The Huizhou dialect () is a Sinitic variety spoken in and around Huicheng District, the traditional urban centre of Huizhou, Guangdong. The locals also call the variety Bendihua () and distinguish it from the varieties spoken in Meixian and Danshui, Huiyang, which they call Hakka ().
The classification of the Huizhou dialect is disputed because it shows characteristics of both Yue and Hakka. Most scholars consider the Huizhou dialect a dialect of Hakka with intense influence from Cantonese, but some scholars, most notably Liu Shuxin, consider it to be a dialect of Yue.
The first edition of the Language Atlas of China puts it into its own subgroup under Hakka known as the Huizhou subgroup (). In the second edition, it is still classified as a dialect of Hakka, but it is placed under the MeiâÂÂHui cluster () of the YueâÂÂTai subgroup ().
Liu Shuxin groups it together with other similar dialects spoken around the middle and upper reaches of the Dong River, including the Heyuan dialect, into the HuiâÂÂHe branch () of Yue. Chang Song-hing and Zhuang Chusheng propose a similar grouping called the HuiâÂÂHe subgroup (), but they classify the group as Hakka. Lau Chunfat, considering this group of dialects distinct from Hakka or Yue, argues for a distinct branch of Sinitic called HuizhouâÂÂShuiyuan.
The Huizhou dialect has seven tones:
Other than these seven tones, (55) appears in some grammatical particles.
The Huizhou dialect has several aspectual markers that attach to the verb as suffixes:
The Huizhou dialect has the following personal pronouns. The plural is formed by a tone change.
The Huizhou dialect has many cognates with Yue and/or Hakka (cognates with Huizhou are shaded in blue):