Southern Min language

Also known as: Minnan language

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 29, 2026

Quick Summary

Southern Min is a group of Sinitic languages spoken primarily in China's Fujian province and parts of Guangdong, Zhejiang, Hainan, and Taiwan. It is also the heritage language for many Chinese speakers in Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and diaspora communities.12

With over 45 million speakers, Southern Min is centered in Amoy (Xiamen). While some scholars categorize Min languages into distinct groups, others identify numerous mutually unintelligible varieties. Southern Min has lost the nasal sounds found at the ends of words in Northern Min and earlier stages of Chinese.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Guangdong
Population composition
A third major language, Southern Min (Minnan), is spoken mostly along an eastern coastal area centred on Shantou (Swatow).
Read More
A third major language, Southern Min (Minnan), is spoken mostly along an eastern coastal area centred on Shantou (Swatow).
Read More

Min languages
Southern Min is spoken by more than 45 million people, some 40 million in China and Taiwan, and the remainder in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia (Java and Bali), and Brunei.
Read More
Southern Min is spoken by more than 45 million people, some 40 million in China and Taiwan, and the remainder in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia (Java and Bali), and Brunei.
Read More