlag, →ISBN, page 106:

     Because Hokkien is the most widely spoken local language (after Mandarin) in both Taiwan and Kinmen, this national language policy – when implemented in Kinmen – resulted in a different perceived language policy.

2. (chiefly Southeast Asia) A group of Han Chinese people whose traditional ancestral homes are in southern Fujian, South China, especially those that ancestrally spoke the Hokkien language.
3. (dated) Any person from Fujian.

Synonyms

• Hoklo, Fukien, Fukienese

Hypernyms

• Min Nan, Minnan, Southern Min
• Quanzhou–Zhangzhou, Chinchew–Changchew

Hyponyms

• Taiwanese
• Quanzhou dialect, Chinchew
• Xiamen dialect, Amoy, Xiamenese
• Quanzhou dialect, Changchew

Related terms

• Fujian

Translations

dialect of the Chinese language

Burmese: လက်ရှည်စကား (lakhranyca.ka:), အင်္ကျီရှည်စကား (angkyihranyca.ka:) Chinese: Cantonese: 福建話, 福建话 (fuk1 gin3 waa6-2), 閩南語, 闽南语 (man5 naam4 jyu5), 閩南話, 闽南话 (man5 naam4 waa6-2), 鶴佬話, 鹤佬话 (hok3 lou2 waa6-2), 福佬話, 福佬话 (fuk1 lou2 waa6-2) Hakka: 學老話, 学老话 (Ho̍k-ló-fa) Mandarin: 福建話／福建话 (zh) (Fújiànhuà), 閩南語／闽南语 (zh) (Mǐnnányǔ), 福佬話／福佬话 (zh) (Fúlǎohuà) Min Nan: 福建話, 福建话 (Hok-kiàn-ōe), 閩南語 (zh-min-nan), 闽南语 (zh-min-nan) (Bân-lâm-gú, Bân-lâm-gí), 福佬話, 福佬话 (Hok-ló-oē), 河洛話, 河洛话 (Hō-ló-oē, Ho̍h-ló-oē), 咱人話, 咱人话 (Lán-lâng-ōe) (Quanzhou, Zhangzhou), 咱厝話, 咱厝话 (Lán-chhù-ōe) (Quanzhou, Zhangzhou) Dutch: Hokkien (nl) Farefare: fukkenne Indonesian: bahasa Hokkien (id) Japanese: 福建語 (ja) (ふっけんご, fukkengo) Khmer: ហុកកៀន (hok kien), ចិនហុកគៀន (chən hok kien) Lao: please add this translation if you can Malay: bahasa Hokkien Portuguese: hokkien m Russian: хо́ккиен m (xókkijen), фуцзяньхуа́ m (fuczjanʹxuá), фуцзя́ньский m (fuczjánʹskij) Tagalog: Fukien Thai: ภาษาจีนฮกเกี้ยน (paasăa jeen hókgîan) Vietnamese: tiếng Mân Nam

Min Nan — see Min Nan

See also

• Other branches of Min Nan (limited mutual intelligibility): Teochew (Chaoshan Division); Zhenan Min Division; Zhongshan Min Division; Qiongwen Division; Leizhou Min Division; Longyan Min Division

Adjective

Hokkien (not comparable)

1. Of or relating to the Fujianese people.
2. (chiefly Southeast Asia) Of or relating to the Hokkien language and its dialects or variants.
3. (dated) Of or relating to the province of Fujian in China.

Further reading

• Ethnologue entry for Hokkien, nan ⁠