Wu is a major Chinese language group spoken by around 80 million people across Shanghai, Zhejiang, southern Jiangsu, and parts of Anhui, Jiangxi, and Fujian. Major Wu varieties include Shanghainese, Suzhounese, Hangzhouese, and Wenzhouese — see our separate pages for those. Wu is distinct from Mandarin in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary, though shared written Chinese characters provide cross-variety written compatibility. Our Wu translation work overlaps with general Chinese — civil documents are usually in written Mandarin.