How to Learn Xi'an Dialect With Comprehensible Input

Xi'an speech belongs to the Guanzhong dialect of Central Plains Mandarin, and it adds small words to the ends of sentences that Standard Mandarin doesn't use. A grammar note can describe them. Feeling what they add comes from hearing them in many lines you already follow. Comprehensible input is Xi'an speech like that: you mostly understand it, and the conversation shows what each local word is doing.

What Comprehensible Input Looks Like

Each row of bars in the picture is a sentence of Xi'an speech. Words you know are gray, and the local word that's new to you is purple.

About one unfamiliar word per sentence, while you still follow the meaning.

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Since you follow the rest of the line, the scene fills in the purple word. In the beginning, that's a two-line exchange over a bowl of noodles. Later, a scene from a Xi'an TV drama gives enough context to work out a local phrase. When most of a scene gets away from you, return to shorter ones for a while.

Your Roadmap by Level

Bubblegum describes each of its six levels with a line a learner might say, and the first row covers pinyin. Pick yours, and treat the drama, video, and radio as a rough match, since none uses these levels.

1. First Steps

   I can't read pinyin yet.

   Learn pinyin, and listen to easy Mandarin from Xi'an while you do.

   Bubblegum's free Pinyin course →
2. Level 1

   I'm just starting out and can't read much yet

   Ask Poppy, your AI tutor in Bubblegum, for two-line Xi'an scenes with pinyin and a translation, and try the line further down this page.

3. Level 2

   I can read basic characters and simple sentences

   Add free graded Mandarin readings at your level, which share most characters with Xi'an speech.

   Mandarin Bean →
4. Level 3

   I can read short chats and stories in the local dialect

   Read Shaanxi Daily's guide to lines from a TV drama, which explains everyday Shaanxi phrases, and listen for them when you watch the drama.

   跟着电视剧〈主角〉学陕西话 →
5. Level 4

   I can read longer texts about everyday life.

   Watch the Xi'an city government's video about the new Xi'an in Shaanxi dialect, and replay each section.

   用陕西话解读新西安 →
6. Level 5

   I can follow complex topics, but miss some details.

   Watch 西安故事, a Xi'an TV drama about everyday life acted in Shaanxi dialect, one scene at a time.

   西安故事 →
7. Level 6

   I can follow local jokes, wordplay and slang in writing.

   Listen to China National Radio's episode on Shaanxi speech, and try its tongue twister in Shaanxi dialect.

   乡音密码: 陕西话 →

When this row feels light, try the next. If the dictionary comes out for most lines, step back a row.

Try It on a Sentence

Chinese Wikipedia's article on Guanzhong speech gives a short exchange: 弄啥捏？ means "What are you doing?", and the reply 学习捏 means "Studying." 捏 is a particle that sits at the end of the question and the answer, and if you know 学习 (to study), the reply shows how it works.

Bubblegum is a language app where Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Xi'an lessons at your level on topics you choose. Its grammar cards cover local forms like 咧 and 么, and Regenerative Review™ puts saved words back into later lessons.

Frequently Asked Questions About Comprehensible Input