Compared with the initials of Mandarin, there are 24 initials in Xishui dialect and only 22 in Mandarin. Xishui dialect has 40 vowels, while Mandarin has only 39.

Xishui dialect has six tones: Yin Ping, Yangping, Shangsheng, Yinqu, Yangqu and Rusheng. There are only four tones in Mandarin: even tone, rising tone, rising tone and falling tone. The corresponding rules are as follows: the Yin, Yang and Shang tones of Xishui dialect are also pronounced as Yin, Yang and Shang tones in Putonghua; The two tones of Xishui dialect, Yin Qu and Yang Qu, are both pronounced in Putonghua. The entering tone of Xishui dialect is pronounced as Yin Ping, Yangping, Shangsheng and Desheng respectively in Putonghua.