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Chinese name character

Chinese name character 宝

bǎo

Traditional: 寶

The character 宝 (Mandarin bǎo) appears in 7 names and 3 syllables in this reference and is spelled Poh, Bao and Bow in Malaysia. Recorded meanings include “treasure, precious”.

Names and syllables
10
Malaysian spellings
3
Strokes
8
Attested in records
9

10 names and syllables in this reference have 宝 as one of their character options. For 9 of them, 宝 is attested in records of real names; the rest are possible characters for that spelling.

Meanings of 宝: the recorded options

  • treasure, precious

    in 12 character options · attested

Unihan definition: treasure, jewel; precious, rare

What a name means depends on the characters the family chose and how they combine; these are options, not one definite meaning.

Malaysian spellings of 宝

宝 Poh Hokkien · Hakka · Teochew Bao Mandarin Bow Cantonese
宝 yields 3 spellings in our records. The label under each spelling is the romanization it follows, not the bearer’s dialect.
SpellingRomanization
PohHokkien · Hakka · Teochew
BaoMandarin
BowCantonese

Readings of 宝 by dialect

DialectReadingMalaysian spelling
HokkienPe̍h-ōe-jī pó Poh
CantoneseJyutping bou2 Bow
HakkaPha̍k-fa-sṳ pó Poh
TeochewPeng’im bo2 Poh
MandarinHanyu Pinyin bǎo Bao

Readings from the character options in our name records; Unihan gives Mandarin bǎo and Cantonese bou2.

7 names that can be written with 宝

3 syllables that can stand for 宝

Sources

  1. MDBG: 宝 · mdbg.net · meaning
  2. Wiktionary: 宝 · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
  3. Unicode Unihan Database: U+5B9D · unicode.org · meaning

Readings, meanings and stroke count: the character options in our name records and the Unicode Unihan Database (Unicode License). A spelling describes how a name is written, not anyone’s dialect or background.

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Frequently asked questions

What does 宝 mean in a name?

Our records give several meanings for 宝, including “treasure, precious”. What a name actually means depends on the characters the family chose and how they combine.

How is 宝 spelled in Malaysia?

In our records 宝 is spelled Poh (Hokkien, Hakka, Teochew), Bao (Mandarin) and Bow (Cantonese). A spelling follows a dialect’s romanization; it does not show which dialect anyone speaks.

Is every Poh written 宝?

Not necessarily. The spelling Poh can also stand for 保, 波. Only the family knows which character was chosen.