Hakka Chinese vs Lak

Sound inventory comparison

Only in Hakka Chinese

Shared

Only in Lak

Only in Hakka Chinese 34

˥˩ ˦ ˧ ˧˩ ˨ n̩ ɔ̽ m̩ ʋ ɹ̩ ɲ e̞ ə e̞u iu ä äi äu̽ iäu̽ iɔ̽ i̞ä i̞e̞ u̽i ɔ̽i ŋ ts t p f ç c cʰ k kʷ

Shared sounds 13

l n u m j i tsʰ s tʰ pʰ h kʰ kʷʰ

Only in Lak 56

z d r w uː ø̞ˤ b iː ʒ ɢ ɢʷ a aː e̞ˤ æˤ ɡ tsʷʰ tsʷʼ tsʼ t͈s t͈sʷ s͈ tʼ t͈ pʼ p͈ ʔ t̠ʃʰ t̠ʃʷʰ t̠ʃʷʼ t̠ʃʼ t̠͈ʃ t̠͈ʃʷ ʃ ʃʷ ʃ͈ ʃ͈ʷ ħ χ χʷ χ͈ χ͈ʷ qʰ qʷʰ qʷʼ qʼ q͈ q͈ʷ x xʷ x͈ x͈ʷ kʷʼ kʼ k͈ k͈ʷ

What this means for learners

Hakka Chinese and Lak share 13 sounds — roughly 19% of Lak's inventory overlaps with Hakka Chinese. Shared sounds are ones a speaker already knows from their native language and will generally produce and perceive accurately without explicit training.

The 56 sounds found only in Lak represent the greatest pronunciation challenge for Hakka Chinese speakers. The adult brain tends to map unfamiliar sounds onto the closest native equivalent — a process that produces the characteristic "accent" of a second-language speaker. Learning to hear and produce these sounds as distinct requires focused ear training, not just repetition.

Conversely, Hakka Chinese has 34 sounds not used in Lak. Native Lak speakers learning Hakka Chinese will face the mirror-image challenge with these sounds.

Phoneme inventories from PHOIBLE. Data reflects one documented inventory per language; some variation exists across dialects and sources.

Compare with another language

Hakka Chinese vs Garo Hakka Chinese vs Lahu Hakka Chinese vs Dafla Hakka Chinese vs Yao Hakka Chinese vs SEDANG Hakka Chinese vs Kharia Hakka Chinese vs Bhumij Hakka Chinese vs Kota Hakka Chinese vs Burushaski Hakka Chinese vs Kabardian Hakka Chinese vs Ket Hakka Chinese vs Karen