Ethnolinguistic group |
Population |
Linguistic affiliation |
Locations |
A Che 阿车 |
35,000 |
Southern Yi (ISO 639-3: yif)[2] |
Shuangbai County (pop. 23,000) and Yimen County (pop. 11,100) of Chuxiong Prefecture |
Adu 阿笃 |
6,500+ |
Form of Chinese similar to the Dajie District dialect of Jiangchuan County, and the Zijun dialect of Kunming |
Huaning County (pop. 3,500) in Songzichang æ¾å厂,[3] Xinzhai 新寨,[4] Douju æ–—å±…,[5] and Chengmentong 城门åŒ;[6] Haikou District æµ·å£é•‡ in Chengjiang County (pop. 2,025) |
Aling é˜¿çµ |
5,500 |
Eastern Yi; similar to Da Hei Neisu and Xiao Hei Neisu |
Shizong County (pop. 5,600) in Yimai 矣麦, Faza 法æ‚,[7] Chezhai 扯寨,[8] Musheluo 木èˆè½/木舌è½,[9] Yinie 矣æ, Yijia é—甲, Shugandian æŸå¹²ç”¸/æŸç±³ç”¸,[10][11] and Dashao 大哨;[12] Longhai Mountains of Luliang County (pop. 2,400); Shilin County: Guishan åœå±±ä¹¡ (mostly in Yumeidu Village é›¨ç¾Žå µæ‘[13]), Muzhuqing 亩竹ç®ä¹¡, and Dake 大å¯ä¹¡ townships |
Alu é˜¿é² (Luwu, Luowu) |
5,500 (China); 1,407 (Laos) |
Southern Yi |
Hama Village 哈马,[14][15] Huangcaoling Township 黄è‰å²ä¹¡, Yuanyang County; Laojizhai Township è€é›†å¯¨ä¹¡, Jinping County; possibly Simao Prefecture, Jiangcheng County (people also called Alu); Gnot-Ou District, Phongsali Province, Laos |
Ati 阿梯 |
12,600 (1999) |
Southeastern Yi |
Huaning County; smaller numbers also in Jianshui County |
Awu, Northern 阿乌(北) |
3,500 |
Northern Yi, related to Xiaoliangshan Nosu, Talu, Liwu, Tagu, and Naza |
Peiyuan 培元æ‘,[16] Shuiping æ°´åªæ‘,[17] and Yongle æ°¸ä¹æ‘[18] Villages of Da'an Township 大安彿—纳西æ—乡, Yongsheng County |
Ayizi 阿夷å (Ge) |
426 (1986) |
Eastern Yi or Southeastern Yi? (ISO 639-3: yyz)[19] |
Shilin County: Aimailongcun Village 爱买龙,[20] Beidacun Township 北大æ‘乡; also in Banqiao Township æ¿æ¡¥ä¹¡, and other parts of Beidacun 北大æ‘乡 |
Azong 阿宗 |
1,000 |
Southern Yi or Western Yi? |
Jiangcheng County |
Bubeng 布崩[21] |
100 |
Southern |
Spoken in Mengla County by 15 households, near the Khabit area (You 2013:173) |
Budo 布度 |
10,000+ |
Bi-Ka branch, closely related to Biyo and Kado; people classified as Hani |
Ailao Mountains 哀牢山, Mojiang County and Yuanjiang County; possibly also Xinping County |
Chesu è½¦è‹ |
6,600 |
Southern Yi, similar to Lesu; the Chesu claim that their language is not a Yi language (ISO 639-3: ych)[22] |
Southern Shuangbai County, northern Xinping County |
Daizhan 带å |
11,600 |
Southeastern Yi, related to Puwa, Digao, Asahei, Ani, and Labapo |
Beige Township ç¢‘æ ¼ä¹¡, Kaiyuan County |
Depo 得颇 (Adou[puo], Gan Yi) |
6,000 |
Eastern Nasu? |
Panzhihua, Sichuan |
Doupo 都泼 |
600+ |
Eastern Nasu? |
Mafang Village 马房, Fumin County (pop. 400), Guanshanchang Village 官山场,[23] Qinglong Township é’龙镇, Anning County (pop. 200) |
Duota 多它 |
11,000+ |
Southern Yi or Northern Yi?; speakers variously classified as Yi and Hani |
Mojiang County, Yuanjiang County |
Enipu 厄尼蒲 |
16,000+ |
Central Yi |
Nanjian County (pop. 11,000): Wanubu 瓦怒åœ,[24] Baishajing 白沙井,[25] and Laojiaku è€å®¶åº“[26] Villages of Xinmin Township æ–°æ°‘, and Ertaipo 二å°å¡[27] Villages, Langcang Township 浪沧乡; Weishan County (pop. 5,000): Yinchang 银厂æ‘,[28] Qinghe é’å’Œæ‘,[29] Qingmin ç®æ°‘æ‘,[30] and Wuxing 五星æ‘[31] Villages of Qinghua Township é’åŽä¹¡ |
Gaiji 改积 |
30,000 |
Western Yi |
Central Yun County |
Gaisu, Southern 改è‹(å—) (Bailili, Luozu) |
35,000 |
Southern Yi |
Eastern Kaiyuan County (pop. 35,000); small portion of Gejiu County (pop. 1,400) |
Gaisu, Western 改è‹(西) (Luoren) |
1,000 |
Western Yi? |
Northeastern Yongde County; possibly in Myanmar |
Gepo, Western 葛泼(西) |
6,500 |
Western Yi? |
Liuhe Township å…åˆå½æ—乡, Heqing County |
Gese 葛色 |
12,000 |
Eastern Yi; most of their neighbors speak Central Yi and Western Yi languages |
Lufeng County: Eastern Tuo'an Township 妥安乡, Southern Gaofeng Township 高峰乡 |
Gesu è‘›è‹ |
12,000 |
Central Yi? |
Dayao County, Wuding County |
Gouzou 构邹 |
4,000 |
Eastern Yi |
Weining County, Guizhou |
Guaigun 乖滚 |
400 |
Southern Yi or Southeastern Yi?; unclassified |
Southern Zhenyuan County: Tianba ç”°åæ‘,[32] Sanhe/Santai ä¸‰åˆæ‘/䏉尿‘,[33] Lianhe è”åˆæ‘,[34] and Minjiang 民江æ‘[35] of Tianba Township ç”°å乡 |
Guopu 果铺 (Guoluo) |
16,900 |
Eastern Yi |
Weining County, in the Wumeng Mountains |
Labapo 腊拔泼 |
6,400 (1999) |
Southeastern Yi; classified as Aza |
Kaiyuan County: more than 20 villages in Beige ç¢‘æ ¼ä¹¡ and Dazhuang 大庄回æ—乡 Townships |
Lagou 腊勾 |
8,000+ |
Same as Nasu?; former slaves of the Nasu people |
Weining County (pop. 6,000+), Yiliang County of Zhaotong Prefecture (pop. 2000) |
Laka è…Šå¡ |
6,000+ |
Same as Naluo?; subgroup of the Naluo people |
Wuding County |
Lami è…Šç±³ |
100,000 |
Western Yi; mostly classified as Yi, some as Hani |
Yuanyang County (in Habo å“ˆæ’æ‘[36]), Pu'er County, 5 other counties; northern Vietnam |
Laopang åŠ³æ— |
12,000 |
Lahu? |
Yongde or Yongkang; northern Myanmar |
Laowu è€ä¹Œ |
6,300 (1999) |
Southern Yi |
Western Jinping County |
Lemo 勒墨 |
2,000+ |
Lisu and Tai Mao mixed language, or Chinese?; classified as Lisu |
Lemo 勒墨寨,[37] Pianma Township 片马镇, 78 km (48 mi.) from Liuku Township å…库镇 (the seat of Nujiang Prefecture), along the Nujiang River |
Liude å…å¾— |
1,400; 500[38] |
Northern Yi, with Xiaoliangshan Nosu influences?; closely related to Talu people |
Yongsheng County: 3 villages[38] of Liude Township å…德乡 |
Liwu 里乌 |
4,300 |
Northern Yi |
Yongsheng County: Liang'e 良峨[39] and Jifu å‰ç¦ [40] Villages of Xinghu Township æ˜Ÿæ¹–æ‘ |
Long 弄 |
1,300 |
Southeastern Yi |
Huaning County: 5 villages (Kazhai å¡å¯¨,[41] Sheyin èˆé˜´å¯¨,[42] Shemuduo èˆæœ¨å¤šæ‘,[43] Suojigou 所基沟,[44] and Pusulu æ™®è‹é²[45]) in Xingcheng Township æ–°åŸŽæ‘ |
Lopi æ°´ç”°[46] |
Essentially extinct (ethnicity: 15,000+) |
Central Yi (ISO 639-3: lov)[47] |
Panzhihua, Sichuan: Futian ç¦ç”° and Pingjiang 平江 Townships; northern Yunnan |
Maci[38] |
100 |
Central Ngwi |
Maci village éª‚æ± , Taipingdi Village Cluster 太平地æ‘, Yongding City 永定镇, northeastern Yongren County[48] |
Meng åŸ |
4,000 |
Akha branch |
Shuangjiang County |
Mengwu åŸæ¦[21] |
1,379 |
Central Yi? |
Maguan County and Xichou County (You 2013:135-136). The autonym is Mo åšœ, the Dai refer to them as Pumeng æ™®åŸ, and the Han Chinese refer to them as Mengwu åŸæ¦. They claim to have migrated from Weishan County å·å±±åŽ¿, Yunnan over 100 years ago. |
Michi 米切 (Michia) |
29,700 |
Central Yi, Eastern Yi, Southeastern Yi? |
Northern Yunnan (mostly in Wuding County; also in Fumin, Lufeng, Luquan, Yimen, and Anning Counties) and Panzhihua, Sichuan |
Minglang 明廊 |
1,500+ |
Related to Sani |
Wuding County: Lower Lemei Village 下ä¹ç¾Ž[49] of Chadian Township æ’甸乡, and Tianxin Village 田心[50] of Gaoqiao Township 高桥镇; Maoshan Township 茂山乡, Luquan County; probably also Fumin County |
Mixisu ç±³ä¹ ä¿— |
5,000 |
Northern Yi |
Xichang County and Mianning County |
Naru 纳儒 |
11,500+ |
Northern Yi |
Southern and Central Yongsheng County (pop. 7,000), Southern Huaping County (pop. 4,500) |
Naruo 纳若 (Zhili) |
12,000 |
Northern Yi; may be the same as Xiaoliangshan Nosu |
Yongsheng County, Huaping County |
Naza 纳咱 |
1,300+ |
Northern Yi? |
Nazan Village 纳咱,[51] Liude Village å…å¾·æ‘, Liude Township å…德乡, Yongsheng County. Also 2 villages in Liude Township, and a few in Banqiao Township.[38] |
Pengzi 棚å |
250 |
Western Yi? |
Wumulong Township ä¹Œæœ¨é¾™å½æ—乡 (and possibly also Mengban Township 勿¿ä¹¡), Yongde County |
Popei 泼胚 |
3,000 - 5,000 |
Similar to Central Luoluopo |
Huaping County (pop. 1,000; several villages), Dayao and Yongren Counties; small pockets in nearby regions |
Qiangyi 羌夷 |
10,000 |
Western Yi or Southern Qiang? |
Xiangyun County (pop. 9,000): Xiangme 香么æ‘,[52] Ziqianglang 自羌朗æ‘,[53] Huangcaoshao 黄è‰å“¨æ‘,[54] Chuchang 楚场æ‘,[55] and Chalangshao æ’æœ—哨æ‘[56] Villages of Midian Township ç±³ç”¸å½æ—镇; Daying å¤§è¥æ‘[57] and Xinxingzuo æ–°å…´è‹´æ‘[58] Villages of Hedian Township 禾甸乡; Binchuan County (pop. 1,000) |
Samadu, Western æ’’é©¬å µ(西) |
7,500 (1999) |
Western Yi? |
Zhenkang County (pop. 6,000), Yongde County (pop. 1,500) |
Sanda 散达 |
1,000 (1996) |
Related to Jino and Ake? |
Between Jinghong and Menglian Counties: 6 villages in the Sanda Mountains (between Jinghong and Menglian) |
Suan 蒜 |
250 |
Western Yi? |
Yongde County: Wumulong Township ä¹Œæœ¨é¾™å½æ—乡 and Mengban Township 勿¿ä¹¡; neighbors with the Pengzi people |
Tazhi[38] |
Few hundred |
Central Ngwi |
Puwei Township æ™®å¨é•‡, northern Miyi County 米易县, Sichuan. A few hundred people who claim they came from northern Yunnan centuries ago. Moribund or extinct; perhaps related to Talu, Tagu or other languages of Yongsheng County. |
Tushu 土数 |
5,000+ |
Eastern Yi |
Weining County, Yiliang County of Zhaotong Prefecture |
Tusu åœŸæ— |
31,000 |
Western Yi? |
Xiangyun County: Da'aonai Village 大敖奶æ‘/大凹奈æ‘[59] of Luming Township 鹿鸣乡; Jindan 金啿‘, Zhifang 支方æ‘, and Dacang 大仓æ‘[60] Villages of Xiazhuang Township 下庄镇; Jiangwei Village æ±Ÿå°¾æ‘ of Pupeng Township 普棚镇; Dongshan Township 东山乡; Dayao County (in Baiyangdi Village ç™½ç¾Šåœ°æ‘ in Sanchahe Township 三岔河乡, and in Tiesuo Township é“é”乡) and Binchuan County |
Woni çªå°¼ |
110,000 |
Bi-Ka branch; people classified as Hani, but may be an assimilated Mon-Khmer group |
Mojiang, Pu'er, and Simao Counties |
Wopu çªæ™® |
3,000+ |
Eastern Yi; may be similar to Da Hei Neisu |
Xingyi County of Guizhou, Luoping County of Yunnan; possibly also Longlin or Xilin Counties of Guangxi |
Xiangtang é¦™å ‚ |
80,000 |
Western Yi |
9 scattered counties of southwestern Yunnan; far-western Lüchun County. Also about 4,000 speakers in northwestern Yongsheng County (about 4,000) and a few hundred in eastern Lijiang; closely related to Lolo.[38] |
Xijima 洗期麻 |
30,000 |
Western Yi |
Central Yun County |
Xiqi 西期 |
13,000 |
Southeastern Yi |
Huaning County, Yuxi Prefecture: Tonghongdian Township 通红甸乡 (in Suomeizao 所梅早æ‘[61] and Dapozuo 大婆左æ‘[62]), Panxi Township 盘溪镇 (in and around Yide 矣得æ‘,[63] Fagao 法高æ‘,[64] Dayaxi 大丫喜æ‘,[65] and Longtanying é¾™æ½è¥æ‘[66]), Huaxi Township åŽæºªé•‡ (in and around Xishajing 西沙井æ‘[67] and Dujiacun 独家æ‘[68]), Qinglong Township é’龙镇 (in Shanzhi å±±æžæ‘[69] and Qize 起则æ‘[70]), Chengjia Township 陈家乡 (on Denglou Mountain 登楼山) |
Yiche 以车 |
19,000 |
Similar to Hani; people classified as Hani |
Honghe Prefecture: Chegu 车å¤ä¹¡, Langdi æµªå ¤ä¹¡, and Dayangjie 大羊街乡 Townships |