View source for Manchu language

{{Short description|Critically endangered Tungusic language}}
{{redirect|Qingwen|the publisher|Chingwin Publishing Group}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Manchu
| nativename       = {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ<br />ᡤᡳᠰᡠᠨ}} {{transliteration|mnc|Manju gisun}}
| image            = Manju gisun.svg
| imagescale       = 0.2
| imagecaption     = {{transliteration|mnc|Manju gisun}} written in [[Manchu alphabet|Manchu script]]
| states           = [[China]]
| region           = [[Manchuria]]
| ethnicity        = [[Manchu people|Manchus]]
| speakers         = [[First language|L1]]: None
| speakers2        = [[Second language|L2]]: Thousands<ref name="takungpao">{{cite news| url=http://news.takungpao.com/paper/q/2015/0426/2982819.html |script-title=zh:抢救满语振兴满族文化 | language=zh | date=26 April 2015 |access-date=14 May 2020 |archive-date=8 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108152605/http://news.takungpao.com/paper/q/2015/0426/2982819.html}}</ref><ref name="chinanews">[https://web.archive.org/web/20220409052318/https://www.chinanews.com.cn/cul/2012/03-06/3720158.shtml China News (originally Beijing Morning Post): Manchu Classes in Remin University (Simplified Chinese)]</ref><ref name="ifeng">[https://web.archive.org/web/20200402064400/http://news.ifeng.com/gundong/detail_2011_12/12/11251077_0.shtml Phoenix Television: Jinbiao's 10-year Manchu Dreams]</ref>
| date             = 2024
| ref              = <ref>{{Cite journal |last=Seo |first=Jean |title=ManWav: The First Manchu ASR Model |url=https://aclanthology.org/2024.fieldmatters-1.2.pdf |journal=Association for Computational Linguistics}}</ref>
| familycolor      = Altaic
| fam1             = [[Tungusic languages|Tungusic]]
| fam2             = Southern
| fam3             = [[Jurchenic languages|Jurchenic]]
| fam4             = Manchu–[[Xibe language|Xibe]]
| script           = [[Manchu alphabet]]
| iso2             = mnc
| iso3             = mnc
| glotto           = manc1252
| glottorefname    = Manchu
| notice           = IPA
| ancestor         = [[Jurchen language|Jurchen]]
| extinct          = 
| revived          = 1980s
}}
{{Contains special characters|Manchu}}
'''Manchu''' ({{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ<br>ᡤᡳᠰᡠᠨ}} {{transliteration|mnc|Manju gisun}}) is a critically [[endangered language|endangered]] [[Tungusic language]] native to the historical region of [[Manchuria]] in [[Northeast China]].<ref name="UNESCO">
{{cite book |year=2010 |editor-last=Moseley |editor-first=Christopher |title=Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/endangered-languages/atlas-of-languages-in-danger/ |series=Memory of Peoples |edition=3rd |location=Paris |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |isbn=978-92-3-104096-2 |access-date=2015-04-11 }}</ref> As the traditional native language of the [[Manchu people|Manchus]], it was the [[national language]] of the [[Qing dynasty]] (1644–1912) of China, although today the vast majority of Manchus speak only [[Mandarin Chinese]]. Several thousand can speak Manchu as a second language through governmental primary education or free classes for adults in classrooms or online.<ref name="takungpao"/><ref name="chinanews"/><ref name="ifeng"/> There are no more native speakers of Manchu as of 2024.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Seo |first=Jean |title=ManWav: The First Manchu ASR Model |url=https://aclanthology.org/2024.fieldmatters-1.2.pdf |journal=Association for Computational Linguistics}}</ref>

The Manchu language has high historical value for historians of China, especially for the Qing dynasty. Manchu-language texts supply information that is unavailable in Chinese, and when both Manchu and Chinese versions of a given text exist, they provide controls for understanding the Chinese.{{sfnb|Fletcher|1973|p=141}}

Like most [[Siberia]]n languages, Manchu is an [[agglutinative language]] that demonstrates limited [[vowel harmony]]. It has been demonstrated that it is derived mainly from the [[Jurchen language]] though there are many [[loanword|loan words]] from [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]] and [[Chinese language|Chinese]]. Its script is vertically written and taken from the [[Mongolian script]] (which in turn derives from [[Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic]] via [[Old Uyghur alphabet|Uyghur]] and [[Sogdian alphabet|Sogdian]]).<!-- Manchu, like Russian, Hindi, etc. employs [[grammatical gender]] through the use of vowel inflections.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} --> Although Manchu does not have the kind of [[grammatical gender]] found in most European languages, some gendered words in Manchu are distinguished by different stem vowels (vowel inflection), as in {{lang|mnc-Latn|ama}}, 'father', and {{lang|mnc-Latn|eme}}, 'mother'.
{{TOC limit|3}}
==Names==
The Qing dynasty used various Mandarin Chinese expressions to refer to the Manchu language, such as "Qingwen" ({{lang|zh-hant|清文}})<ref>{{cite book |title=Rethinking East Asian Languages, Vernaculars, and Literacies, 1000–1919|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Q6JBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA169|date=21 August 2014|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-27927-8|page=169}}</ref> and "Qingyu" ({{lang|zh-hant|清語}}) ("Qing language"). The term "national" was also applied to writing in Manchu, as in ''Guowen'' ({{lang|zh-hant|國文}}), in addition to ''Guoyu'' ({{lang|zh-hant|國語}}) ("national language"),<ref name="CrossleySiu2006">{{cite book|author1=Pamela Kyle Crossley|author2=Helen F. Siu|author3=Professor of Anthropology Helen F Siu|author4=Donald S. Sutton, Professor of History and Anthropology Donald S Sutton|title=Empire at the Margins: Culture, Ethnicity, and Frontier in Early Modern China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EtNVMUx9qIIC&pg=PA38|date=19 January 2006|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-23015-6|pages=38}}</ref> which was used by previous non-Han dynasties to refer to their languages and, in modern times, to the [[Standard Chinese]] language.<ref name="Rhoads2000">{{cite book|author=Edward J. M. Rhoads|title=Manchus and Han: Ethnic Relations and Political Power in Late Qing and Early Republican China, 1861–1928|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QiM2pF5PDR8C&pg=PA109|year=2000|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0-295-98040-9|page=109}}</ref> In the Manchu-language version of the [[Treaty of Nerchinsk]], the term "Chinese language" (''Dulimbai gurun i bithe'') referred to the Chinese, Manchu, and Mongol languages, three separate language groups, not just one language.<ref>{{cite journal|page=12 |url=http://mcx.sagepub.com/content/32/1/3.abstract |archive-date=25 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325231543/https://webspace.utexas.edu/hl4958/perspectives/Zhao%20-%20reinventing%20china.pdf |jstor=20062627 |doi=10.1177/0097700405282349 |title=Reinventing China: Imperial Qing Ideology and the Rise of Modern Chinese National Identity in the Early Twentieth Century |last1=Zhao |first1=Gang |journal=Modern China |volume=32 |number=1 |date=January 2006 |publisher=Sage Publications |s2cid=144587815 |url-status=dead |access-date=23 May 2014 }}</ref>

==History and significance==
[[Image:Manchu chinese.jpg|thumb|right|Plaque at the [[Forbidden City]] in [[Beijing]], in both Chinese (left, {{zh|labels=no|t=乾清門|p=qián qīng mén}}) and Manchu (right, {{lang|mnc-Latn|kiyan cing men}})]]
[[File:Dulimbai gurun.svg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|Official designation for China in Manchu, reads vertically to the next word to the right: {{lang|mnc-Latn|"Dulimbai gurun"}} (the Central country = [[China]]).]]

=== Historical linguistics ===
Manchu is southern [[Tungusic languages|Tungusic]]. Whilst Northern Tungus languages such as [[Evenki language|Evenki]] retain traditional structure, the Chinese language is a source of major influence upon Manchu, altering its form and vocabulary.<ref name="Ramsey1987">{{cite book|author=S. Robert Ramsey |author-link=S. Robert Ramsey |title=The Languages of China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2E_5nR0SoXoC&pg=PA213|year=1987|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0-691-01468-X|pages=213–}}</ref>

In 1635 [[Hong Taiji]] renamed the [[Jurchen people]] and [[Jurchen language]] as 'Manchu'. The Jurchen are the ancestors of the Manchu and ruled over the later [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)]].

=== Decline of use ===
Manchu began as a primary language of the [[Qing dynasty]] Imperial court, but as Manchu officials became increasingly [[Sinicization|sinicized]], many started losing the language. Trying to preserve the Manchu identity, the imperial government instituted Manchu language classes and examinations for the [[Eight Banners|bannermen]], offering rewards to those who excelled in the language. Chinese classics and fiction were translated into Manchu and a body of [[Manchu literature]] accumulated.{{sfnb|von Möllendorff|1890}} As the [[Yongzheng Emperor]] (reigned 1722–1735) explained, <blockquote>"If some special encouragement ... is not offered, the ancestral language will not be passed on and learned."<ref name="rhoads">Edward J. M. Rhoads, ''Manchus & Han: Ethnic Relations and Political Power in Late Qing and Early Republican China, 1861–1928.'' University of Washington Press, 2000. Pages 52–54. {{ISBN|0-295-98040-0}}. Partially available [https://books.google.com/books?id=QiM2pF5PDR8C on Google Books]</ref> </blockquote>Still, the use of the language among the bannermen declined throughout the 18th century. Historical records report that as early as 1776, the [[Qianlong Emperor]] was shocked to see a Manchu official, Guo'ermin, not understand what the emperor was telling him in Manchu, despite coming from the Manchu stronghold of Shengjing (now [[Shenyang]]).<ref>Yu Hsiao-jung, [http://lacito.vjf.cnrs.fr/colloque/diaporamas/yu2.pdf Manchu Rule over China and the Attrition of the Manchu Language] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619102136/http://lacito.vjf.cnrs.fr/colloque/diaporamas/yu2.pdf |date=19 June 2013 }}</ref> By the 19th century, even the imperial court had lost fluency in the language. The [[Jiaqing Emperor]] (reigned 1796–1820) complained that his officials were not proficient at understanding or writing Manchu.<ref name="rhoads" />

By the end of the 19th century, the language had declined to such an extent that even at the office of the Shengjing general, the only documents written in Manchu (rather than Chinese) would be the memorials wishing the emperor long life; during the same period, the archives of the [[Hulan District|Hulan]] banner detachment in Heilongjiang show that only 1% of the bannermen could read Manchu and no more than 0.2% could speak it.<ref name="rhoads" /> Nonetheless, as late as 1906–1907, Qing education and military officials insisted that schools teach Manchu language and that the officials testing soldiers' [[marksmanship]] continue to conduct an oral examination in Manchu.<ref>Rhoads (2000), p. 95.</ref>

The use of the language for the official documents declined throughout Qing history as well. In particular, at the beginning of the dynasty, some documents on sensitive political and military issues were submitted in Manchu but not in Chinese.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/17/world/asia/18manchu_side.html|title=Manchu Language Lives Mostly in Archives|last=Lague|first=David|date=17 March 2007|work=The New York Times|access-date=8 August 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Later on, some Imperial records in Manchu continued to be produced until the last years of the dynasty.<ref name="rhoads" /> In 1912 the Qing was overthrown, most Manchus could not speak their language, and the [[Beijing dialect]] replaced Manchu.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=93onvmXF1r0C&pg=PA209|title=Books in Numbers: Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Harvard-Yenching Library : Conference Papers|date=2007|publisher=Chinese University Press|isbn=978-9629963316|editor-last=Idema|editor-first=Wilt L.|volume=8 of Harvard-Yenching Institute studies|page=209|issue=Issue 8 of Harvard–Yenching Library studies}}</ref>

=== Use of Manchu ===
A large number of Manchu documents remain in the archives, important for the study of Qing-era China. Today, written Manchu can still be seen on architecture inside the [[Forbidden City]], whose historical signs are written in both [[Chinese character|Chinese]] and Manchu. Another limited use of the language was for voice commands in the Qing army, attested as late as 1878.<ref name="rhoads" />

Bilingual Chinese-Manchu inscriptions appeared on many things.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bANasl7nayUC&pg=PA382|title=Peking: Temples and City Life, 1400–1900|last=Naquin|first=Susan|date=2000|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0520923456|page=382}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OXQkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA61|title=Manchus and Han: Ethnic Relations and Political Power in Late Qing and Early Republican China, 1861-1928|last=Rhoads|first=Edward J. M.|date=2017|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0295997483|page=61}}</ref>

===Manchu studies during the Qing dynasty===
A [[Jiangsu]] Han Chinese named [[Shen Qiliang]] wrote books on Manchu grammar, including ''Guide to Qing Books'' ({{lang-zh|labels=no|t=清書指南}}; ''Manju bithe jy nan'') and ''Great Qing Encyclopedia'' ({{lang-zh|labels=no|t=大清全書}}; ''Daicing gurun-i yooni bithe''). His father was a naval officer for the Qing and his grandfather was an official of the Ming dynasty before rebels murdered him. Shen Qiliang himself fought against the [[Three Feudatories]] as part of the Qing army. He then started learning Manchu and writing books on Manchu grammar from Bordered Yellow Manchu Bannermen in 1677 after moving to Beijing. He translated the [[Hundred Family Names]] and [[Thousand Character Classic]] into Manchu and spent 25 years on the Manchu language. Shen wrote: "I am a Han. But all my life I have made a hobby of Manchu." Shen did not have to learn Manchu as part of his job because he was never an official, so he seems to have studied it voluntarily. Most Han people were not interested in learning non-Han languages, so it is not known why Shen was doing it, but he did praise Manchu writing, saying that it was simpler and clearer than Chinese.<ref>{{cite book |last=Adolphson |first=Mikael S. |editor-last=Hanan |editor-first=Patrick |date=2003 |title=Treasures of the Yenching: Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Harvard-Yenching Library : Exhibition Catalogue |issue=Issue 1 of Harvard–Yenching Library studies |volume=1 of Harvard-Yenching Library studies: Harvard Yenching Library |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OksPvlsQOZEC&pg=PA84 |publisher=Chinese University Press |page=84 |isbn=9629961024 }}</ref>

A [[Hangzhou]] Han Chinese, [[Chen Mingyuan]], helped edit the book ''Introduction to the Qing language'' ({{lang|zh-hant|清文啟蒙}}; ''Cing wen ki meng bithe''), which was co-written by a Manchu named Uge. Uge gave private Manchu language classes, which were attended by his friend Chen. Chen arranged for its printing.<ref>{{cite book |last=Adolphson |first=Mikael S. |editor-last=Hanan |editor-first=Patrick |date=2003 |title=Treasures of the Yenching: Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Harvard-Yenching Library : Exhibition Catalogue |issue=Issue 1 of Harvard–Yenching Library studies |volume=1 of Harvard-Yenching Library studies: Harvard Yenching Library |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OksPvlsQOZEC&pg=PA85 |publisher=Chinese University Press |page=85 |isbn=9629961024 }}</ref>

==== Hanlin ====
Han Chinese at the [[Hanlin Academy]] studied the Manchu language in the Qing. The Han Chinese Hanlin graduate [[Qi Yunshi]] knew the Manchu language and wrote a book in Chinese on the frontier regions of China by translating and using the Manchu-language sources in the [[Grand Secretariat]]'s archives.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mosca |first=Mathew W. |date=December 2011 |journal=Late Imperial China |volume=32|issue=2|title= The Literati rewriting of China in The QianLong-Jiaqing Transition |url=https://www.academia.edu/6928995 |publisher=the Society for Qing Studies and The Johns Hopkins University Press |pages=106–107 |doi=10.1353/late.2011.0012 |s2cid=144227944 }}</ref> In 1740, Hanlin Academy expelled the Han Chinese [[Yuan Mei]] for not succeeding in his Manchu studies. Injišan, and Ortai, both Manchus, funded his work.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mosca |first=Mathew W.|date=2010 |journal=[[Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies]] |volume=70 |issue=1|title= Empire and the Circulation of Frontier Intelligence Qing Conceptions of the Ottomans |url=https://www.academia.edu/6928985 |publisher=The Harvard-Yenching Institute |page=181 |doi=10.1353/jas.0.0035|s2cid=161403630}}</ref> The Han Chinese [[Yan Changming]] had the ability to read [[Tibetic languages|Tibetan]], [[Oirat language|Oirat]], and Mongolian.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mosca |first=Mathew W.|date=2010 |journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies |volume=70 |issue=1|title= Empire and the Circulation of Frontier Intelligence Qing Conceptions of the Ottomans |url=https://www.academia.edu/6928985 |publisher=The Harvard-Yenching Institute |page=182 |doi=10.1353/jas.0.0035|s2cid=161403630}}</ref> Han Chinese officials learned languages on the frontier regions and Manchu in order to be able to write and compile their writings on the region.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mosca |first=Mathew W.|date=2010 |journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies |volume=70 |issue=1|title= Empire and the Circulation of Frontier Intelligence Qing Conceptions of the Otomans |url=https://www.academia.edu/6928985 |publisher=The Harvard-Yenching Institute |page=176 |doi=10.1353/jas.0.0035|s2cid=161403630}}</ref>

A Manchu-language course over three years was required for the highest ranking Han degree holders from Hanlin but not all Han literati were required to study Manchu.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rhoads |first=Edward J. M. |date=2017 |title=Manchus and Han: Ethnic Relations and Political Power in Late Qing and Early Republican China, 1861–1928 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OXQkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA62 |publisher=University of Washington Press |page=62 |isbn=978-0295997483 }}</ref> Towards the end of the Qing it was pointed out that a lot of Bannermen themselves did not know Manchu anymore and that, in retrospect, "the founding emperors of the (Qing) dynasty (had been) unable to coerce the country's ministers and people to learn the national writing and national speech (Manchu)".<ref>{{cite book |last=Rhoads |first=Edward J. M. |date=2017 |title=Manchus and Han: Ethnic Relations and Political Power in Late Qing and Early Republican China, 1861–1928 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OXQkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 |publisher=University of Washington Press |page=109 |isbn=978-0295997483 }}</ref>

==== Translation between Chinese and Manchu ====
Chinese fiction books were translated into Manchu.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NkH2zGNRmkAC&pg=PA321|title=Printing and Book Culture in Late Imperial China|date=2005|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0520927796|volume=27 of Studies on China|page=321}}</ref> Bannermen wrote fiction in the Chinese language.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=93onvmXF1r0C&pg=PA215|title=Books in Numbers: Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Harvard-Yenching Library : Conference Papers|date=2007|publisher=Chinese University Press|isbn=978-9629963316|editor-last=Idema|editor-first=Wilt L.|volume=8 of Harvard-Yenching Institute studies|page=215|issue=Issue 8 of Harvard–Yenching Library studies}}</ref> [[Huang Taiji]] had Chinese books translated into Manchu.<ref>{{cite book |last= Kuo |first=Ping Wen |date=1915 |edition=2|title=The Chinese System of Public Education, Issue 64 |issue=Issue 64 of Contributions to education|volume=64 of Teachers College New York, NY: Contrib. to education |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6TcdAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA58 |publisher=Teachers College, Columbia University |page=58 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |date=1915 |title=Contributions to Education, Issue 64 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nIpCAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA58 |publisher=Bureau of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University. |page=58 }}</ref> Han Chinese and Manchus helped Jesuits write and translate books into Manchu and Chinese.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jami |first=Catherine|author-link=Cathérine Jami |edition=illustrated |date=2012 |title=The Emperor's New Mathematics: Western Learning and Imperial Authority During the Kangxi Reign (1662–1722) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z9oUDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA167 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=167 |isbn=978-0199601400}}</ref> Manchu books were published in [[Beijing]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NkH2zGNRmkAC&pg=PA323|title=Printing and Book Culture in Late Imperial China|date=2005|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0520927796|volume=27 of Studies on China|page=323}}</ref>

The [[Qianlong Emperor]] commissioned projects such as new Manchu dictionaries, both monolingual and multilingual like the [[Pentaglot Dictionary|Pentaglot]]. Among his directives were to eliminate directly borrowed loanwords from Chinese and replace them with [[calque]] translations which were put into new Manchu dictionaries. This showed in the titles of Manchu translations of Chinese works during his reign which were direct translations contrasted with Manchu books translated during the [[Kangxi Emperor]]'s reign which were Manchu transliterations of the Chinese characters.

The Pentaglot was based on the ''Yuzhi Siti Qing Wenjian'' ({{lang|zh-hant|御製四體清文鑑}}; "Imperially-Published Four-Script Textual Mirror of Qing"), with [[Uyghur language|Uyghur]] added as a fifth language.<ref>{{cite book|title=Chinese Lexicography : A History from 1046 BC to AD 1911: A History from 1046 BC to AD 1911|first1=Heming|last1=Yong|first2=Jing|last2=Peng|year=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NYFBtTUZFxEC&pg=PA398|page=398|isbn=978-0191561672|access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref> The four-language version of the dictionary with Tibetan was in turn based on an earlier three-language version with Manchu, Mongolian, and Chinese called the "Imperially-Published Manchu Mongol Chinese Three pronunciation explanation mirror of Qing" ({{lang|zh-hant|御製滿珠蒙古漢字三合切音清文鑑}}), which was in turn based on the "Imperially-Published Revised and Enlarged mirror of Qing" ({{lang|zh-hant|御製增訂清文鑑}}) in Manchu and Chinese, which used both Manchu script to transcribe Chinese words and [[Transcription into Chinese characters|Chinese characters to transcribe]] Manchu words with [[fanqie]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Chinese Lexicography : A History from 1046 BC to AD 1911: A History from 1046 BC to AD 1911|first1=Heming|last1=Yong|first2=Jing|last2=Peng|year=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NYFBtTUZFxEC&pg=PA397|page=397|isbn=978-0191561672|access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref>

====Studies by outsiders====
A number of European scholars in the 18th century were frustrated by the difficulties in reading Chinese, with its "complicated" [[Hanzi|writing system]] and [[Classical Chinese|classical]] writing style. They considered Manchu translations, or parallel Manchu versions, of many Chinese documents and literary works very helpful for understanding the original Chinese. [[Joseph-Anna-Marie de Moyriac de Mailla|De Moyriac de Mailla]] (1669–1748) benefited from the existence of the parallel Manchu text when translating the historical compendium ''[[Zizhi Tongjian Gangmu|Tongjian Gangmu]]'' (''Tung-chien Kang-mu''; {{lang|zh-hant|资治通鉴纲目}}). [[Jean Joseph Marie Amiot|Jean Joseph Amiot]], a [[Jesuit]] scholar, consulted Manchu translations of Chinese works as well, and wrote that the Manchu language "would open an easy entrance to penetrate ... into the labyrinth of Chinese literature of all ages."<ref name="repo1844">Anonymous, "Considerations on the language of communication between the Chinese and European governments", in ''The Chinese Repository'', vol XIII, June 1844, no. 6, pp. 281–300. [https://books.google.com/books?id=6wEMAAAAYAAJ Available on Google Books]. Modern reprint exists, {{ISBN|1-4021-5630-8}}</ref>

[[File:Kangxi-Lugou-rebuilding-stele-text-fragment-3582.jpg|thumb|The [[Kangxi Emperor]]'s stele near [[Lugou Bridge]], with parallel Chinese and Manchu text]]
Study of the Manchu language by Russian sinologists started in the early 18th century, soon after the founding of the [[Chinese Orthodox Church#Russian Mission|Russian Orthodox Mission]] in Beijing, to which most early Russian sinologists were connected.<ref name=gorelova>Liliya M. Gorelova, "Manchu Grammar." Brill, Leiden, 2002. {{ISBN|90-04-12307-5}}</ref> {{Wikidata fallback link|Q27260651}} <!---Illarion Kalinovich Rossokhin-->(died 1761) translated a number of Manchu works, such as ''The history of Kangxi's conquest of the Khalkha and Oirat nomads of the Great Tartary, in five parts'' ({{lang|ru|История о завоевании китайским ханом Канхием калкаского и элетского народа, кочующего в Великой Татарии, состоящая в пяти частях}}), as well as some legal treatises and a Manchu–Chinese dictionary. In the late 1830s, [[Georgy M. Rozov]] translated from Manchu the ''History of the Jin (Jurchen) Dynasty''.<ref name=larichev>''История золотой империи''. (''The History of the Jin (Jurchen) Dynasty'') Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch. Novosibirsk, 1998. 2 {{ISBN|5-7803-0037-2}}. [http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus11/Zinschi/red.htm Editor's preface] {{in lang|ru}}</ref> A school to train Manchu language translators was started in [[Irkutsk]] in the 18th century, and existed for a fairly long period.<ref name=larichev/>

An anonymous author remarked in 1844 that the transcription of Chinese words in Manchu alphabet, available in the contemporary Chinese–Manchu dictionaries, was more useful for learning the pronunciation of Chinese words than the inconsistent [[Romanization of Chinese|romanizations]] used at the time by the writers transcribing Chinese words in English or French books.<ref name=repo1844/>

In 1930, the German sinologist [[:de:Erich Hauer|Erich Hauer]] argued forcibly that knowing Manchu allows the scholar to render Manchu personal and place names that have been "horribly mutilated" by their Chinese transliterations and to know the meanings of the names. He goes on that the Manchu translations of Chinese classics and fiction were done by experts familiar with their original meaning and with how best to express it in Manchu, such as in the Manchu translation of the ''[[Peiwen yunfu]]''. Because Manchu is not difficult to learn, it "enables the student of Sinology to use the Manchu versions of the classics [...] in order to verify the meaning of the Chinese text".{{sfnb|Hauer|1930|p=162-163}}

==Current situation==
[[File:An Activity of Manchu Language by the Government and students in Changchun.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.36|"Banjin Inenggi" and Manchu linguistic activity by the government and students in [[Changchun]], 2011]]
Currently, several thousand people can speak Manchu as a second language through primary education or free classes for adults offered in China.<ref name="chinanews" /><ref name="ifeng" /> However very few native Manchu speakers remain. In what used to be [[Manchuria]] virtually no one speaks the language, the entire area having been completely [[Sinicization|sinicized]]. {{As of|2007}}, the last native speakers of the language were thought to be 18 [[octogenarian]] residents of the village of [[Sanjiazi]] ({{manchu|m={{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᡳᠯᠠᠨ<br />ᠪᠣᡠ᠋}}|v=ilan boo|a=ilan bou}}), in [[Fuyu County, Heilongjiang|Fuyu County]], in [[Qiqihar]], [[Heilongjiang]] Province.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/world/asia/18manchu.html|title=Chinese Village Struggles to Save Dying Language|last=Lague|first=David|date=18 March 2007|work=The New York Times|access-date=8 August 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> A few speakers also remain in [[Dawujia]] village in [[Aihui District]] of [[Heihe]] Prefecture.

The [[Xibe people|Xibe]] (or Sibe) are often considered to be the modern custodians of the written Manchu language. The Xibe live in [[Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County]] near the [[Ili River|Ili]] valley in [[Xinjiang]], having been moved there by the [[Qianlong Emperor]] in 1764. Modern written Xibe is very close to Manchu, although there are slight differences in the writing system which reflect distinctive Xibe pronunciation. More significant differences exist in morphological and syntactic structure of the spoken Xibe language. For one example among many, there is a "[[converb]]" ending, -''mak'', that is very common in modern spoken Xibe but unknown in Manchu.

=== Revitalization movements ===
Since the 1980s, there have been increased efforts to revive the Manchu language. Revival movements are linked to the reconstruction of ethnic Manchu identity in the Han-dominated country. The Manchus mainly lead the revival efforts, with support from the [[China|PRC]] state, [[NGOs]] and international efforts.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|title=Identity reproducers beyond the grassroots: The middle class in the Manchu revival since 1980s|journal=Asian Ethnicity|volume=6}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|title=Facing the Decline of Minority Languages: The New Patterns of Education of Mongols and Manchus|journal=The Central European Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities}}</ref>

Revivalism began in the post-[[Mao Zedong|Mao]] era when non-Han ethnic expression was allowed. By the 1980s, Manchus had become the second largest [[Ethnic minorities in China|minority group in China]]. People began to reveal their ethnic identities that had been hidden due to 20th century unrests and the fall of the [[Qing dynasty|Qing Empire]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

Language revival was one method the growing numbers of Manchus used in order to reconstruct their lost ethnic identity. Language represented them and set them apart from other minority groups in the "[[Ethnic minorities in China|plurality of ethnic cultures]] within one united culture". Another reason for revivalism lay in the archives of the Qing Empire—a way to translate and resolve historical conflicts between the Manchus and the state.<ref name=":0" /> Lastly, the people wanted to regain their language for the rituals and communication to their ancestors—many shamans do not understand the words they use.<ref name=":1" />

Manchu associations can be found across the country, including [[Hong Kong]], as well as [[Taiwan]], which is under the administration of the Republic of China. Consisting of mostly Manchus and Mongols, they act as the link between the people, their ethnic leaders and the state.<ref name=":0" />

NGOs provide large support through Manchu classes. Manchu is now taught in certain primary schools as well as in universities.<ref name=":1" /> [[Heilongjiang University]] Manchu language research center in no.74, Xuefu Road, [[Harbin]], listed Manchu as an [[academic major]]. It is taught there as a tool for reading Qing-dynasty archival documents.<ref name=wsj>{{citation|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125452110732160485
|date=5 October 2009|title=In China, the Forgotten Manchu Seek to Rekindle Their Glory
|periodical=The Wall Street Journal|author= Ian Johnson|access-date=5 October 2009}}</ref> In 2009 ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' reported that the language is offered (as an elective) in one university, one public middle school, and a few private schools.<ref name=wsj/> There are also other Manchu volunteers in many places of China who freely teach Manchu in the desire to rescue the language.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mzb.com.cn/zgmzb/html/2011-07/29/content_78793.htm |title=China Nationality Newspaper: the Rescue of Manchu Language (simplified Chinese) |access-date=10 November 2012 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061247/http://www.mzb.com.cn/zgmzb/html/2011-07/29/content_78793.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://big5.ifeng.com/gate/big5/news.ifeng.com/gundong/detail_2011_12/12/11251077_0.shtml |title=iFeng: Jin Biao's 10-Year Dream of Manchu Language (traditional Chinese) |access-date=10 November 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130125220202/http://big5.ifeng.com/gate/big5/news.ifeng.com/gundong/detail_2011_12/12/11251077_0.shtml |archive-date=25 January 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://i.syd.com.cn/content/2011-12/05/content_25882720.htm |title=Shenyang Daily: Young Man Teaches Manchu For Free To Rescue the Language (simplified Chinese) |access-date=10 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513190300/http://i.syd.com.cn/content/2011-12/05/content_25882720.htm |archive-date=13 May 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bjwb.bjd.com.cn/html/2012-03/03/node_17.htm|title=Beijing Evening News: the Worry of Manchu language (simplified Chinese)|date=13 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513105009/http://bjwb.bjd.com.cn/html/2012-03/03/node_17.htm|archive-date=13 May 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=8 August 2019}}</ref> Thousands of non-Manchu speakers have learned the language through these measures.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://liaoning.nen.com.cn/liaoning/178/3607178.shtml |title=Northeastern News: Don't let Manchu language and scripts become a sealed book (simplified Chinese) |access-date=10 November 2012 |archive-date=28 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228235225/http://liaoning.nen.com.cn/liaoning/178/3607178.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bjwb.bjd.com.cn/html/2012-03/03/content_55839.htm|title=Beijing Evening News: 1980s Generation's Rescue Plan of Manchu Language (simplified Chinese)|date=13 May 2013|website=bjwb.bjd.com.cn|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513094153/http://bjwb.bjd.com.cn/html/2012-03/03/content_55839.htm|archive-date=13 May 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=8 August 2019}}</ref> Despite the efforts of NGOs, they tend to lack support from high-level government and politics.<ref name=":1" />

The state also runs programs to revive minority cultures and languages. [[Deng Xiaoping]] promoted bilingual education. However, many programs are not suited to the ethnic culture or to passing knowledge to the younger generations. If the programs were created via "top-down political processes" the locals tend to look at them with distrust. But if they were formed via specialized governmental organizations, they fare better. According to [[Katarzyna Golik]]:<ref name=":1" /><blockquote>In [[Mukden]], the historical Manchurian capital, there is a [[Shenyang Manchu Association]] ({{lang|zh|沈阳市满族联谊会}}) which is active in promoting Manchurian culture. The Association publishes books about Manchurian folklore and history and its activities are run independently from the local government. Among the various classes of the Manchurian language and calligraphy some turned out to be a success. Beijing has the biggest and most wealthy Beijing Daxing Regency Manchu Association ({{lang|zh-hans|北京大兴御苑满族联谊会}}). (pp100-101)</blockquote>Other support can be found internationally and on the [[Internet]]. Post-[[Cultural Revolution]] reform allowed for international studies to be done in China. The dying language and ethnic culture of Manchus gained attention, providing local support.<ref name=":0" /> Websites facilitate communication of language classes or articles.<ref name=":1" /> Younger generations also spread and promote their unique identity through popular Internet media.<ref name=":0" />

Despite the increased efforts to revive the Manchu language, there are many obstacles standing in the way. Even with increased awareness, many Manchus choose to give up their language, some opting to learn Mongolian instead. Manchu language is still thought of as a foreign language in a Han-dominated Chinese speaking country.<ref name=":1" /> Obstacles are also found when gaining recognition from the state. Resistance through censorship prevented the performing of [[Banjin festivals]], a festival in recognition of a new reconstructed Manchu identity, in Beijing.<ref name=":0" />

==Phonology==
{{More footnotes needed|date=December 2008}}

Written Manchu was close to being called an "[[open syllable]]" language because the only consonant that came regularly at the end of native words was {{IPA|/n/}}, similar to [[Beijing dialect|Beijing Mandarin]], [[Northeastern Mandarin]], [[Jilu Mandarin]] and [[Japanese language|Japanese]]. This resulted in almost all native words ending in a vowel. In some words, there were vowels that were separated by consonant clusters, as in the words ''ilha'' ('flower') and ''abka'' ('heaven'); however, in most words, the vowels were separated from one another by only single consonants.

This open syllable structure might not have been found in all varieties of spoken Manchu, but it was certainly found in the southern dialect that became the basis for the written language. It is also apparent that the open-syllable tendency of the Manchu language had been growing ever stronger for the several hundred years since written records of Manchu were first produced: consonant clusters that had appeared in older forms, such as ''abka'' and ''abtara-mbi'' ('to yell'), were gradually simplified, and the words began to be written as{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} ''aga'' or ''aha'' (in this form meaning 'rain'){{Dubious|Should be separate words|date=July 2011}} and ''atara-mbi'' ('to cause a commotion').

===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="2" |
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}} {{angbr|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}} {{angbr|n}}
| {{IPA link|ɲ}} {{angbr|ni}}
| {{IPA link|ŋ}} {{angbr|ng}}
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Plosive]]
! <small>unaspirated</small>
| {{IPA link|p}} {{angbr|b}}
| {{IPA link|t}} {{angbr|d}}
| {{IPA link|tʃ}} {{angbr|j}}
| {{IPA link|k}} {{angbr|g}}
|-
! <small>[[Aspiration (linguistics)|aspirated]]</small>
| {{IPA link|pʰ}} {{angbr|p}}
| {{IPA link|tʰ}} {{angbr|t}}
| {{IPA link|tʃʰ}} {{angbr|c}}{{efn|Or {{angbr|ch}}, {{angbr|q}}.}}
| {{IPA link|kʰ}} {{angbr|k}}
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Fricative]]
| {{IPA link|f}} {{angbr|f}}
| {{IPA link|s}} {{angbr|s}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}} {{angbr|š}}{{efn|Or {{angbr|sh}}, {{angbr|ś}}, {{angbr|x}}.}}
| {{IPA link|x}} {{angbr|h}}
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
|
| {{IPA link|r}} {{angbr|r}}
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Approximant]]
|
| {{IPA link|l}} {{angbr|l}}
| {{IPA link|j}} {{angbr|y}}
| {{IPA link|w}} {{angbr|w}}
|}
{{notelist}}
 
Manchu has twenty consonants, shown in the table using each phoneme's representation in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]], followed by its romanization in italics. {{IPA|/pʰ/}} was rare and found mostly in loanwords and [[onomatopoeia]]e, such as ''pak pik'' ('pow pow'). Historically, {{IPA|/p/}} appears to have been common, but [[sound change|changed]] over time to {{IPA|/f/}}. {{IPA|/ŋ/}} was also found mostly in loanwords and onomatopoeiae and there was no single letter in the [[Manchu alphabet]] to represent it, but rather a digraph of the letters for {{IPA|/n/}} and {{IPA|/k/}}. {{IPA|[ɲ]}} is usually transcribed with a digraph ''ni'', and has thus often been considered a sequence of phonemes {{IPA|/nj/}} rather than a phoneme of its own, though work in Tungusic historical linguistics suggests that the Manchu palatal nasal has a very long history as a single [[segment (linguistics)|segment]], and so it is shown here as phonemic.

Early Western descriptions of Manchu phonology labeled Manchu ''b'' as "soft p", Manchu ''d'' as "soft t", and Manchu ''g'' as "soft k", whereas Manchu ''p'' was "hard p", ''t'' was "hard t", and ''k'' was "hard k". This suggests that the phonological contrast between the so-called [[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]] series (''b, d, j, g'') and the voiceless series (''p, t, c, k'') in Manchu as it was spoken during the early modern era was actually one of [[Aspirated consonant|aspiration]] (as shown here) or [[tenseness]], as in [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]].

{{IPA|/s/}} was [[affricated]] to {{IPA|[ts]}} in some or all contexts. {{IPA|/tʃʰ/}}, {{IPA|/tʃ/}}, and {{IPA|/ʃ/}} together with {{IPA|/s/}} were palatalized before /i/ or /y/ to {{IPA|[tɕʰ]}}, {{IPA|[tɕ]}}, and {{IPA|[ɕ]}}, respectively. {{IPA|/kʰ/}}, {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/x/}} were backed before /a/, /ɔ/, or /ʊ/ to {{IPA|[qʰ]}}, {{IPA|[q]}}, and {{IPA|[χ]}} respectively.<ref>Gorelova (2002: 86)</ref> Some scholars analyse these [[uvular]] realizations as belonging to phonemes separate from {{IPA|/kʰ/}} and {{IPA|/k/}}, and they were distinguished in the Manchu alphabet, but are not distinguished in the romanization.

===Vowels===
[[File:Manchu Vowel Chart.svg|thumb|Vowels of Manchu<ref>Tawney, Brian. "Reading Jakdan's Poetry: An Exploration of Literary Manchu Phonology". MA Thesis (Harvard, RSEA).</ref>]]

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto;width:30%;text-align:center;"
|-
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[High vowel|High]]
| {{IPA link|i}} {{angbr|i}}
|
| {{IPA link|u}} {{angbr|u}}
|-
![[Near-high vowel|Mid-high]]
|
|
| {{IPA link|ʊ}} {{angbr|ū}}
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|
| {{IPA link|ə}}~{{IPA link|ɤ}} {{angbr|e}}
| {{IPA link|ɔ}} {{angbr|o}}
|-
![[Low vowel|Low]]
|
| {{IPA link|ɑ}} {{angbr|a}}
|
|}

The vowel <e> (generally pronounced like [[Standard Chinese|Mandarin]] [ɤ]) is pronounced as [e] after <y>, as in niyengniyeri /ɲeŋɲeri/.

Between ''n'' and ''y'', ''i'' is absorbed into both consonants as /ɲ/.

The relatively rare vowel transcribed ''ū'' (pronounced {{IPA|[ʊ]}}<ref name="Möllendorff1892">{{cite book |author=Paul Georg von Möllendorff |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924023341112 |title=A Manchu Grammar: With Analysed Texts |publisher=Printed at the American Presbyterian mission Press |year=1892 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924023341112/page/n38 1]–}}</ref>) was usually found as a [[back vowel]]; however, in some cases, it was found occurring along with the front vowel ''e''. Much disputation exists over the exact pronunciation of ''ū''. [[:de:Erich Hauer|Erich Hauer]], a German sinologist and Manchurist, proposes that it was pronounced as a front rounded vowel initially, but a back unrounded vowel medially.<ref>Li (2000), p. 17.</ref> William Austin suggests that it was a mid-central rounded vowel.<ref>Austin, William M., "The Phonemics and Morphophonemes of Manchu", in ''American Studies in Altaic Linguistics'', p. 17, [[Nicholas Poppe]] (ed.), Indiana University Publications, Vol. 13 of the Uralic and Altaic Series, Bloomington IN 1962</ref> The modern [[Xibe language|Xibe]] pronounce it identically to ''u''.

==== Diphthongs ====
There are altogether eighteen [[diphthong]]s and six triphthongs. The diphthongs are ''ai'', ''ao'', ''ei'', ''eo'', ''ia'', ''ie'', ''ii'', ''io'', ''iu'', ''oi'', ''oo'', ''ua'', ''ue'', ''ui'', ''uo'', ''ūa'', ''ūe'', ''ūi'', and ''ūo''. The triphthongs are ''ioa'', ''ioo'' (which is pronounced as {{IPA|/joː/}}), ''io(w)an'', ''io(w)en'', ''ioi'' ({{IPA|/y/}}), and ''i(y)ao'', and they exist in Chinese loanwords.<ref name="Möllendorff1892" />

The diphthong ''oo'' is pronounced as {{IPA|/oː/}}, and the diphthong ''eo'' is pronounced as {{IPA|/ɤo/}}.

==== Stress ====
[[Stress (linguistics)|Stress]] in Manchu has been described in very different ways by different scholars.<ref>Gorelova (2002: 99–102) and references therein.</ref> According to Paul Georg von Möllendorff (1892), it was always on the last syllable. In contrast, [[Ivan Zakharov]] (1879) gives numerous specific rules: on the one hand, he seems to say that every [[Phonological word|prosodic word]] lent slight prominence to the vowel of its first syllable by lengthening it, but on the other hand suffixes such as the case markers and the interrogative particles received stress, as did the perfect participle suffix and the optative suffix when these forms have future meaning. In the closely related Xibe, Jerry Norman (1974) found yet another system – stress was usually penultimate (rarely antepenultimate) in the stem and was not affected by the addition of suffixes, except for monosyllabic suffixes beginning in a voiceless sound, which were treated as part of the stem for the purposes of stress placement. Disyllabic suffixes sometimes had secondary stress of their own.

===Loanwords===
Manchu absorbed a large number of non-native sounds into the language from Chinese. There were special symbols used to represent the vowels of Chinese loanwords. These sounds are believed to have been pronounced as such, as they never occurred in native words. Among these, was the symbol for the high unrounded vowel (customarily romanized with a ''y'', /ɨ/) found in words such as ''sy'' (Buddhist temple) and ''Sycuwan'' (Sichuan); and the triphthong ''ioi'' which is used for the Chinese ''ü'' sound. Chinese [[Affricate consonant|affricates]] were also represented with consonant symbols that were only used with loanwords such as in the case of ''dzengse'' (orange) (Chinese: ''chéngzi'') and ''tsun'' (inch) (Chinese: ''cùn''). In addition to the vocabulary that was borrowed from Chinese, such as the word ''pingguri'' (apple) (Chinese: píngguǒ), the Manchu language also had a large number of loanwords from other languages such as [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]], for example the words ''morin'' (horse) and ''temen'' (camel).

===Vowel harmony===
A crucial feature of the Manchu language is [[vowel harmony]]. It is described as based on the opposition between [[Back vowel|back]] and [[front vowel]]s, but these phonological [[natural class]]es differ from the actual phonetic realization. The vowels ''a, o, ū'' function as back, as expected, but the only ''phonologically'' front vowel is ''e'' (even though it is ''phonetically'' central). Finally, the vowels ''i'' and ''u'' function as "neutral" vowels for the purposes of vowel harmony. As a rule, back and front vowels cannot co-occur in a word: in other words, the lone front vowel never occurs in a word with any the regular back vowels (''a, o, ū''). (An exception is the diphthong ''eo'', which does occur in some words, i.e. ''deo'', "younger brother", ''geo'', "a mare", ''jeo'', "department", ''leole'', "to discuss", ''leose'', "building", and ''šeole'', "to embroider", "to collect".<ref name="Gorelova2002">{{cite book |author=Liliya M. Gorelova |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KHwPAAAAYAAJ |title=Manchu Grammar |date=1 January 2002 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-12307-6}}</ref>) In contrast, the neutral vowels ''i'' and ''u'' are free to occur in a word with any other vowel or vowels.

The form of suffixes often varies depending on the rules of vowel harmony. Certain suffixes have only one form and are not affected by vowel harmony (e.g. ''de''); these include the suffixes of the accusative, dative-locative and alternate ablative cases (''be'', ''de'', ''deri''), the suffix for the imperfect converb (-''me'') and the nominalizers (''-ngge'', ''-ningge'' and ''ba'').<ref>Gorelova (2002: 94)</ref> Others have two forms (''giyan/giyen'', ''hiyan/hiyen'', ''kiyan/kiyen''), one of which is added to front-vowel stems and the other to back-vowel stems. Finally, there are also suffixes with three forms, either ''a/e/o'' (e.g. ''han/hen/hon'') or ''o/ū/u'' (e.g. ''hon/hūn/hun''). These are used in accordance with the following scheme:<ref>Haenisch 1986, 33f.</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
!Stem
!Suffix
!Example
|-
|a – a
| rowspan="6" |a
|''waka'''lan'''''  "guilt"
|-
|i – a
|''ciha'''lan'''''  "will"
|-
|u – a
|''tusa'''ngga'''''  "useful"
|-
|a – i
|''faksi'''kan'''''  "work of art"
|-
|a – u
|''kura'''lan'''''  "reciprocation"
|-
|o – i
|''mori'''ngga'''''  "horseman"
|-
|e – e
| rowspan="5" |e
|''helme'''hen'''''  "spider"
|-
|i – e
|''ilde'''he'''''  "tree bast"
|-
|u – e
|''tube'''he'''''  "salmon"
|-
|e – i
|esi'''he'''  "fish soup"
|-
|e – u
|''eru'''len'''''  "punishment"
|-
|o – o
| rowspan="2" |o
|''dolo'''ron'''''  "rite"
|-
|o – i
|''hoji'''hon'''''  "stepson"
|-
|a – i
|ū
|''wasi'''hūn'''''  "downwards"
|-
|e – i
|u
|''wesi'''hun'''''  "upwards"
|}
The vowel harmony was traditionally described in terms of the philosophy of the ''[[I Ching]]''. Syllables with front vowels were described as being as "[[Yin and yang|yin]]" syllables whereas syllables with back vowels were called "[[Yin and yang|yang]]" syllables. The reasoning behind this was that the language had a kind of sound symbolism where front vowels represented feminine objects or ideas and the back vowels represented masculine objects or ideas. As a result, there were a number of word pairs in the language in which changing the vowels also changed the gender of the word. For example, the difference between the words ''hehe'' (woman) and ''haha'' (man) or ''eme'' (mother) and ''ama'' (father) was essentially a contrast between the front vowel, [e], of the feminine and the back vowel, [a], of the masculine counterpart.

==Dialects==
Dialects of Manchu include a variety of its historical and remaining spoken forms throughout [[Manchuria]], and the city of [[Beijing]] (the capital). Notable historical Manchu dialects include Beijing, [[Ningguta]], [[Acheng District|Alcuka]] and [[Mukden]] dialects.

===Beijing Manchu dialect===
{{About|the dialect of Manchu spoken in Beijing|the Northern Mandarin dialect spoken in Beijing|Beijing dialect|section=yes}}

{{Quote box
 |quote = Many of the Manchu words are now pronounced with some Chinese peculiarities of pronunciation, so k before i and e=ch', g before i and e=ch, h and s before i=hs, etc. H before a, o, u, ū, is the guttural Scotch or German ch.
|source = ''A Manchu Grammar: With Analysed Texts'', ''[[Paul Georg von Möllendorff]]'', p. 1.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Manchu Grammar: With Analysed Texts|first=Paul Georg von|last=Möllendorff|year=1892|edition=reprint|location=Shanghai|publisher=American Presbyterian mission Press|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924023341112|page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924023341112/page/n38 1]}}[https://archive.org/details/cu31924023341112/page/n38]</ref>
}}

The [[Beijing dialect|Chinese Northern Mandarin dialect spoken in Beijing]] had a major influence on the phonology of the dialect of Manchu spoken in that city, and because Manchu phonology was transcribed into Chinese and European sources based on the sinicized pronunciation of Manchus from Beijing, the original authentic Manchu pronunciation is unknown to scholars.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KHwPAAAAYAAJ|title=Manchu Grammar, Part 8|volume=7 |editor-first=Liliya M.|editor-last=Gorelova|year=2002|publisher=Brill|page=77|isbn=9004123075}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=30kHAQAAIAAJ|title=Cahiers de linguistique: Asie orientale |volume=31-32 |year=2002 |publisher=Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales, Centre de recherches linguistiques sur l'Asie orientale |page=208}}</ref>

The Manchus of Beijing were influenced by the Chinese dialect spoken in the area to the point where pronouncing Manchu sounds was hard for them, and they pronounced Manchu according to Chinese phonetics, whereas the Manchus of [[Aigun]] (in Heilongjiang) could both pronounce Manchu sounds properly and mimic the sinicized pronunciation of Manchus in Beijing, because they learned the Beijingese pronunciation from either studying in Beijing or from officials sent to Aigun from Beijing, and they could tell them apart, using the Chinese influenced Beijingese pronunciation when demonstrating that they were better educated or their superior stature in society.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FpEyQ1tUYTkC|title=Archives polonaises d'etudes orientales |volume=8–10 |first=S. M. |last=Shirokogoroff |chapter=Reading and Transliteration of Manchu Lit. |year=1934 |publisher=Państwowe Wydawn. Naukowe. |page=122}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JsQSAAAAIAAJ|title=Rocznik orientalistyczny |volume=9–10|first=S. M.|last=Shirokogoroff |chapter=Reading and Transliteration of Manchu Lit. |year=1934 |page=122 }}</ref>

====Changes in vowels====
Phonetically, there are some characteristics that differentiate the Beijing accent from the standard spelling form of Manchu. 
* There are some occasional vowel changes in a word. For example {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᠴᡳᠮᠠᡵᡳ}} (''cimari'' /t͡ʃʰimari/) is pronounced [t͡ʃʰumari], {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᠣᠵᠣᡵᠠᡴᡡ}} (''ojorakū'' /ot͡ʃoraqʰʊ/) is pronounced [ot͡ɕiraqʰʊ], and {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᡤᡳᠰᡠᠨ}} (''gisun'' /kisun/) is pronounced [kysun].
** In particular, when the vowel /o/ or diphthong /oi/ appears at the beginning of a word, it is frequently pronounced [ə] and [əi] respectively in Beijing accent. For example, {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᠣᠩᡤᠣᠯᠣ}} (''onggolo'' /oŋŋolo/) is pronounced [əŋŋolo], {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᠣᡳᠯᠣ}} (''oilo'' /oilo/) is pronounced [əilo].
* [[Diphthongization]] of vowels. /ə/ becomes /əi/ (such as {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᡩᡝᡥᡳ}} ''dehi'' /təxi/ pronounced [təixi]), /a/ becomes [ai] (such as {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᡩᠠᡤᡳᠯᠠᠮᠪᡳ}} ''dagilambi'' /takilampi/ pronounced [taikilami]), and /i/ becomes [iu] (such as {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᠨᡳᡵᡠ}} ''niru'' /niru/ pronounced [niuru], and {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᠨᡳᠴᡠᡥᡝ}} ''nicuhe'' /nit͡ʃʰuxə/ pronounced [niut͡ʃʰuxə]).
* /oi/ becomes [uai], especially after /q/ (g). For example, {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᡤᠣᡳ᠌ᠮᠪᡳ}} ''goimbi'' /koimpi/ becomes [kuaimi].
* Loss of vowels under certain conditions. The vowel /i/ following consonant /t͡ʃʰ/ (c) or /t͡ʃ/ (j) usually disappears. For example, {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᡝᠴᡳᡴᡝ}} ''ecike'' /ət͡ʃʰikʰə/ is pronounced [ət͡ʃʰkʰə], and {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᡥᠣᠵᡳᡥᠣᠨ}} ''hojihon'' /χot͡ʃiχon/ is pronounced [χot͡ʃχon]. There are also other cases where a vowel disappears in Beijing accent. For example, {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᡝᡴᡧᡝᠮᠪᡳ}} ''ekšembi'' /əkʰʃəmpi/ is pronounced [əkʰʃmi], and {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᠪᡠᡵᡠᠯᠠᠮᠪᡳ}} ''burulambi'' /purulampi/ is pronounced [purlami].

====Changes in consonants====

This section is primarily based upon Aisin Gioro Yingsheng's ''Miscellaneous Knowledge of Manchu'' (满语杂识).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Aisin Gioro|first=Yingsheng|title=Miscellaneous Knowledge of Manchu [满语杂识]|publisher=Xueyuan Press|year=2004|isbn=7-80060-008-4|location=Beijing|pages=221–230|language=Chinese}}</ref>

* Systemic merger of /q/ and /χ/ into [ʁ], and /k/ and /x/ into [ɣ] between voiced phonemes. For example, {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᠰᠠᡵᡤᠠᠨ}} (''sargan'' /sɑrqɑn/) is pronounced as [sɑrʁɑn], and {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᡠᡵᡤᡠᠨ}} (''urgun'' /urkun/) is pronounced as [urɣun].
* Conversely, /χ/ may be pronounced as [qʰ] at the beginning of a word. For example, {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᡥᠠᠮᡳᠮᠪᡳ}} (''hamimbi'' /χɑmimpi/) is pronounced as [qʰamimi].
* Assmilation of alveolar and postalveolar stops after /n/. For example, {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᠪᠠᠨᠵᡳᠮᠪᡳ}} (''banjimbi'' /pɑnt͡ʃimpi/) is pronounced as [pɑnnimi], and {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᡥᡝᠨᡩᡠᠮᠪᡳ}} (''hendumbi'' /xəntumpi/) is pronounced as [xənnumi].
* /si/ is pronounced as [ʃɨ] in the middle of a word. For example, {{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|ᡠᠰᡳᡥᠠ}} (''usiha'' /usiχɑ/) is pronounced as [uʃɨʁɑ].

==Grammar==
===Syntax===
All Manchu phrases are [[head-final]]; the head-word of a phrase (e.g. the [[noun]] of a [[noun phrase]], or the [[verb]] of a [[verb phrase]]) always falls at the end of the phrase. Thus, adjectives and adjectival phrases always precede the noun they modify, and the arguments to the verb always precede the verb. As a result, Manchu sentence structure is [[subject–object–verb]] (SOV).

Manchu uses a small number of case-marking particles{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} that are similar to those found in [[Korean language|Korean]], but there is also a separate class of true [[postpositions]]. Case markers and postpositions can be used together, as in the following sentence:

{{interlinear|indent=4
|bi tere niyalma-i emgi gene-he
|I that person-GEN with go-PST
|I went with that person}}

In this example, the postposition {{transliteration|mnc|''emgi''}}, "with", requires its nominal argument to have the genitive case, which causes the genitive case marker {{transliteration|mnc|''i''}} between the noun {{transliteration|mnc|''niyalma''}} and the postposition.

Manchu also makes extensive use of [[converb]] structures and has an inventory of converbial suffixes to indicate the relationship between the subordinate verb and the finite verb that follows it. An example is these two sentences, which have finite verbs:

{{interlinear
| indent = 4|tere sargan boo ci tuci-ke|that woman house ABL {go out}-PST.FIN|That woman came out of the house.
}}
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|tere sargan hoton de gene-he|that woman town DAT go-PST.FIN|That woman went to town.
}}

Both sentences can be combined into a single sentence by using converbs, which relate the first action to the second:

{{interlinear
| indent = 4|tere sargan boo ci tuci-'''fi''', hoton de gene-he|that woman house ABL {go out}-'''PST.CVB''', town DAT go-PST.FIN|That woman, having come out of the house, went to town.
}}
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|tere sargan boo ci tuci-'''me''', hoton de gene-he|that woman house ABL {go out}-'''IMPERF.CVB''', town DAT go-PST.FIN|That woman, coming out of the house, went to town.
}}
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|tere sargan boo ci tuci-'''cibe''', hoton de gene-he|that woman house ABL {go out}-'''CONC.CVB''', town DAT go-PST.FIN|That woman, though she came out of the house, went to town.
}}

===Morphology===
While Manchu is a synthetic and agglutinative language typologically similar to the neighbouring Mongolic and Turkic languages, its morphology is nevertheless less complex than theirs and its synthetic character is not so pronounced as theirs.<ref>Gorelova 2002, 125.</ref>

==== Gender ====
Manchu has no grammatical gender, although the distinction between nouns referring to humans and nouns referring to non-humans does play a certain role in its grammar (as explained below). However, as already mentioned, biological gender is expressed by different vowels in a number of word pairs, where a phonologically back vowel is associated with males and a phonologically front one with females: ''ama'' "father" – ''eme'' "mother", ''haha'' "man" – ''hehe'' "woman", ''naca'' "brother-in-law" – ''nece'' "sister-in-law", ''hūwašan'' (Chinese ''héshang'' {{lang|zh-Hani|和尚}}) "monk" – ''huwešen'' "nun", ''amila'' "male animal" – ''emile'' "female animal", ''arsalan'' "lion" – ''erselen'' "lioness", ''garudai'' "male phoenix" – ''gerudei'' "female phoenix"; similarly for words related to genders such as ''habtaha'' "man's belt" – ''hebtehe'' "woman's belt", ''ganggan''  "strong" – ''genggen'' "weak".

====Number====

Only nouns referring to humans decline for number.<ref>Gorelova 2002: 134–140</ref> The plural number is formed by the addition of several suffixes, depending on the specific noun. 
* The suffix ''-sa/se'' has broad usage: it is used, inter alia, with many words expressing occupations (''faksi'' "workman" – ''faksi'''sa''''' "workmen") and nationalities (''manju'' "Manchu" – ''manju'''sa''''' "Manchus"). 
* The suffix ''-ta/te'' is mostly limited to words denoting persons of a certain age or generation and relatives (''ama'' "father" – ''ama'''ta''''' "fathers"), although there are a few others such as ''ejen'' "lord" – ''eje'''te''''' "lords". However, the suffix ''-sa/se'' can also be used with nouns with the same types of meaning: ''gege'' "elder sister" – ''gege'''se''''' "elder sisters". 
* The less common suffix ''-si'' occurs in a number of nouns mostly with that type of meaning, too, e.g. in ''haha'' "man" — ''haha'''si'''''  "men".
* Finally, a few words use the suffix ''-ri'': ''mama'' "grandmother" – ''mama'''ri''''' "grandmothers".

Note that the final consonant ''-n'' is normally lost before the plural suffixes: ''ahū'''n''''' "elder brother" – ''ahū'''ta''''' "elder brothers";<ref>Gorelova (2002: 112)</ref> the final ''-i'' is likewise lost in ''jui'' "son" – ''ju'''se''''' "sons".

In addition, plurality can be expressed by the addition of some words meaning "all" or "many", such as ''geren'' ('''''geren''' niyalma'' "all/many men/persons"), by the addition of words meaning "kind" or "class" (''gurgu '''jergi''''' "various wild animals", ''baita '''hacin''''' "various affairs"), or by reduplication (''jalan'' "generation, world" – ''jalan '''jalan''''' "generations, worlds").<ref name=gorelova/>

====Cases====
Manchu has five [[grammatical case|cases]], which are marked by particles:<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Manchu grammar|last=Gorelova|first=Liliya|publisher=Brill|year=2002|location=Leiden|pages=163–193}}</ref> [[Nominative case|nominative]], [[Accusative case|accusative]], [[Genitive case|genitive]], [[Dative case|dative]]-[[locative case|locative]], and [[Ablative case|ablative]]. The particles can be written with the noun to which they apply or separately. They do not obey the rule of vowel harmony but are also not truly postpositions.

=====Nominative=====
One of the principal syntactic cases, it is used for the subject of a sentence and has no overt marking.<ref name=":2" />

=====Accusative=====
(''be''): one of the principal syntactic cases, it indicates participants/direct object of a sentence. It is written separate from the word that it follows.<ref name=":2" />

{{interlinear
| indent = 4|i boo '''be''' weile-mbi|he house ACC build-IMPERF|"He builds a house"
}}

Certain Manchu verbs govern the accusative in spite of the fact that verbs with similar semantics in other languages do not take a direct object:
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|amba-sa saisa doro '''be''' kice-mbi, jemengge '''be''' kice-rakū|high.official(amban)-PL gentleman way ACC care.about-IMPERF, food ACC care.about-{{gcl|PART(NEG)|negative imperfect participle}}|"Wise men care about the way, not about the food"
}}

Direct objects sometimes also take the nominative. It is commonly felt that the marked accusative has a definite sense, like using a definite article in English.<ref name=":2" /> However, in the negative form, transitive verbs always take the accusative:
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|cira '''be''' tuwa-hakū|face ACC see-{{gcl|PART(NEG)|negative perfect participle}}|"(Someone) did not see the face"
}}

The direct object expressing an object that is caused to perform an action also stands in the accusative:

{{interlinear
| indent = 4|tere '''be''' baita icihiya-bu-me gene|that/he ACC business do-CAUS-CVB go(IMP)|"Go and order him to do business"
}}

The accusative may also indicate the space in which motion is happening or the means by which it is happening, as in ''jugūn '''be''' yabu-me'' ("going along a road") and ''morin '''be''' yabu-me'' ("riding a horse").<ref name=":2" />

=====Genitive=====
(''i'' or ''ni''): one of the principal syntactic cases, it is used to indicate possession or the means by which something is accomplished. The allomorph ''ni'' is used after words ending in a consonant other than /n/, whereas ''i'' is used in all other cases: ''boo i'' "of the house", but ''gurung ni'' "of the palace".<ref name=":2" />

Its primary function is to indicate the possessor of an entity:
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|boo '''i''' ejen|house GEN master|"the master of the house"
}}

It can also indicate a person's relationships:
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|han '''i''' jui|khan GEN child|"the khan's child"
}}

Sometimes a broader attributive relation (not necessarily a possessive one) is expressed, e.g. ''doro '''i''' yoro'' "a ceremonial arrow".

Verbs and participles can also be modified by a phrase in the genitive, resulting in adverbial meaning:

{{interlinear
| indent = 4|niyalma sain mujilen '''i''' mimbe tuwa-mbi|people good intention GEN I-ACC look.at-IMPERF|"people look at me with good intention"
}}

Adverbs are regularly formed from nouns by a repetition of the noun followed by a genitive marker: ''giyan'' "order", "proper" > ''giyan giyan '''i''''' "in proper order".<ref name=":2" />

=====Dative-locative=====
(''de''): indicates location, time, place, or indirect object.<ref name=":2" />

Its primary function is to indicate the semantic role of the recipient:

{{interlinear
| indent = 4|ere niyalma '''de''' bu-mbi|this man DAT give-IMPERF|"(Someone) gives to this man"
}}

It can also indicate a person who is in possession of something in the construction meaning "A has B", which is expressed literally as "To A (there) is B":

{{interlinear
| indent = 4|ahun '''de''' bithe bi|elder.brother DAT book COP|"The elder brother has a book"
}}

Another function is to indicate the instrument of action, making it play the role of an [[instrumental case]] as well:

{{interlinear
| indent = 4|angga '''de''' hūla, mujilen '''de''' eje|mouth DAT read(IMP) mind DAT memorize(IMP)|"Use your lips to read and your brain to remember"
}}

However, the genitive can often express the same instrumental meaning. It has been claimed that the genitive is used for the instrument of one's own actions as opposed to those of others (e.g. ''mini yasa '''i''' tuwa-ci'' "Seeing with my eyes" vs ''si yasa '''de''' tuwa-ki'' "You see with your eyes") and for non-past actions as opposed to past ones (''beye-i gala-'''i''' gaisu'' "take with your own hand" vs ''beye i gala '''de''' jafa-habi'' "(Someone) caught with his own hand").

A related function is to express the agent of a verb in the passive voice:

{{interlinear
| indent = 4|julergi gurun joo '''de''' wa-bu-fi|senior ruling.house Zhao DAT kill-PASS-CVB|"(They) were killed by the Senior Zhao ruling house"
}}

The dative can also indicate the source of a statement or quotation, meaning roughly "according to", as in ''mini gūnin '''de''''' "in my opinion" and ''ejen i hese '''de''''' "according to the emperor's edict".

Finally, as already mentioned, it can express location in space or time, thus functioning as a [[locative case]]:<ref name=":2" />

{{interlinear
| indent = 4|alin bujan '''de''' tomo-mbi|mountain forest DAT live-IMPERF|“(They) live in mountains and forests.”
}}

=====Ablative=====
(''ci''): indicates the origin of an action or the basis for a comparison.<ref name=":2" />

That can be the starting point in space or time:
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|boo-'''ci''' tuci-ke|house-ABL go.away-PAST|"(Someone) went away from the house"
}}

It can also be used to compare objects:
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|''ere'' erin '''ci''' oyonggo ningge akū|this time ABL important NMLZ COP.NEG|"There is no time more important than the present"
}}

In Classical Manchu, there was also a case marker ''deri'', which has been said to have more or less the same ablative uses as ''ci''; in Xibe, however, it differs from ''ci'' by being specialized for the expression of comparison:
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|encu hehe-ši {(ma. hehe-si)} '''deri''' fulu tua-mbi {(ma. tuwa-mbi)}|other woman-PL {} from better consider-IMPERF {}|"(He) began to consider her better than other women"<ref name=":2" />
}}

==== Pronouns ====
Manchu personal pronouns have a [[clusivity]] distinction and mostly use the same case markers as nouns, but with some stem changes.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Manchu Pronoun Cases<ref>{{Cite web |title=Manchu Studies Group lesson 6 – noun cases |url=https://www.manchustudiesgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Lesson-6-Noun-Cases.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314155607/https://www.manchustudiesgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Lesson-6-Noun-Cases.pdf |archive-date=Mar 14, 2023}}</ref>
! rowspan="3" |
! colspan="3" | 1st person
! colspan="2" | 2nd person
! colspan="2" | 3rd person
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{small|singular}} !! colspan="2" | {{small|plural}}
! rowspan="2" | {{small|singular}} !! rowspan="2" | {{small|plural}}
! rowspan="2" | {{small|singular}} !! rowspan="2" | {{small|plural}}
|-
! {{small|exclusive}}
! {{small|inclusive}}
|-
!Nominative
| bi
| be
| muse
| si
| suwe
| i
| ce
|-
!Accusative
| mimbe
| membe
| musebe
| simbe
| suwembe
| imbe
| cembe
|-
!Genitive
| mini
| meni
| musei
| sini
| suweni
| ini
| ceni
|-
!Dative
| minde
| mende
| musede
| sinde
| suwende
| inde
| cende
|-
!Ablative
| minci
| menci
| museci
| sinci
| suwenci
| inci
| cenci
|}
The 3rd person pronouns are used with human referents, but do not refer to non-humans. With non-humans, the demonstrative pronouns ''ere'' "this" and ''tere'' "that" are used instead.<ref>Gorelova 2002, 214f.; Haenisch 1986, 42f.; vgl. Manfred Reichardt, Shuxin Reichardt: ''Grammatik des modernen Chinesisch''. Leipzig: Verlag Enzyklopädie, 1990, {{ISBN|3-324-00332-6}}, S. 26; Gregor Kneussel: ''Grammatik des modernen Chinesisch / Xiàndài Hànyǔ yǔfǎ'' {{lang|zh-Hans|«现代汉语语法»}}. Beijing: Verlag für fremdsprachige Literatur / Wàiwén chūbǎnshè {{lang|zh-Hans|外文出版社}}, 2005, {{ISBN|7-119-04262-9}}, S. 45.</ref> Possession can be expressed with the genitive form of the personal pronouns: ''mini boo'' "my house", ''sini boo''  „your (sing.) house", ''musei boo'' "our house" etc. Like English, Manchu has special forms for substantively used possessive pronouns; these are formed with the suffix ''-ngge'': ''miningge'' "mine", ''gūwaingge'' "somebody else's".
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|ere uthai we-i jaka – mini'''ngge'''|this then who-GEN thing – mine|"Whose is this thing? – It's mine."
}}
As in other East Asian languages, educated Manchus in the imperial period tended to avoid personal pronouns, especially for the first and second person, and often used paraphrases instead. For example, Manchu officials, when talking to the Emperor, referred to themselves with the word ''aha'' "slave" (instead of the pronoun ''bi'' "I"), and Han Chinese ones used ''amban'' "subject".<ref>Haenisch 1986, 43</ref> The Emperor, when talking to Manchu princes (''amban'' and ''beile''), called himself ''sitahūn niyalma'' "wretched person" or ''emteli beye'' "orphan". In general, [[calque]]s from Chinese were used. Another alternative were combinations of the personal pronouns in genitive and the word ''beye'' "self": ''mini beye'' "I" (lit. "my self"), ''sini beye'' "you (polite)" (lit. "your self").<ref>Gorelova, 227f.</ref>

The [[demonstrative pronouns]] are formed with the stems ''e-'' and ''u-'' for proximal (close) entities and ''te-'' and ''tu-'' for distal (far) entitites: ''ere'' "this", ''enteke'' "such", ''ubaingge'' "local (from here)"; ''tere'' "that", ''tenteke'' "such", ''tubaingge'' "local (from there)".

The demonstrative pronouns ''ere'' "this" and ''tere'' "that" can also be used alone like personal pronouns (and are obligatorily so for non-human referents). They form the plural with ''-se'' and are declined in a way that is not always entirely regular:
{| class="wikitable"
!—
!this one
!that one
!these (ones)
!those (ones)
|-
!Nominative
|''ere'' 
|''tere''
|''ese''
|''tese''
|-
!Genitive
|''ere(n)i''
|''terei'' 
|''esei'' 
|''tesei'' 
|-
!Dative
|''e(re)de'' 
|''te(re)de'' 
|''esede'' 
|''tesede'' 
|-
!Accusative
|''erebe'' 
|''terebe'' 
|''esebe'' 
|''tesebe'' 
|-
!Ablative
|''ereci'' 
|''tereci'' 
|''eseci'' 
|''teseci'' 
|}
When pronouns function as attributes, the case marker is not placed after the pronoun, but only after the noun:<ref>Gorelova 2002, 218.</ref>
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|enenggi ere ba de ainu ebu-mbi|today this place DAT why stop-IMPERF|"Why have you stopped here today?"
}}
The most important [[Interrogative word|interrogative pronouns]] are ''we'' "who", ''ai'' "what", ''ya'' "what, which" (attributive), ''aika'', ''aimaka'', ''yaka'', ''yamaka'' "what sort of", ''aba'', ''aiba'', ''yaba'' "where", ''eke'' "who is this?", ''udu'' "how much/many?", ''ainu'' "how, why?". The following table exemplifies the case declension of interrogative pronouns:
{| class="wikitable"
!Nominative
!''we'' "who?"
!''ai'' "what?"
!''ya'' "what, which?"
|-
!Genitive
|''wei'' "whose?"
|''aini'' "with/by what?"
| –
|-
!Dative
|''wede'' "to whom?"
|''aide'' "where, why, how?"
|''ya de'' "where?"
|-
!Accusative
|''webe'' "whom?"
|''aibe'' "what?"
|''ya be'' "what, which?"
|-
!Ablative
|''weci'' "from whom?"
|''aici'' "what sort of ...?"
|''yaci'' "from where?"
|}
The pronouns ''ai'', ''ya'' and ''we'' are also used as [[relative pronoun]]s.

The most important [[indefinite pronoun]]s are ''we we'' "whoever"; ''ai ai'', ''ya ya'' "whatever", ''aika'', ''aimaka'', ''yaka'', ''yamaka'' "whatever, whichever (attributive)"; ''ememu'', ''ememungge'' "many", ''gūwa'' "someone (else)"; ''eiten'', ''yaya'', ''beri beri'', ''meni meni'', ''meimeni'', ''geren'' "every", "all".

==== Adjectives ====
[[Adjective]]s in Manchu are not very distinct from nouns as regards their grammatical properties, so many scholars have argued that they are not a separate part of speech; it has been claimed that they are simply a special type of nouns with semantics of quality.<ref>Gorelova (2002: 127, 145)</ref>

An adjective as an attribute stands without case suffixes in front of the noun.
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|sain niyalma|good person|"a good person"
}}
As a predicate it stands at the end of the clause.
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|niyalma sain|person good|"The person is good."
}}
The adjective itself does not have [[Comparison (grammar)|comparison]] as an inflectional category; instead, comparisons are formed just by inflecting the compared noun in the ablative.
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|morin indahūn ci amba|horse dog ABL big|"The horse is bigger than the dog."
}}

==== Final particles ====
Final particles can be used as [[Copula (linguistics)|copulas]]. The most important final particles are ''kai'' (confirming), ''be'' (defining), ''akū'' (negating, "there is not"), ''waka'' (negating, "is not"), ''dere'' (suppositional, "probably"), ''inu'' (also as an adverb: affirmative); ''dabala'' (restricting, "only"), ''semeo'' ([[Mirativity|admirative]] or [[Dubitative mood|dubitative]]), ''unde'' (also a [[Conjunction (grammar)|conjunction]]; "not yet"); ''jiya/jiye'' (exalamatory), ''bai'' (with imperative; "just"), ''na/ne/no'', ''ya'' (interrogative, also exclamatory).<ref>Haenisch 1986, 50f.</ref><ref name=":3">Gorelova (2002: 368–380).</ref> Of the interrogative particles, ''na'' is placed after nouns as well as verbs, whereas ''o'' is placed after verbs only (both in [[Yes–no question|yes/no-questions]]), and ''ni'' is placed in the end of the sentence (and occurs also in [[Question|WH-questions]]): e.g. ''boo de gemu sain-'''na''''' "Is everything well at home?", ''ere ai bi-he '''ni''''' "What is this?", ''gasha be'' ''eigen gai-ci o-mbi-'''o'''?'' "May I take a bird as a husband?", lit. "If taking a bird as a husband, does it become?"<ref name=":3" />

==== Verbs ====
The Manchu verb has no number and person agreement.<ref>Vgl. auch [[Gerhard Doerfer]]: ''Der Numerus im Manschu'' (= ''Abhandlungen der geistes- und sozialwissenschaftlichen Klasse der Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur in Mainz.'' Jahrgang 1962, Nr. 4).</ref> The pure verb stem functions as the [[Imperative mood|imperative]] of the second person, singular and plural; otherwise the verb takes participial, converbal and verbal suffixes, which also express [[Grammatical mood|mood]] and [[Grammatical aspect|aspect]]. It has been argued that the aspect contrast to some extent has acquired the function of a [[Grammatical tense|tense]] contrast as well, because the perfect and imperfect participles have partly developed a secondary meaning of [[Past tense|past]] and [[Present tense|present]]-[[Future tense|future]] tense, respectively.<ref>Gorelova 2002, 241.</ref>

There are 13 basic verb forms, some of which can be further modified with the verb ''bi'' (is), or the particles ''akū, i, o,'' and ''ni'' (negative, instrumental, and interrogatives). 
{| class="wikitable"
|+Conjugation of the verb ''afa-'' (to attack)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Norman |first=Jerry |title=A grammatical sketch of Manchu |publisher=University of California Library |year=1965 |location=Berkeley}}</ref>
!Form
!Usual Suffix
!Example
|-
|imperative
|''-∅''
|afa
|-
|imperfect participle
|''-ra/re/ro''
|afara
|-
|perfect participle
|''-ha/he/ho''
|afaha
|-
|imperfect converb
|''-me''
|afame 
|-
|perfect converb
|''-fi''
|afafi
|-
|conditional
|''-ci''
|afaci 
|-
|concessive
|''-cibe''
|afacibe 
|-
|terminal converb
|''-tala/tele/tolo''
|afatala 
|-
|prefatory converb
|''-nggala/nggele/nggolo''
|afanggala
|-
|desiderative 1
|''-ki''
|afaki 
|-
|desiderative 2
|''-kini''
|afakini 
|-
|optative
|''-cina''
|afacina 
|-
|temeritive
|''-rahū''
|afarahū
|}

===== Participles =====
Participles play an important role in Manchu grammar, because most [[Finite verb|finite]] forms are derived from them.<ref>Gorelova (2002: 241)</ref> They can have four different functions in the sentence:

# They can be used [[Grammatical modifier|attributively]]. 
# They can receive [[Nominalization|nominalizing]] suffixes – among them case markers – and in that form, they can function like nouns as [[Subject (grammar)|subject]], [[Object (grammar)|object]], etc. 
# They can function as the [[Head (linguistics)|head]] of the [[Predicate (grammar)|predicate]] in the equivalent of a [[dependent clause]].
# They can function as the head of the [[Predicate (grammar)|predicate]] of a sentence, even without a copula.<ref>Gorelova 2002, 233; Haenisch 1986, 53.</ref>

====== Imperfect participle ======
The imperfect participle is formed by adding the variable suffix ''-ra, -re, -ro'' to the stem of the verb. ''Ra'' occurs when the final syllable of the stem contains an ''a''. ''Re'' occurs when the final syllable of the stem contains ''e'', ''i'', ''u'' or ''ū''. ''Ro'' occurs with stems containing all ''o''<nowiki/>'s. An irregular suffix ''-dara, -dere, -doro'' is added to a limited group of irregular verbs (''jon-, wen-, ban-'') with a final ''-n''. (The perfect participle of these verbs is also irregular). Three of the most common verbs in Manchu also have irregular forms for the imperfect participle:

* ''bi-, bisire'' — 'be'
* ''o-, ojoro'' — 'become'
* ''je-, jetere'' — 'eat'

Imperfect participles can be used as objects, attributes, and [[Predicate (grammar)|predicates]]. Using ''ume'' alongside the imperfect participle makes a negative imperative.

As an attribute:{{interlinear
| indent = 4|habša-ra niyalma|complain-IPTC man|"A man who complains"
}}When this form is used predicatively it is usually translated as a future tense in English; it often carries an indefinite or conditional overtone when used in this fashion:{{interlinear
| indent = 4|bi sinde ala-ra|1sg 2sg-ACC tell-IPTC|"I'll tell you"
}}As an object:{{interlinear
| indent = 4|gisure-re be han donji-fi|speak-IPTC ACC king hear-PCVB|"The king having heard what was being said"
}}

====== Perfect participle ======
The perfect participle in ''-ha/-he/-ho'' often expresses an action in the past tense:<ref>Gorelova 2002, 256f, 289f.; Haenisch 1986, 54; Möllendorff 1892, 9.</ref> e.g. ''araha'', while originally meaning "who has written", can also be used in the sense "(I, you, etc.) wrote". Certain verbs take, instead of ''-ha/-he/-ho,'' the ending ''-ka/-ke/-ko'', fewer still take ''-nka/-nke/-nko'', and a few have irregular forms: ''bahambi'' "find" – ''baha'', ''hafumbi'' "penetrate" – ''hafuka''.<ref>Gorelova 2002, 256; Haenisch 1986, 60.</ref>

====== Relative/indefinite participle ======
When the indefinite pronoun ''ele'' "all" is added to a perfective or imperfective participle, the resulting form has a relative/indefinite meaning: ''bisire ele jaka'' "whatever things are present", ''mini alaha ele ba'' "whatever I said", "everything I said". The pronoun can also merge into the preceding word as a suffix ''-le'':<ref>Gorelova 2002, 224f.; Haenisch 1986, 54; Möllendorff 1892, 9.</ref> ''arahale'', ''ararale'' „whoever writes", "whatever is written", ''duleke ele ba'' "whatever places he passed by", "all places he passed by". This suffix did not exhibit vowel-harmony alternations in older Manchu, but it later acquired the back variant ''-la.''

====== Durative participle ======
The durative participle in ''-mbihe'' appears to originate from the imperfect converb in ''-me'' and the perfect participle ''bihe'' of the verb ''bi-'' "to be": thus, almost literally, "(which) was doing (something)".<ref>Gorelova (2002: 292)</ref> It expresses an incomplete or continuing action in the past:<ref>Gorelova 2002, 292; Haenisch 1986, 54; Möllendorff 1892, 9.</ref> ''arambihe'' "(I was) writing".
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|malaha boo-de weile-mbihe|Hat house-DAT make-{{gcl|PTC.DUR|durative participle}}|"They were making hats at home."
}}

===== Nominalization =====
Both participles and verbs in the perfect or imperfect form can be [[Nominalization|nominalized]] with the suffix ''-ngge.'' These nominalized forms can express either the abstract notion of an action, the object of an action or the subject of an action:<ref>Gorelova 2002, 263; Haenisch 1986, 54; Möllendorff 1892, 9.</ref> ''arahangge'', ''ararangge'' "writing", "something written", "someone writing".

Negated forms can be nominalized like this as well: ''akdarakūngge'' "distrust", "one who does not trust".

Direct speech and quotes are often introduced with nominalized forms like ''alarangge'' "tell, narrate", ''hendurengge'' "speak", ''serengge'' "say", ''fonjirengge'' "ask" or ''wesimburengge'' "relate, report", for example:
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|yuan fai i sargan jui hendu-re-nge tere ahūn deo nadan niyalma gemu hūsun amba niyalma|Yuan Fai GEN female child speak-IMPERF.PTCP-NOMI that elder.brother younger.brother seven man all power big man|"This is what Yuan Fai’s daughter says: all those seven brothers are
powerful and big men;"
}}
Participles can also be nominalized with ''ba'' "place, circumstance, thing": e.g. ''sere ba'' "what is said", "speech", ''afabu ha ba bi'' "there is an order" (lit."A thing which has been ordered exists").<ref>Gorelova 2002, 266.</ref>

===== Converbs =====
[[Converb]]s (sometimes referred to as [[gerund]]s) have an adverbial function, and constructions with them often correspond to subordinate clauses in English.

====== Imperfect converb ======
The imperfect converb in ''-me'' expresses an action that is simultaneous with that of the finite verb, but it may also denote secondary meanings such as manner, condition, cause and purpose,<ref>Gorelova (2002: 267–268)</ref> and it can often be translated with an [[infinitive]] in English. This is the most frequent type of converb:<ref>Gorelova 2002, 267ff.; Haenisch 1986, 55.</ref> ''arame'' "(while) writing", ''hendume'' "(while) saying", ''fonjime'' "(while) asking", ''necihiyeme toktobumbi'' "conquer", lit. "stabilise, (while) levelling" (a calque of Chinese ''píng-dìng'' {{lang|zh-Hans|平定}}).
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|amba edun da-me deribu-he|high wind blow-IMPERF.CVB begin-PTCP|"A strong wind began to blow."
}}
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|morin be dali-me boo-de ji-he|horse accusative hide-IMPERF.CVB House-DAT come-PERF.PTCP|"He went home to hide the horses."
}}
<ref name="Möllendorff 1892, 9">Möllendorff 1892, 9.</ref>

====== Durative converb ======
The imperfect converb ending ''-me'' can be added not only to the stem, but also to the finite imperfect form in ''-mbi'' (which, in turn, is originally also a combination of an imperfect converb and the copula verb ''bi'' "is", see below)''.'' The resulting form ending in ''-mbime'' has been described as a separate durative converb'','' which expresses a non-completed or continuing action.<ref>Gorelova 2002, 273; Haenisch 1986, 55; Möllendorff 1892, 9.</ref> An example is ''arambime'' (< ''ara-me bi-me'')<ref>Gorelova 2002, 272.</ref> "while writing". This form is also used in the following quote by [[Confucius]]:
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|fuzi hendu-me. taci-mbime gūni-r-akū oci, mekele o-mbi. gūni-mbime taci-r-akū oci, jecuhuri o-mbi|master say-IMPERF.CVB. study-DUR.CVB think-IMPERF.PTCP-NEG TOP useless be-IMPERF.IND. think-DUR.CVB study-IMPERF.PTCP-NEG TOP, dangerous be-IMPERF.IND.|The Master said: Studying without thinking is useless. Thinking without studying is dangerous.
}}

====== Perfect converb ======
The perfect converb in ''-fi'' expresses an action that took place before the action of the finite verb; a secondary meaning is one of cause. It is the second most frequent converb:<ref>Gorelova 2002, 276ff.; Haenisch 1986, 55; Möllendorff 1892, 9.</ref> ''arafi'' "(after) having written", "after I wrote", or, more idiomatically, "I wrote and ...".

{{interlinear
| indent = 4|si boo-de isina-fi majige teye-fi buda je-fi dere obo-fi jai ji-ki|you House-DAT arrive-PERF.CVB a.little rest-PERF.CVB food eat-PERF.CVB, face wash-PERF.CVB then come-OPT|"After you have come home, rested a little, eaten and washed your face, come (to me)."
}}

A frozen form is ''ofi'' "because, since" (from ''ombi'' "be", "become"):
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|si tobsere niyalma o-fi|you trustworthy person be-PERF.CVB|"Since you are a trustworthy person, ..."
}}
Certain verbs have irregular forms: ''juwambi'' "open" – ''juwampi'', ''colgorombi'' "exceed" – ''colgoropi'', ''hafumbi'' "penetrate" – ''hafupi''.<ref>Gorelova 2002, 276; Haenisch 1986, 60</ref>

A similar meaning is expressed by adding the ending not to the stem, but to the finite imperfect form in ''-mbi'', resulting in ''-mbifi'': ''arambifi'' "having written".<ref name="Möllendorff 1892, 9"/>

====== Conditional converb ======
The conditional converb in ''-ci'' can express a condition, but also the time when something happened:<ref>Gorelova 2002, 278f.; Haenisch 1986, 55f.; Möllendorff 1892, 9.</ref> ''ara'''ci''''' "if, when you write"; ''si niyalma de nikene'''ci'''''  "if you rely on people"; ''yamun de tucifi tuwa'''ci''''' "as/when he went out to the hall and checked,...".

Frozen forms are ''oci'' and ''seci'' "if" (from ''ombi'' "be" and ''sembi'' "say").<ref>Gorelova 2002, 284.</ref> They can also serve as topic markers.<ref>Gorelova (2002: 410)</ref>

====== Concessive/adversative converb ======
The concessive or adversative converb in ''-cibe'' forms a construction that can be translated as "even if" or "although":<ref>Gorelova 2002, 280f.; Haenisch 1986, 56; Möllendorff 1892, 9.</ref> ''aracibe''  "even if I write". It appears to be derived from the conditional.

====== Terminative converb ======
The terminative converb in ''-tala/-tele/-tolo'' can be translated with clauses introduced by "until"; it expresses a subordinate action that is taking place simultaneously with that of the finite verb, and the latter continues until the first one is finished.<ref>Gorelova 2002, 282; Haenisch 1986, 56.</ref> ''hūsun moho-tolo'' "until his power is exhausted".

In Classical Manchu this form is no longer very productive. The most frequent forms are ''isitala'' "until" (from ''isimbi'' "reach") and ''otolo''  "until" (from ''ombi'' "be", "become"):
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|julge-ci te de isitala|ancient.times-ABL now DAT until|"from ancient times until the present"
}}

====== Descriptive converb ======
The converb with the suffixes ''-hai/-hei/-hoi'' or ''-kai/-kei/-koi'', also ''-tai/-tei/-toi'', expresses durative, periodic, frequent or intensive actions or processes:<ref>Gorelova 2002, 281; Haenisch 1986, 56.</ref> ''alahai'' "telling many times", ''jonkoi'' "constantly reminding". It appears to be derived from the perfect participle in ''-ha/he/ho'' (also ''-ka/ke/ko'' in some verbs) and the genitive ending ''-i'' in its adverbial function. Such forms have sometimes turned into adverbs: ''cohotoi'' "especially" from ''cohombi'' "to do especially, regard as the most important aspect". Other examples of this use are the phrases ''beye be waliyatai'' "selflessly", lit. "constantly throwing oneself around", and ''bucetei afambi'' "to fight to the death", lit. "to fight, constantly dying".

====== Converb in -nggala/-nggele/-nggolo ======
The converb in ''-nggala/-nggele/-nggolo'' can be translated with the conjunction "before"; it expresses a subordinate action that has not yet taken place at the time of the main one and will only take place ''after'' it:<ref>Gorelova 2002, 283f.; Möllendorff 1892, 9.</ref> ''aranggala'' "before writing"; ''dosinggala asuki isibumbi'' "before entering, one makes a noise". A frozen form is ''onggolo'' "before".

===== Finite forms =====
The Manchu finite verbal forms are set apart from others by the fact that they can function ''only'' as heads of the predicate in an independent clause. (As already mentioned, some participles can have the same function, but they are not limited to it.) All Manchu [[Realis mood|indicative]] verbal forms seem to be derived from non-finite ones such as participles and converbs.<ref>(Gorelova 2002: 285–286)</ref>

====== Imperfect indicative ======
The imperfect is formed with the suffix ''-mbi'', which is derived from the imperfect converb ending ''-me'' and the copula verb ''-bi'' "to be". This is the dictionary form of the verb. The meaning of the form is of present or future tense.<ref>Gorelova 2002, 286ff.; Haenisch 1986, 56f.; Möllendorff 1892, 9.</ref> It can express usual, frequent, generic actions, concrete actions in the present, or actions in the future:
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|indahūn dobori tuwahiya-mbi coko erde hūla-mbi|dog night keep.guard-IMPERF chicken early.in.the.morning sing-IMPERF|"A dog keeps guard at night, a rooster crows early in the morning."
}}{{interlinear
| indent = 4|bi hergen be ara-mbi|I character ACC write-IMPERF|"I am writing characters."
}}

{{interlinear
| indent = 4|si aibi-de gene-mbi|you where-DAT go-IMPERF|"Where are you going?"
}}{{interlinear
| indent = 4|i inenggi ji-mbi-o jide-rakū-n|he day come-IMPERF-INTERR come-PTCP.NEG-INTERR|"Will he come today or not?"
}}

====== Perfect indicative ======
The perfect indicative form in ''-habi/-hebi/-hobi'' is derived from the perfect participle in ''-ha/-he/-ho'' and the copula verb ''-bi'' "to be". It expresses an action in the past:<ref>Gorelova 2002, 290; Haenisch 1986, 57; Möllendorff 1892, 9.</ref> ''arahabi'' "I wrote, I have written."
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|nimanggi i elden de bithe hūla-habi|snow GEN light DAT book read-PERF|"One read books by the light (reflected) in snow."
}}
The second part of the suffix, originating from the copula verb ''bi-'', can also be replaced by ''kai'': ''alahabi'', ''alaha kai'' "narrated".<ref>Gorelova 2002, 291.</ref>

'''Frequentative indicative'''

The form in ''-mbihebi'' is derived from the durative participle and the verb ''bi-'' "to be". It expresses usual and frequent actions in the distant past:

{{interlinear|hūwangheo beye nimala fata-mbihebi|Empress self mulberry.tree pick-{{gcl|FREQ}}|"The Empresses themselves used to pick berries from the mulberry tree"
| indent = 4
}}

===== Imperative =====
The pure stem forms the imperative: ''ala'' "Report!", ''te'' "Sit down!", ''wa'' "Kill!"<ref>Gorelova 2002, 296f.; Haenisch 1986, 57; Möllendorff 1892, 9.</ref>

There is also a stronger form of command in ''-kini'', which is directed at a person of lower rank and which is used also as an optative or impersonal imperative of the third person: ''arakini'' "Let him write!", ''okini'' "Let it be so!", ''alakini'' "Let it be reported!", "Let him report!", ''genekini'' "Let him go!". It may be used to command another person to cause a third person to do something.

Another, milder form of command is formed with the ending ''-cina'' or ''-kina'', which is used in a concessive sense as well:<ref>Gorelova 2002, 301f.; Möllendorff 1892, 9.</ref> ''amasi bucina'' "Come on / please, give it back!"; ''alacina'', ''alakina'' "Speak (if you want to)" or "Please speak!"; ''aracina'' "Let him write (if he wants to)". It appears to be derived from the optative form (on which see below) and the interrogative particle ''-na''.

A prohibitative form (corresponding to Chinese ''mò'' {{lang|zh-Hani|莫}}) is constructed from the imperfect converb preceded by ''ume'' : ''ume genere'' "Don't go!", ''ume fonjire'' "Don't ask!"<ref name="Möllendorff 1892, 10">Möllendorff 1892, 10.</ref>

Certain verbs have irregular imperative forms: ''baimbi'' "seek", "request" – ''baisu''; ''bimbi'' "be present", "remain" – ''bisu''; ''jembi'' "eat" – ''jefu''; ''-njimbi'' "come in order to ..." – ''-nju''; ''ombi'' "be, become" – ''osu.''<ref>Haenisch 1986, 60; Möllendorff 1892, 10.</ref>

===== Optative =====
The [[Optative mood|optative]] in ''-ki'' expresses an action that the speaker wishes or intends to see performed – either by themselves or by others. Its meaning is sometimes akin to that of Chinese ''yào'' {{lang|zh-Hani|要}}. Thus ''bi geneki'' means "I will go", whereas ''i geneki'' means "Let him go". Other examples are ''araki'' "I will/want to write", ''alaki'' "I will/want to say", ''bi manju gisun be taciki'' "I will/want to learn Manchu", ''fa hūbalaki''  "I will paper over the windows", ''teki'' "please, sit down".<ref>Gorelova 2002, 293f., 295, 299f.; Haenisch 1986, 58; Möllendorff 1892, 9.</ref> When the optative refers to the second or third person, its meaning is close to that of an imperative. When it refers to an action that has not yet taken place, it also has the additional meaning of future.<ref>Gorelova 2002, 295.</ref>

==== Negation ====
According to Gorelova, neither the finite verb forms nor the converbs have special negative forms; only the participle does. If a verb or converb need to be negated, a participle must be used instead of them.<ref>Gorelova 2002, 262; Haenisch 1986, 58f.</ref> The participle is negated by a combination with the word ''akū'' "not be (here)": thus, literally, "I am-not doing-X". Still, Möllendorff (1892) does give an example of the negation of an indicative form with ''akū'' "not (be)": ''bi gisurembi akū'' "I don't speak".<ref name="Möllendorff 1892, 10"/> The particle may be translated with the Chinese particles ''wú'' {{lang|zh-Hant|無}}, ''bù'' {{lang|zh-Hant|不}}, ''wèi'' {{lang|zh-Hant|未}}, ''méiyǒu'' {{lang|zh-Hant|沒有}}.

===== Negation with ''akū'' =====
The word ''akū'' "is not" is the most universal negator in Manchu. It is a negative copula: ''mangga'' ''akū "''it is not difficult". It can negate existence: ''etuku akū'' "there is no clothing." It may also negate attributes, as in ''dutu akū'' "not deaf", and it may express the meaning "without": ''gūnin akū niyalma<u>,</u>'' lit. "a person without brains", i.e. "a stupid person".<ref>Gorelova (2002: 373)</ref>

The participle suffixes ''-ra/-re/-ro'' merge with ''akū'' into ''-rakū'', ''-ha/-ho'' into ''-hakū'' and ''-he'' into ''-hekū'': ''arahaku'' "not have written", ''genehekū'', ''genehakū'' "not have gone"; ''ararakū'' "not (be going to) write", ''generakū'' "not (be going to) go".<ref name="Möllendorff 1892, 10"/>

Accordingly, the negated forms of perfect indicative ''-habi/-hebi/-hobi'', which contain the perfect participle in ''-ha/he/ho,'' end in ''-hakūbi/-hekūbi''. There are certain irregular forms: ''sambi'' "know" – ''sarkū'' "don't know", ''dabahakū'' "has not exceeded", ''jihekū'' "has not come".

The negated participles are often followed by converb forms of the auxiliary verbs ''bimbi'' "be", ''ombi'' "become" or ''sembi'' "say":<ref>Gorelova 2002, 284</ref>
{{interlinear|te gaija-r-akū o-ci gūwa gai-ka de sini dolo ume ehe gūni-he|now take-PTCP.IMPERF-NEG become-CVB.COND other take-PTCP.PERF DAT you.GEN inside PTCL.PROH bad think-PTCP.PERF|"If you don't take it now and somebody else does, don't hold it against him!“
| indent = 4
}}
The negated form of the conditional converb here is the construction ''gaijirakū oci'' ("if ... doesn't take").

The suffixes ''-ci'', ''-fi'' and ''-ngge'' are placed after ''-akū'' : ''ararakū'''ci'''''  "if he doesn't write", ''ararakū'''fi'''''  "doesn't write and", "not having written", ''ararakū'''ngge'''''  "the one who does not write", ''bisirakū'''ngge'''''  "those who aren't here" (Chinese ''bù zài de'' {{lang|zh-Hant|不在的}}).<ref name="Möllendorff 1892, 10"/>

The word ''akū'' alone can take other suffixes, too: ''bi akū'''mbi'''''  "I am not". A double negation in ''-akūngge akū'' (Chinese ''wú bù'' {{lang|zh-Hant|無不}}) is also possible: ''serakūngge akū'' "nothing unsaid", "he says everything".<ref name="Möllendorff 1892, 10"/>

The word ''umai'', which seems to consist of the prohibitative particle ''ume'' and the pronoun ''ai'' "what", may be used before ''akū'' and seems to enhance its negative sense, as seen in the example ''umai niyalma'' ''akū'' "no persons (at all) are there".<ref name="Möllendorff 1892, 10"/>

===== Negation with ''waka'' =====
The particle ''waka'' is used predominantly as a negative copula. Examples are ''bi waka aniya kai'' "I am not (at fault), it is the (bad) year", ''inu ja baita waka'' "this is not a simple matter".

===== Negation with ''unde'' =====
The word ''unde'' "not yet" is placed after the imperfect participle in ''-ra/-re/-ro'' at the end of the clause: ''jidere unde'' "(he) has not come yet", ''bi sabure unde'' "I have not seen it yet".<ref>Gorelova 2002, 261; Möllendorff 1892, 10.</ref>

===== Apprehension =====
The imperfect participle can be combined with ''-hū'' to produce a form that expresses apprehension/fear (''participium metuendi''; cf. Mongolian ''-ujai''): ''jidera'''hū''''' "If only he doesn't come". 
{{interlinear|ama eme damu nime-rahū se-me jobo-mbi|father mother only ill-PTCP(NEG) say-CVB.IMPERF worry-IMPERF|"My only worry is that father and mother might get ill."
| indent = 4
}}
Gorelova believes that this form is originally identical to the negation of the imperfect participle in -''ra-(a)kū.''<ref>Gorelova (2002: 274)</ref>

==== Interrogative forms ====
Interrogative forms are derived from declarative ones by the edition of further suffixes.<ref>Gorelova 2002, 322f.; Haenisch 1986, 58f.</ref> The particle ''-o'' can be added to a verbal form in order to convert a statements into a [[Yes–no question|yes/no-question]]. It is added to the copula ''bi-'', the imperfect indicative in ''-mbi'' (which also ends in ''-bi'') and to the imperfect and perfect participles in ''-ra/re-/ro'' and ''-ha/he/ho'', forming respectively the sequences ''-bio'', ''-mbio'', ''-rao/-reo/-roo'', ''-hao/-heo/-hoo''. In these sequences, ''-o'' is pronounced /u/. Some examples are: ''Minde bu'''reo'''?'' "Will you give it to me?"; ''Si terebe tuwa'''hao'''? Tuwaha.''  "Have you seen him? – Yes." S''i cai omi'''hao'''?'' "Have you drunk tea?" The particle ''-o'' can also be added to the negative particle ''waka'': ''Manju bithe hūlambi waka'''o'''?'' "Are you not studying the Manchu language?" (lit. "Are you not reading Manchu books?").

The imperfect interrogative form in ''-rao/-reo/-roo'' can also be used as an imperative to older or socially superior persons: ''tereo?'' "Please sit down!", lit. "Will (you) sit down?"<ref>Gorelova (2002: 302–303)</ref>

The universal interrogative particle is ''-ni''. It can be added to verb forms to produce [[Yes–no question|yes/no-questions]] in the same way as ''-o;'' after negatives, however, it is reduced to ''-n'': ''si sabu-rakū-'''n'''?'' "Have you not seen?", ''suwe sambio sarkūn'' "Do you know this or do you not know it?", ''si sembi akūn?'' "Do you eat it or not?" In addition, the words ''sain'' "good", "well" and ''yargiyan'' "true, real, truth, reality" had the special interrogative forms ''saiyūn'' and ''yargiyūn'': ''si saiyūn?'' "How are you?", ''yargiyūn?'' "Is it true?"<ref name="Möllendorff 1892, 10"/>

Furthermore, it can be used in [[wh-questions]] and be added to nouns and adjectives as well (''ere ai turgun ni "''What is the reason for this?").<ref>Gorelova (2002: 322f.)</ref> It generally stands at the end of a sentence: ''ainu urunakū aisi be hendumbi'''ni''''' "Why do we necessarily have to talk about profits?"

The combination ''nio'' can be added to negations to form [[rhetorical question]]s: ''ere sain akū nio'' "is that not beautiful?"

==== Auxiliary verbs ====
Composite verb forms are constructed with the [[auxiliary verb]]s  ''bimbi'', ''bi'' "be, exist, remain", ''ombi'' "be/become (such), be possible",  ''sembi'' "say, tell, consider", ''acambi'' "be suitable", ''mutembi'' "be able to" and ''hamimbi'' "approach, be near".

===== bimbi "to be" =====

* '''Indefinite future''' – imperfect participle with optative: ''genere biki'' "I will go", "I will be there".
* '''Definite perfect''' – Perfect participle with ''bi'': ''wajiha bi'' "is finished" (note that this same construction is the origin of the indicative perfect).
* '''Past perfect''' – the perfect participle in ''-ha/-he/-ho'' forms together with the past form of the copula, ''bihe,'' a [[Pluperfect|past perfect]] tense:<ref>Gorelova 2002, 292; Haenisch 1986, 61.</ref> ''araha bihe''  "I had written", ''tere bade tehe bihe'' "he had sat down there", ''tuwaha bihe'' "he had seen it"
* '''Durative past perfect''' – perfect participle with ''bihebi.''
* '''Hypothesis''' – perfect participle with ''bici'' or with ''bihe bici'': ''arahabici'' "if I had written", ''ehe niyalma de hajilaha bici'' "If you had become involved with bad people".
* '''Preterite''' – The imperfect converb with ''bihe'' expresses a continuous action that has come to an end: ''alame bihe'' "he used to say".
* '''Imperative''' –The [[Synthetic morphology|synthetic]] forms of the imperative can be replaced with analytical forms consisting of a converb and ''bisu'' (the imperative of ''bimbi''): ''ala'' – ''alame bisu.''

===== ombi "to be, become" =====

* '''Imperative''' – The synthetical forms of the imperative can be replaced with analytical forms consisting of a converb and ''osu,'' the imperative of ''ombi'': ''ala'' – ''alame osu.''

===== sembi "to say" =====

* '''Imperative''' – The synthetical forms of the imperative can be replaced with analytical forms consisting of a converb and ''sereo'': ''alarao'' – ''alame sereo.''

==== Voice ====

===== Passive and causative =====
[[Voice (grammar)|Voice]] is a somewhat problematic and controversial category in Manchu. The form for passive voice in Manchu is generally formed with the suffix ''-bu'' :
{{interlinear|baita de uša-bu-ha|matter DAT charge-PASS-PTCP.PERF|"(someone) was charged with the matter."
| indent = 4
}}
In certain verbs, the passive is formed with the suffix ''-mbu'' instead, although it has also been claimed to have a different shade of meaning.

Many verbs in the passive voice have a [[Reflexive verb|reflexive]] meaning:
{{interlinear|gurun dasa-bu-mbi|state correct-PASS-PTCP.PERF|"The state is improving."
| indent = 4
}}
Surprisingly, the suffix ''-bu'' (or, in many cases, ''-mbu'') also expresses the [[causative]]: this, ''ara'''mbu'''mbi'' means "be written", but also "make (someone) write".

{{interlinear|tere-be gene-bu!|this-ACC go-CAUS(IMP)|"Order him to go!"
| indent = 4
}}
The combination of both suffixes ''-mbu'' and ''-bu'' is also possible in order to form a passive causative construction: ''arambubumbi''  "have (something) written", lit. "make (something) be written".<ref name="Möllendorff 1892, 9"/>

===== Reciprocal =====
The reciprocal voice is formed with ''-ndu'': ''aisilambi'' "help" – ''aisilandumbi'' "help each other".

===== Associative =====
The associative voice is formed with ''-ca/-ce/-co'' or with ''-nu'': ''ilimbi'' "stand" – ''ilicambi'' "to stand together in a group", ''afambi'' "fight" – ''afanumbi'' "fight together with others".

==== Aspect: durative, frequentative and intensive ====
The [[Continuative aspect|durative]] aspect can be expressed by the suffixes ''-ta/-te/-to'', ''-nja/-nje/-njo'' or ''-ša/-še/-šo'', the [[Iterative aspect|iterative]] by ''-ta/-te'' and the [[frequentative]] or [[Intensive word form|intensive]] by ''-ca/-ce/-co'':<ref>Gorelova 2002, 242; Haenisch 1986, 51f.</ref> ''jailambi'' "evade" – ''jailatambi'' "evade everywhere", ''injembi'' "laugh" – ''injecembi'' "laugh persistently in the crowd", ''halambi'' "change" – ''halanjambi'' "alternate", ''ibembi'' "go forward" – ''ibešembi'' "go forward step by step".

==== Direction: ventive, andative and missive ====
In verbs of locomotion in the broadest sense there is a distinction between movement away from the speaker ([[Andative and venitive|andative]]) and towards the speaker ([[Andative and venitive|ventive]]). This is similar to the complement of direction in Chinese (andative ''qù'' {{lang|zh-Hans|去}} "go" vs ventive ''lái'' {{lang|zh-Hant|來}} "come"). The andative is expressed by the suffix ''-na/-ne/-no'' (possibly connected to ''genembi'' "go") and the ventive is expressed by ''-nji'' (possibly connected to ''jimbi'' "come").<ref>Gorelova 2002, 233, 239f.; Haenisch 1986, 53; vgl. Manfred Reichardt, Shuxin Reichardt: ''Grammatik des modernen Chinesisch''. Leipzig: Verlag Enzyklopädie, 1990, {{ISBN|3-324-00332-6}}, S. 76f., „Direktionalverben“; Yuen Ren Chao [Zhào Yuánrèn, {{lang|zh-Hant|趙元任}}]: ''A Grammar of Spoken Chinese''. Berkeley / Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1968, S. 458f., “directional complement”; Gregor Kneussel: ''Grammatik des modernen Chinesisch / Xiàndài Hànyǔ yǔfǎ'' {{lang|zh-Hans|«现代汉语语法»}}. Beijing: Verlag für fremdsprachige Literatur / Wàiwén chūbǎnshè {{lang|zh-Hans|外文出版社}}, 2005, {{ISBN|7-119-04262-9}}, S. 218f., „Komplement der Richtung“</ref> Besides, a missive form is constructed with the suffix ''-nggi'' (possibly connected to ''unggimbi'' "send"): ''alambi'' "report" – ''alanambi'' "go in order to report", ''alanjimbi'' "come with a report", ''alanggimbi''  "send with a report", ''fekumbi'' "jump" – ''fekunembi'' "jump over there" – ''fekunjembi'' "jump over here", ''ebišembi'' "bathe" – ''ebišenembi'' "go bathe".

== Word formation ==

=== Word formation ===
Manchu has numerous productive [[Morphological derivation|derivational suffixes]].

==== Nouns ====
''Abstract nouns'' are derived from verbs with the suffixes:

* ''-n'', e.g. ''aca'''n''''' "meeting" from ''aca-'' "meet", 
* ''-gan/gen/gon / -han/hen/hon'', e.g. ''niru'''gan''''' "a picture" from ''niru-'' "to draw". 
* -''cun.'' e.g. ''aka'''cun''''' "grief" from ''aka-'' "grieve".

''Nouns denoting instruments'' are derived from verbs with the suffixes:

* ''-ku/kū'', e.g. ''anji'''kū''''' "hatchet" from ''anji-'' "to hack". When derived from a verb stem that ends in the passive/causative suffix ''-bu-'', the meaning is often of an [[agent noun]]: ''tacibu'''kū''''' "teacher" from ''taci'''bu'''-'' "to teach" from ''taci-'' "to learn". 
* ''-sun'' and ''-fun'', e.g. ''iji'''fun''''' "comb" from ''iji''- "to comb", ''umiye'''sun''''' "girdle" from ''umiye-'' "to gird oneself"
* ''-tun'', e.g. ''ali'''tun''''' "cup", "offering table" from ''ali-'' "receive, hold up"

''Agent nouns'' are derived both from verb and from noun stems with the suffixes ''-si'', ''-msi'', ''-ci'', ''-ji'', ''-lji'', ''-mji'', ''-nju'': ''kimci'''si''''' "investigator" from ''kimci-'' "to investigate", ''bithe'''si''''' "scribe" from ''bithe'' "book". A more peculiar meaning of an obtained object is expressed by the suffix ''-ci'' in some words like ''iha'''ci''''' "cowhide" from ''ihan'' "bovine".

Adjectives or nouns denoting the possessor of a ''quality'' are derived both from verb and from noun stems; when the word is derived from a verb. the meaning is sometimes of an agent noun. The following suffixes are used:

* -''tu/du,'' e.g. ''beki'''tu''''' "strong man" from ''beki-'' "strong", ''songgo'''tu''''' "crybaby" from ''songgo-'' "cry", ''giru'''tu''''' "ashamed" from ''giru'' "to be ashamed"
* -''ta/da/to/do'', e.g. ''gioho'''to''''' "beggar" from ''gioho-'' "to beg", ''sangga'''ta''''' "having holes" from ''sangga'' "hole"
* ''-ki,'' e.g. ''acabu'''ki''''' "flatterer" from ''acabu-'' "to flatter", ''amba'''ki''''' "arrogant" from ''amba'' "big".<ref>Gorelova (2002: 194–200)</ref>
The ''[[diminutive]]'' suffixes are ''-kan/ken/kon'', ''-gan/gen'' and ''-cen'' : e.g. ''bira'' "river" – ''bira'''gan''''' "small river", ''golmin'' "long" – ''golmi'''kan''''' "somewhat/rather long".

The [[augmentative]] suffix is ''-linggū''/''linggu'': e.g. ''amban'' "big" – ''amba'''linggū''''' "huge", ''ehe'' "bad" – ''ehe'''linggu''''' "very bad".<ref>Gorelova (2002: 155–156)</ref>

==== Verbs ====
A number of suffixes derive verbs, mostly ''from nouns''.<ref>Gorelova (2002: 235f)</ref>

* The suffix ''-la/-le/-lo'' forms a verb, in which the base noun is the [[Object (grammar)|object]] of the activity: ''songko'' "a trace" – ''songko'''lo'''-'' "to follow a trace"; ''aba'' "a hunt" – ''aba'''la'''-'' "to hunt".<ref name="ReferenceA">Gorelova 2002, 235; Haenisch 1986, 51.</ref>
* The suffix ''-ra/-re/-ro'' is used in a similar way: ''gisun'' "word" – ''gisure-'' "to speak", ''monggo'' "Mongolia" – ''monggoro-'' "to speak Mongolian", "to behave like a Mongol".
* The suffix ''-na/-ne/-no'' forms in part a type of [[Inchoative verb|inchoative]] verb or expresses an inherent development or capability of an object or a person: ''fiyeren'' "fissure" – ''fiere'''ne'''-'' "to split", ''ilha'' "flower" – ''ilha'''na'''-'' "to bloom"; .<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
* The suffix ''-ša/-še/-šo'' forms verbs that express the effort to achieve a certain result: ''sain'' "good" – ''sai'''ša'''-'' "praise", ''oncohon'' "arrogant" – ''oncoho'''šo'''-'' "to boast", ''buleku'' "mirror" – ''buleku'''še'''-'' "to look at oneself in a mirror".<ref>Gorelova 2002, 236; Haenisch 1986, 51.</ref>
* The suffix ''-da/-de/-do'' forms verbs with [[Intensive word form|intensive]] or [[Continuative aspect|durative]] meaning or the gradual development of an action: ''jili'' "anger" – ''jilida-'' "get angry", ''ceku'' "a swing" – ''ceku'''de'''-'' "to swing", ''eruwen'' "a drill" – ''eruwe'''de'''-'' "to drill", ''goho'' "elegant" – ''goho'''do'''-''  "to dress up".<ref>Gorelova 2002, 236f; Haenisch 1986, 51f.</ref>
* The suffix ''-ja/-je/-jo'' also has intensive or durative meaning: ''gūnin'''ja'''-'' "to think over carefully" from ''gūnin'' "thought".

Other suffixes of this type are ''-ta/te/to'' (''gosi'''ta-''''' "to love" from ''gosin'' "love") ''-tu'', ''-li'', and ''-mi''.

Verbs are derived ''from other verbs'', sometimes with intensive and causative meaning, with the suffixes ''-niye'' and ''-kiya/kiye'', ''-giya/giye'', ''-hiya/hiye'': e.g. ''ebe'''niye'''-'' "to wet thoroughly" from ''ebe-'' "to wet", ''jalu'''kiya-''''' "to fill" from ''jalu-'' "to be full, filled", ''tuwa'''kiya-''''' "to guard" from ''tuwa-'' "to watch".

On the formation of verbs with a certain ''aspect,'' ''voice'' or ''direction'', see the grammar section.

== Numerals ==
The [[Numeral (linguistics)|numerals]] are as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
|1 ''emu'' 
|11 ''juwan emu'' 
|
|
|-
|2 ''juwe'' 
|12 ''juwan juwe'' 
|20 ''orin''⁑ 
|200 ''juwe tanggū'' 
|-
|3 ''ilan'' 
|13 ''juwan ilan'' 
|30 ''gūsin''⁂ 
|300 ''ilan tanggū'' 
|-
|4 ''duin'' 
|14 ''juwan duin'' 
|40 ''dehi'' 
|etc.
|-
|5 ''sunja'' 
|15 ''tofohon''* 
|50 ''susai'' 
|
|-
|6 ''ninggun'' 
|16 ''juwan ninggun'' 
|60 ''ninju'' 
|
|-
|7 ''nadan'' 
|etc.
|70 ''nadanju'' 
|
|-
|8 ''jakūn'' 
|
|80 ''jakūnju'' 
|
|-
|9 ''uyun'' 
|
|90 ''uyunju'' 
|
|-
|10 ''juwan''
|
|100 ''tanggū'' 
|
|}
21 ''orin emu'' etc.

101 ''tanggū emu'' etc.

1000 ''minggan'' (from Mongolian ''‹mingɣ-a(n)›'')

10000 ''tumen'' (from Mongolian ''‹tüme(n)›'')

100000 ''juwan tumen''

1000000 ''tanggū tumen''

<nowiki>*</nowiki> irregular; cf. Mongolian ''‹tabu(n)›'' "five"<ref name="Haenisch 1986, 45">Haenisch 1986, 45.</ref>

⁑ cf. Mongolian ''‹qori(n)›''<ref name="Haenisch 1986, 45"/>

⁂ cf. Mongolian ''‹ɣuči(n)›''<ref name="Haenisch 1986, 45"/>

For higher numbers, loanwords from [[Sanskrit]] are also used, above all in the translation of Buddhist texts.<ref>Möllendorff 1892, 6f., Gorelova 2002, 201f.</ref>

Most [[ordinal numeral]]s are formed with the suffix ''-ci,'' before which stem-final ''-n'' is elided (except in ''juwanci'' "tenth" and ''tumenci'' "tenthousandth").<ref>Möllendorff 1892, 6f., Gorelova 2002, 201f.; Haenisch 1986, 45.</ref> [[Distributive numeral]]s are formed with the suffix ''-ta/-te/-to;'' again, stem-final ''-n'' is elided:<ref>Gorelova 2002, 204; Haenisch 1986, 45.</ref> ''emte'' "one each", ''juwete'' "two each", ''ilata'' "three each" etc. Fractions are formed according to the following pattern:<ref>Gorelova 2002, 204f.; Haenisch 1986, 46.</ref>
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|ilan (ubu) ci emu|three (part) ABL one|"one-third" (literally: "of three parts one")
}}
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|sunja (ubu) ci ilan|five (part) ABL three|"three fifths"
}}
The word ''ubu'' "part" can be in the genitive case as well:<ref>Haenisch 1986, 46.</ref>
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|ninggun ubu-i sunja|six part-GEN five|"five sixths"
}}
This is the same construction as in Chinese:<ref>Manfred Reichardt, Shuxin Reichardt: ''Grammatik des modernen Chinesisch''. Leipzig: Verlag Enzyklopädie, 1990, {{ISBN|3-324-00332-6}}, S. 262f.; Gregor Kneussel: ''Grammatik des modernen Chinesisch / Xiàndài Hànyǔ yǔfǎ'' {{lang|zh-Hans|«现代汉语语法»}}. Beijing: Verlag für fremdsprachige Literatur / Wàiwén chūbǎnshè {{lang|zh-Hans|外文出版社}}, 2005, {{ISBN|7-119-04262-9}}, S. 37.</ref>
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|sān fēn zhī èr|三 分 之 二|three part GEN two|"two thirds"
}}
Multiplicatives are formed with the suffix ''-rsu'' or with a following ''ubu'' "part":

''emursu'', ''emu ubu'' "single"; ''jursu'', ''juwe ubu'' "double"; ''ilarsu'', ''ilan ubu'' "threefold"; etc.

Collectives are formed with the suffix ''-nofi'': ''juwenofi'' "two together", ''ilanofi'' "three together", ''duinofi'' "four together" etc.

Iterative numerals are formed mostly with the suffix ''-nggeri'' or ''-geri'':

''emgeri'' "once", ''juwenggeri'' "twice", ilanggeri "thrice", ''duinggeri'' "fourth" etc.

For dates, Manchu uses a system similar to Chinese, combining a cycle of ten (''juwan cikten'' "the ten colours" or "[[Heavenly stems|stems]]") and cycle of twelve (''juwan juwe gargan'' "the twelve animals" or "[[Earthly Branches|branches]]").<ref>Gorelova 2002, 209ff.</ref>

=== Classifiers ===
In Manchu there is, [[Chinese classifier|as in Chinese]], a significant number of classifiers (also called [[measure word]]s), which stand between the numeral and the noun:
{{interlinear
| indent = 4|ilan fesin loho|three CL sword|"three swords"
}}
The classifier ''fesin'' "handle" is used for objects with a handle or a hilt such as knives, swords, sabres, spades, fans etc.(similarly to the Chinese classifier ''bǎ'' {{lang|zh-Hani|把}}).

Further examples of classifiers are ''afaha'' "sheet" for paper, lists etc. (cf. Chinese ''zhāng'' {{lang|zh-Hant|張}}), ''debtelin'' "volume" for books (cf. Chinese ''běn'' {{lang|zh-Hani|本}}), ''angga'' "mouth" for animals, objects with openings (pots, bags etc.), ports, mountain passes etc., ''baksan'' "bundle" for "Bundles" for sheaves of grain, bundles of paper, bunches of keys, caravans, etc., ''dalgan'' "surface" for flat objects such as flags, mirrors, fans and meat cutlets etc.<ref>Gorelova 2002, 206ff.</ref>

=== Postpositions ===
Some postpositions, such as ''baru'' "to", are not derived from other words, while others are originally declined forms of other parts of speech, such as nouns in a certain case (e.g. ''da'''de''''' "in addition to", lit. "in the base of") and converbs (''daha'''me''''' "according to", lit. "following"). Some, like ''dele'' "on top of", "top" are simply identical to nouns. Each postposition governs a certain noun case, with most, like ''baru'' "to", ''dergi'' "above" and ''sasa'' "with" governing the genitive, and two smaller groups governing the dative (e.g. ''isitala'' "until") and the ablative (e.g. ''amala'' "behind"). ''Jaka'' 'together with" takes the nominative. Postpositions may express place (''dergi'' "above"), time (''amari'' "after"), [[Comitative case|comitative]] meaning (''emgi'' "with"), causality (''jalinde'' "for the sake of"), similarity (''gele'' "like") or restriction (only ''teile'' "only", governing the genitive case, e.g. ''damu ilan sarhan’'''i''' '''teile''' ilan boo de tehe'' "only three women lived in three houses", lit. "only of three women only ...". Postpositions may govern participles, which then have the meaning of verbal nouns, and the postpositions themselves acquire a function similar to that of conjunctions (''sain ehe be tuwa'''ha''' '''manggi''''' "after having seen", from ''manggi'' "with, towards").<ref>Gorelova (2002: 344–351)</ref>

=== Conjunctions ===
Some conjunctions coincide with adverbs (e.g. ''damu'' "only", "but", ''geli'' "also", "and", ''jai'' "again", "and', ''eici'' "perhaps", "or"). Others are originally case forms or converbs (''ba'''de''''' "when", lit. "in the place", ''bi'''ci''''' "if", lit. "if it is (so)", ''bi'''hede''''' "when", lit. "in having become (so)").<ref>(Gorelova 2002: 351–360)</ref>

== Lexis ==
Apart from the inherited [[Tungusic languages|Tungusic]] vocabulary, Manchu contains loanwords above all from [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]] and from [[Chinese language|Chinese]].<ref>Möllendorff, 3.</ref> There are also many loanwords of [[Turkic languages|Turkic origin]]; these probably entered it via Mongolian as well. It has been estimated that twenty to thirty percent of the Manchu vocabulary consists of Mongolian loanwords.<ref>Li (2000: 20)</ref>

==Writing system==
{{Main|Manchu alphabet}}

The Manchu language uses the [[Manchu alphabet|Manchu script]], which was derived from the traditional [[Mongolian script|Mongol script]], which in turn was based on the vertically written pre-Islamic [[Old Uyghur alphabet|Uyghur script]]. Manchu is now usually [[Romanization|romanized]] according to the [[transliterations of Manchu|transliteration system]] employed by [[Jerry Norman (sinologist)|Jerry Norman]] in his ''Comprehensive Manchu-English Dictionary'' (2013). The [[Jurchen language]], which is ancestral to Manchu, used the [[Jurchen script]], which is derived from the [[Khitan large script|Khitan script]], which in turn was derived from [[Chinese characters]]. There is no relation between the [[Jurchen script]] and the [[Manchu alphabet|Manchu script]].

[[Chinese characters]], employed as [[phonogram (linguistics)|phonograms]], can also be used to [[Transcription into Chinese characters|transliterate Manchu]].<ref>{{cite book
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ebdAAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA197
|title=Asiatic journal and monthly miscellany
|publisher=Wm. H. Allen & Co.
|location=London
|page=197
|date=May–August 1837
}}</ref> All the Manchu vowels and the syllables commencing with a consonant are represented by single Chinese characters as are also the syllables terminating in ''i, n, ng'' and ''o''; but those ending in ''r, k, s, t, p, I, m'' are expressed by the union of the sounds of two characters, there being no Mandarin syllables terminating with these consonants. Thus the Manchu syllable ''am'' is expressed by the Chinese characters {{lang|zh|阿木}} ''a mù'', and the word ''Manchu'' is, in the [[Kangxi Dictionary]], written as {{lang|zh|瑪阿安諸烏}} ''mă ā ān zhū wū''.<ref>{{cite book
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ebdAAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA198
|title=Asiatic journal and monthly miscellany
|publisher=Wm. H. Allen & Co.
|location=London
|page=198
|date=May–August 1837
}}</ref>

===Teaching===
Mongols learned their script as a [[syllabary]], dividing the syllables into twelve different classes,<ref>{{cite book|title=Translation of the Ts'ing wan k'e mung, a Chinese Grammar of the Manchu Tartar Language; with introductory notes on Manchu Literature: (translated by A. Wylie.)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v6k-AAAAcAAJ&pg=PR28|year=1855|publisher=Mission Press|pages=xxvii–}}</ref><ref name="Ko1855">{{cite book|author=Shou-p'ing Wu Ko|title=Translation (by A. Wylie) of the Ts'ing wan k'e mung, a Chinese grammar of the Manchu Tartar language (by Woo Kĭh Show-ping, revised and ed. by Ching Ming-yuen Pei-ho) with intr. notes on Manchu literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fdAOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR28|year=1855|pages=xxvii–}}</ref> based on the final phonemes of the syllables, all of which ended in vowels.<ref>Chinggeltei. (1963) ''A Grammar of the Mongol Language''. New York, Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. p. 15.</ref><ref>{{cite ECCP|title=Dahai}}</ref> The Manchus followed the same syllabic method when learning Manchu script, also with syllables divided into twelve different classes based on the final phonemes of the syllables. Today, the opinion on whether it is alphabet or syllabic in nature is still split between different experts. In China, it is considered syllabic and Manchu is still taught in this manner. The alphabetic approach is used mainly by foreigners who want to learn the language. Studying Manchu script as a syllabary takes a longer time.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6fqJL619dlgC|title=Manchu: a textbook for reading documents|year=2000|author=Gertraude Roth Li|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=0824822064|quote=Alphabet: Some scholars consider the Manchu script to be a syllabic one.|page=16|access-date=25 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Gertraude Roth Li |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1bArr1-E5mQC |title=Manchu: A Textbook for Reading Documents (Second Edition) |publisher=Natl Foreign Lg Resource Ctr |year=2010 |isbn=978-0980045956 |edition=2 |page=16 |quote=Alphabet: Some scholars consider the Manchu script to be a syllabic one. Others see it as having an alphabet with individual letters, some of which differ according to their position within a word. Thus, whereas Denis Sinor argued in favor of a syllabic theory,30 Louis Ligeti preferred to consider the Manchu script an alphabetical one.31 |access-date=1 March 2012}}()</ref>

Despite the alphabetic nature of its script, Manchu was not taught phoneme per letter like western languages are; Manchu children were taught to memorize all the syllables in the Manchu language separately as they learned to write, like Chinese characters. To paraphrase Meadows 1849,<ref name="Meadows1849">{{cite book|author=Thomas Taylor Meadows|title=Translations from the Manchu: with the original texts, prefaced by an essay on the language|url=https://archive.org/details/translationsfrom00meadrich|year=1849|publisher=Press of S.W. Williams|pages=[https://archive.org/details/translationsfrom00meadrich/page/3 3]–}}</ref><blockquote>Manchus when learning, instead of saying l, a—la; l, o—lo; &c., were taught at once to say la, lo, &c. Many more syllables than are contained in their syllabary might have been formed with their letters, but they were not accustomed to arrange them otherwise. They made, for instance, no such use of the consonants l, m, n, and r, as westerners do; hence if the Manchu letters s, m, a, r, t, are joined in that order a Manchu would not able to pronounce them as English speaking people pronounce the word 'smart'.</blockquote>However this was in 1849, and more research should be done on the current teaching methods used in the PRC.

==Further reading==
'''Learning texts of historical interest'''
* {{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924023341112|title=A Manchu grammar: with analysed texts|year=1892|author=Paul Georg von Möllendorff|publisher=Printed at the American Presbyterian mission press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924023341112/page/n63 52]|access-date=1 March 2012}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v6k-AAAAcAAJ|title=Translation of the Ts'ing wan k'e mung, a Chinese Grammar of the Manchu Tartar Language; with introductory notes on Manchu Literature: (translated by A. Wylie.)|year=1855|author=A. Wylie|publisher=Mission Press|access-date=1 March 2012}}
*{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/translationsfrom00meadrich|title=Translations from the Manchu: with the original texts, prefaced by an essay on the language|year=1849|author=Thomas Taylor Meadows|publisher=Press of S.W. Williams|location=Canton|pages=54http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/1205/guide/6302|access-date=10 February 2012}}
'''For readers of Chinese'''
*{{Cite book|first1=Jingxian|last1=Liu|first2=Aping|last2=Zhao|first3=Jinchun|last3=Zhao|title=满语研究通论 (General Theory of Manchu Language Research)|publisher=Heilongjiang Korean Nationality Publishing House|year=1997|isbn=9787538907650|url=http://book.douban.com/subject/2072927/}}
*{{Cite book|first=Yonghai|last=Ji|title=满语语法 (Manchu Grammar)|publisher=Minzu University of China Press|year=2011|isbn=9787811089677|url=http://book.douban.com/subject/6436261/}}
*{{Cite book|first=Yingsheng|last=Aisin Gioro|title=满语杂识 (Divers Knowledges of Manchu language)|publisher=Wenyuan Publishing House |year=2004|isbn=7-80060-008-4|url=http://book.douban.com/subject/1520812/}}
'''Literature'''
*{{cite journal |journal=Journal of the China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society |volume=24-25 |title=Essay on Manchu Literature |first=P. G. |last=von Möllendorff |year=1890 |publisher=The Branch |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=saJDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1 |pages=1–45 }}
*{{cite book |title=A catalog of the Wade collection of Chinese and Manchu books in the library of the University of Cambridge |first=Thomas Francis |last=Wade |editor=Herbert Allen Giles |year=1898 |publisher=University Press |url=https://archive.org/details/catalogofwadecol00cambrich }}
*{{cite book|title=A Catalogue of the Collection of Chinese and Manchu Books Given to the University of Cambridge|author=Cambridge University Library |year=1898 |publisher=The University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CEVDAAAAYAAJ }}
*{{cite book |title=Descriptive catalogue of the Chinese, Japanese, and Manchu books |editor=James Summers |year=1872 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d5AuAAAAYAAJ }}
*{{cite book |language=de |title=Verzeichniss der chinesischen und mandshuischen Bücher und Handschriften der K. Bibliothek zu Berlin |first=Heinrich Julius |last=Klaproth |year=1822 |location=Paris |publisher=In der Königlichen Drunerel |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_D6ZFAAAAcAAJ}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite web|last=Aiyar|first=Pallavi|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/ID26Ad01.html|title=Lament for a dying language|newspaper=[[Asia Times]]|date=26 April 2007|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070428091229/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/ID26Ad01.html|archive-date=28 April 2007}}
* {{cite journal
|last = Elliott
|first = Mark
|title = Why Study Manchu?
|journal = Manchu Studies Group
|year = 2013
|url = http://www.manchustudiesgroup.org/why-study-manchu/
}}
* {{citation |first = Joseph |last = Fletcher |chapter = Manchu Sources |title = Essays on the Sources for Chinese History |editor-last = Leslie Donald, Colin Mackerras and Wang Gungwu |location = Canberra |publisher = ANU Press |year = 1973 }}
* {{cite book |first = Liliya |last = Gorelova M. |chapter = |title = Manchu Grammar |location = Leiden; Boston; Köln. |publisher = Brill Academic Publishers |year = 2002 |url = https://theswissbay.ch/pdf/Books/Linguistics/Mega%20linguistics%20pack/Tungusic/Manchu%20Grammar%20%28Gorelova%29.pdf |isbn = 90-04-12307-5}}
* Haenisch, Erich. 1961. ''Mandschu-Grammatik''. Leipzig: {{Lang|de|[[VEB Verlag Enzyklopädie]]|italic=no}}&nbsp;{{in lang|de}}
* {{cite journal
|last = Hauer
|first = Erich
|title = Why the Sinologue Should Study Manchu
|journal =Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society
|volume = 61
|pages = 156–164
|year = 1930
|url = http://www.manchustudiesgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Hauer-Eric-Why-the-Sinologue-should-study-Manchu.pdf 
}}
* Kane, Daniel. 1997. "Language Death and Language Revivalism the Case of Manchu". Central Asiatic Journal 41 (2). Harrassowitz Verlag: 231–49. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41928113.
* {{cite book |last = Li, Gertraude Roth |year = 2000 |title = Manchu: A Textbook for Reading Documents |publisher = University of Hawai`i Press| location = Honolulu, Hawaii |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6fqJL619dlgC|isbn = 0824822064 }}
* Erling von Mende. 2015. "In Defence of Nian Gengyao, Or: What to Do About Sources on Manchu Language Incompetence?". Central Asiatic Journal 58 (1–2). Harrassowitz Verlag: 59–87. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.13173/centasiaj.58.1-2.0059.
* Möllendorff, Paul Georg von. 1892. {{cite book|author=Paul Georg von Möllendorff|title=A Manchu Grammar: With Analysed Texts|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924023341112|year=1892|publisher=Printed at the American Presbyterian mission Press}} Shanghai. {{Wikisource-inline|A Manchu Grammar|single=true}}
* [[Jerry Norman (sinologist)|Norman, Jerry]]. 1974. "Structure of Sibe Morphology", ''Central Asian Journal''.
* Norman, Jerry. 1978. ''A Concise Manchu–English Lexicon'', University of Washington Press, Seattle.
* Norman, Jerry. 2013. ''A Comprehensive Manchu–English Dictionary'', Harvard University Press (Asia Center), Cambridge {{ISBN|9780674072138}}.
* Ramsey, S. Robert. 1987. ''The Languages of China.'' Princeton University Press, Princeton New Jersey {{ISBN|0-691-06694-9}}
* Tulisow, Jerzy. 2000. ''Język mandżurski''&nbsp;(« The Manchu language »), coll.&nbsp;« Języki Azjii i Afryki »&nbsp;(« The languages of Asia and Africa »), Dialog, Warsaw, 192&nbsp;p.&nbsp;{{ISBN|83-88238-53-1}}&nbsp;{{in lang|pl}}
* Zakharov, Iv. Iv. (Захаров, Ив. Ив.) Грамматика манчжурского языка [Manchu Grammar]. St. Petersburg 1879 (in Russian).

{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Incubator |code = mnc |language = Manchu }}
{{Incubator|mnc|wiktionary |language = Manchu}}
{{Incubator|mnc|wikiquote |language = Manchu}}
{{Wiktionary pipe|Appendix:Manchu Swadesh list|Manchu Swadesh vocabulary list}}
{{Wikibooks|Manchu}}
{{Wikisource|has=a 1892 copy by P.G. von Möllendorff of|A Manchu Grammar|nocat=yes}}
{{Wikisource|mul|Main Page/ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ ᡤᡳᠰᡠᠨ|{{ManchuSibeUnicode|lang=mnc|<big>'''ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ<br />ᡤᡳᠰᡠᠨ'''</big>}}|nocat=yes}}
{{Wikivoyage|Manchu phrasebook|Manchu|a phrasebook}}
* [[Wiktionary:Appendix:Manchu Swadesh list|Manchu Swadesh vocabulary list of basic words]] (from Wiktionary's [[Wiktionary:Appendix:Swadesh lists|Swadesh-list appendix]])
* [http://abkai.net/core/en/ Abkai — Unicode Manchu/Sibe/Daur Fonts and Keyboards] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622173644/http://abkai.net/core/en |date=22 June 2019 }}
* [https://ccel.org/contrib/cn/orthodox/bible/manchu/02mk_manchu.pdf Manchu language Gospel of Mark]
* [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/manchu.htm Manchu alphabet and language] at Omniglot
* [https://minibuleku.github.io/ Mini Buleku A Recorded Sibe Dictionary]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061114114835/http://homepage.mac.com/thgewecke/Manchu.html Manchu Test Page]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151016205944/http://www.anakv.com/Blog/index.php?job=art&articleid=a_20060818_221852 Manchu–Chinese–English Lexicon]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121115224405/http://www.anakv.com/dict/ online Manchu–Chinese, Manchu–Japanese lexicon] {{in lang|zh}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121113221947/http://www.anakv.com/ Anaku Manchu Script Creator] {{in lang|zh}}
* {{Cite news |date=2007-03-15 |title=Video: A Dying Language |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/1194817108914/a-dying-language.html |access-date=2023-01-08 |issn=0362-4331}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070205035727/http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~dresher/ICMTSpub.pdf Contrast In Manchu Vowel Systems]
* [http://www.enenggi.com Manchu Word Of The Day, Open Source Manchu–English dictionary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207071737/http://enenggi.com/ |date=7 February 2009 }}
* [https://www.endangeredlanguages.com/elp-language/1205 Manchu language guide]
* [https://www.manchustudiesgroup.org/ The Manchu Studies Group]
* [http://www.manjurist.net/Thesis_Final.pdf Tawney, Brian. "Reading Jakdan's Poetry: An Exploration of Literary Manchu Phonology". AM Thesis (Harvard, RSEA)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402162504/http://manjurist.net/Thesis_Final.pdf |date=2 April 2016 }}.
* [http://www.confucius.cn.net/rdqw/95htm/H1_H106_9.htm 清代满族语言文字在东北的兴废与影响] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010628163400/http://www.confucius.cn.net/rdqw/95htm/H1_H106_9.htm |date=28 June 2001 }}
* [https://archive.org/details/translationsfrom00meadrich Meadows, Thomas Taylor. 1849. A Manchu chrestomathy with translations]
* [https://archive.org/details/chrestomathieman00klap  Klaproth, Julius von. 1828. Chrestomathie mandchou : ou, Recueil de textes mandchou : destiné aux personnes qui veulent s'occuper de l'étude de cette langue] (with some texts translated into French)
* [https://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp178_art_of_war.pdf Soldierly Methods: Vade Mecum for an Iconoclastic Translation of Sun Zi bingfa. 2008. By Victor H. Mair with a complete transcription and word-for-word glosses of the Manchu translation by H. T. Toh]

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<section begin="list-of-glossing-abbreviations" /><div style="display:none;">
PCVB:perfect converb
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IPTC:imperfect participle
PPTC:perfect participle
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