Ningbo dialect (Chinese: 宁波话/寧波話,宁波言话/寧波言話) is a dialect of Wu, one of the subdivisions of Chinese spoken language. It is spoken in the city of Ningbo and surrounding areas in Zhejiang province. Its native speakers generally understand Shanghainese, but not vice-versa. It is not at all mutually intelligible with Mandarin, China's official language.
Ningbo dialect is considered to be a Yongjiang dialect, and is closely related to the Taihu Wu dialects of Zhoushan.
Shanghainese, although marginally intelligible with Ningbo dialect, Ningbo dialect played a significant role in influencing what was formerly a dialect identical to that of Suzhou. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, as mass waves of migration to Shanghai from Jiangnan were common at that time and shaped the Shanghai dialect as it is today.
Unlike other varieties of Taihu Wu Chinese, Ningbo dialect has been described as 「石骨鐵硬」, or as hard as stones, bones, and steel, as opposed to 「吳儂軟語」, or 'qualities of Wu speech' for Suzhou dialect.
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