Wu language

Wu
吳語/吴语 ngu1 ngiu1
Wu (Wú Yǔ) written in Chinese characters
Native to	China; Overseas Chinese communities from Shanghai and Wu-speaking regions
Region	East China (City of Shanghai, Zhejiang, southern Jiangsu, parts of Anhui and Jiangxi provinces)
Ethnicity	Wu peoples (Han Chinese)
Native speakers	80 million (2007)
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Sinitic Chinese Wu
Dialects	Taihu (e.g. Shanghainese) Taizhou Oujiang (e.g. Wenzhounese) Shang–Li Jin–Qu Xuanzhou
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottolog	wuch1236
Linguasphere	79-AAA-d
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.

Wu (Shanghainese: IPA: [ɦu˨˨ ɲy˦˦], Suzhounese: IPA: [ɦəu˨˨ ɲy˦˦], Wuxi dialect: IPA: [ŋ˨˨˧ nʲy˨˨]) is a group of linguistically similar and historically related varieties of Chinese primarily spoken in the whole city of Shanghai, Zhejiang province and southern Jiangsu province.

Major Wu dialects include those of Shanghai, Suzhou, Ningbo, Wuxi, Wenzhou/Oujiang, Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Jinhua and Yongkang. Wu speakers, such as Chiang Kai-shek, Lu Xun and Cai Yuanpei, occupied positions of great importance in modern Chinese culture and politics. Wu can also be found being used in Shaoxing opera, which is second only in national popularity to Peking opera; as well as in the performances of the popular entertainer and comedian Zhou Libo. Wu is also spoken in a large number of diaspora communities, with significant centers of immigration originating from Qingtian and Wenzhou.