Test for dialect relatedness: especially for Northeast topolect groupies

Language Log 2025-12-20

Several of my PRC M.A. students have told me that the following tool for the computation of dialect closeness has become quite popular in China:

fāngyán yīnxì xiāngsì dù cèshì 方言音系相似度測試 ("Dialect phonological similarity test"),V3.2.358

(source)    

It became popular and widely spread in Chinese social media recently, as a simple tool/quiz that helps you to locate and clarify your local dialects/accents. Just select pairs of characters that share the same initials, finals, and tones, respectively.

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And the website will give you a result with related probability:

ScreenShot_2025-11-25_142152_806.png

I did not find which person or group created this website or what academic source it was based on, but it seems to work pretty well. 

[Thanks to Yizhi Geng, Diana Shuheng Zhang, and Xinyi Ye]