Lanzhou's speech is a kind of Lanyin Mandarin, heard in the city and in nearby Baiyin District. Almost everyone in Lanzhou also speaks Standard Mandarin, so you hear these words most from older people and street sellers.
How the Lanzhou Dialect Changes Standard Mandarin
Some changes are single words. Others are patterns: describing words take 得很 after them, and color words take a doubled ending, as in 红丢丢的.
| Standard Mandarin | Lanzhou dialect | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 干什么 | 做啥 | Asks "what" |
| 哪里 | 哪达 | Asks "where" |
| 他 | 那 | Can mean "he" or "she" |
| 小孩 | 尕娃 | 尕 means "small" |
| 很舒服 | 满福得很 | 得很 goes after the word |
| 红红的 | 红丢丢的 | Makes a color word vivid |
Words for Talking With People
People call an older man 爷, and a stranger about your own age 师傅.
- 做啥呢？
- What are you doing?Standard Mandarin: 干什么呢？兰州发布, the city's official account, lists it as the local greeting and writes it 组撒尼 to show how it sounds.
- 哪达
- WhereStandard Mandarin: 哪里厕所在哪达？ means "Where is the restroom?" A Gansu news site spells it 啊达 to show the sound.
- 那
- He, sheStandard Mandarin: 他、她那们 means "they". Both sound warm and familiar.
- 一搭里
- TogetherStandard Mandarin: 一起我们一搭里去唦 means "Let's go together." 兰州发布 spells it 一搭哩.
- 谝闲传
- To chatStandard Mandarin: 聊天A Gansu news site shortens it to 谝传.
- 唦
- Come on, go onStandard Mandarin: 吧It goes at the end of a sentence to urge someone. 兰州晚报 and a Gansu news site both write it 沙.
- 颇烦
- Fed up, annoyedStandard Mandarin: 烦On CCTV's Spring Festival Gala, a performer said 颇烦不颇烦 in Lanzhou dialect. A Gansu news site writes it 叵烦.
Words for Praise and Everyday Things
Lanzhou has several warm words for something done well or a meal that hit the spot. The last three are food words you hear at the table.
- 尕娃
- Little kidStandard Mandarin: 小孩尕 means "small" and sounds fond. It also marks the youngest relative, as in 尕妈.
- 攒劲
- Great, impressiveStandard Mandarin: 优秀、棒People across Gansu say 攒劲 when they praise someone.
- 干散
- Neat and capable, sharp-lookingStandard Mandarin: 利落It can mean someone looks sharp or gets things done fast. A Gansu news site writes it 干三.
- 满福
- Happy and content, well fedStandard Mandarin: 满足央视新闻 writes it 满富: 这一大碗兰州牛肉拉面满富得很 says a big bowl of beef noodles left you full and happy.
- 亮豁
- Neat, nicely doneStandard Mandarin: 漂亮、干脆It can praise a good-looking person or a job done well. It also fits someone who is quick and direct.
- 红丢丢的
- Nice and redStandard Mandarin: 红红的白生生 and 细滋滋 follow the same pattern.
- 洋芋
- PotatoStandard Mandarin: 土豆Ask what someone is carrying, and you may hear 洋芋一个. Here 一个 adds emphasis, not a number.
- 牛大
- Lanzhou beef noodlesStandard Mandarin: 牛肉面来一碗牛大 means "A bowl of beef noodles, please."
- 苞谷
- CornStandard Mandarin: 玉米Kunming and Chongqing say 苞谷 too, so you hear it far beyond Gansu.
How the Lanzhou Dialect Sounds
In Lanzhou, 水, 书, and 说 come out close to 飞, 副, and 佛. Lanzhou has four tones with their own pitches, and 奶 and 来 can start with the same sound. One pupil read 奶奶 so it sounded like 来来.
A recording of Lanzhou speech is Gansu 3 on the International Dialects of English Archive, where a speaker from Lanzhou talks in English and then reads from the Analects of Confucius in the dialect.
Read Lanzhou Speech in Lessons
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Lanzhou lessons in the Bubblegum app at your level. 得很 and 一搭里 show up from the first level, and 唦 and 那 join them as your level goes up.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Lanzhou dialect. You learn from Lanzhou dialect you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Lanzhou days start with beef noodles, and a story set at the noodle counter can open with 来一碗牛大.
- Poppy calls a driver 师傅 and an older man 爷 in her stories.
- The grammar cards include Lanzhou forms like 得很 after an adjective and 唦 at the end of a line.
- If you can't tell who 那 means in a line, ask Poppy.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- There is no spoken chat with Poppy on the Lanzhou journey. Find a Lanzhou tutor for speaking practice.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches Lanzhou speech
- Teaches Pinyin
- Traditional characters
- Zhuyin
Mobile
Best apps to learn the Lanzhou dialect compares the apps, from Standard Mandarin courses to dictionaries.
Common Questions
Is the Lanzhou dialect the same as Gansu dialect?
No. Gansu has many local accents. Longxi, Tianshui, Huining, Wuwei, and Linxia each sound different from Lanzhou. In Longxi, for example, 阿门个 means 怎么样, "how is it?"
Do people in Lanzhou still speak the dialect?
Many do at home, but Standard Mandarin is everywhere in the city. Even in 2007, a 10-year-old there could not speak the dialect at all, and a 20-year-old asked his grandfather to speak Standard Mandarin instead.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Chinese Wikipedia: 兰州话 (Lanzhou dialect)
- 兰州发布 via 澎湃新闻: 一起看图get兰州方言 系不攒劲！(2018)
- 兰州晚报 via 中国甘肃网: 在央视出圈的兰州方言值得挖掘 (2023)
- 中国甘肃网: 甘肃方言大赏！快来get《哪吒2》同款方言 (2025)
- 经济日报 via 每日甘肃网: 攒劲兰州 (2024)
- 央视新闻 via 每日甘肃网: 不愧是「兰州」(2024)
- 甘肃经济信息网 travel guide: 兰州方言 (2009)
- 甘肃日报 (雒鹏) via 甘肃经济信息网: 异彩纷呈的甘肃方言口音 (2021)
- 中国新闻网, from 兰州晨报: 兰州方言：昔日“秦陇官话”渐被普通话代替 (2007)
- Wiktionary: dialect words for 什麼 (what), with a Lanzhou row
- Wiktionary: dialect words for 哪裡 (where), with a Lanzhou row
- Wiktionary: dialect words for 他 (he), with a Lanzhou row
- Wiktionary: dialect words for 一起 (together), with a Lanzhou row
- Wiktionary: dialect words for 馬鈴薯 (potato), with a Lanzhou row
- Wiktionary: dialect words for 玉米 (corn), with a Lanzhou row
- 汉典: 尕
- 汉典: 洋芋
- 汉典: 苞谷
- International Dialects of English Archive: Gansu 3 (a speaker from Lanzhou)
- Bubblegum
Checked on October 5, 2026 against each app's own pages.
