<p>西南人 is a rare expression. Few people say like that, so it sounds weird. Grammatically speaking, it is definitely correct, and it refers to people from Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan.</p>
<hr />
<p>By the way, there was a famous university in Yunnan Province, named 国立西南联合大学 (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Southwestern_Associated_University" rel="nofollow noreferrer">National Southwestern Associated University</a>).</p>
<p>The local dialects in Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan, are linguistically classified as 西南官话 (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_Mandarin" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Southwestern Mandarin</a>).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-18T03:23:01.023Z
It is interesting that 东北人 sounds natural but the counterpart 西南人 sounds weird.
Zuriel
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-18T03:35:17.457Z
@Zuriel People from Northeastern China regard themselves as a single ethnic group, while people from Southwestern China do not.
Victor
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-18T03:19:21.907Z
2020-09-14T02:31:58.343Z
2020-09-14T02:31:58.343Z
Victor
<p>As a 西南人, I have to say that it is rare to hear. 南方人 (Southerner) is okay.</p>

<p>If someone is from the south side of the Huanghe River, they would let you know which province they are literally from, like Sichuan, Yunnan or Guizhou.</p>

<p>I suppose the reason is dialect, which so different in southern China.</p>

<p>But 西北人 (Northwestern) is commonly heard.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-17T17:15:28.343Z
2019-01-18T03:06:07.080Z
2019-01-18T03:06:07.080Z
Marvin Liu
<p>The phrase 东北人  has been widely used by native speakers but 西南人 is not as common.</p>

<p>Is it not equally correct to say 西南人?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-17T19:54:54.590Z
Grammatically yes, idiomatically no.
NS.X.
<word><terminology><place-names>
Is it grammatically correct to say 西南人?
# Is it grammatically correct to say 西南人?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-01-17)

The phrase 东北人 has been widely used by native speakers but 西南人 is not as common.

Is it not equally correct to say 西南人?

**Tags:** word, terminology, place-names

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Grammatically yes, idiomatically no.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-01-18. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

西南人 is a rare expression. Few people say like that, so it sounds weird. Grammatically speaking, it is definitely correct, and it refers to people from Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan.

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By the way, there was a famous university in Yunnan Province, named 国立西南联合大学 ([National Southwestern Associated University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Southwestern_Associated_University)).

The local dialects in Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan, are linguistically classified as 西南官话 ([Southwestern Mandarin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_Mandarin)).

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: It is interesting that 东北人 sounds natural but the counterpart 西南人 sounds weird.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 People from Northeastern China regard themselves as a single ethnic group, while people from Southwestern China do not.  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2019-01-17. Score: 4

As a 西南人, I have to say that it is rare to hear. 南方人 (Southerner) is okay.

If someone is from the south side of the Huanghe River, they would let you know which province they are literally from, like Sichuan, Yunnan or Guizhou.

I suppose the reason is dialect, which so different in southern China.

But 西北人 (Northwestern) is commonly heard.


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