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Chinese name character

Chinese name character 灵

líng

Traditional: 靈

The character 灵 (Mandarin líng) appears in 2 names and 1 syllable in this reference and is spelled Ling in Malaysia. Recorded meanings include “spirit, soul; efficacious; quick” and “spirit, quick-witted”.

Names and syllables
3
Malaysian spellings
1
Strokes
7
Attested in records
2

3 names and syllables in this reference have 灵 as one of their character options. For 2 of them, 灵 is attested in records of real names; the rest are possible characters for that spelling.

Meanings of 灵: the recorded options

  • spirit, soul; efficacious; quick

    in 2 character options · attested

  • spirit, quick-witted

    in 1 character options

Unihan definition: spirit, soul; spiritual world

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 灵

灵 Ling Cantonese · Mandarin
灵 yields 1 spellings in our records. The label under each spelling is the romanization it follows, not the bearer’s dialect.
SpellingRomanization
LingCantonese · Mandarin

Readings of 灵 by dialect

DialectReadingMalaysian spelling
CantoneseJyutping ling4 Ling
MandarinHanyu Pinyin líng Ling

Readings from the character options in our name records; Unihan gives Mandarin líng and Cantonese ling4.

2 names that can be written with 灵

1 syllables that can stand for 灵

Sources

  1. MDBG: 灵 · mdbg.net · meaning
  2. Wiktionary: 灵 · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
  3. Unicode Unihan Database: U+7075 · 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 灵 mean in a name?

Our records give several meanings for 灵, including “spirit, soul; efficacious; quick” and “spirit, quick-witted”. What a name actually means depends on the characters the family chose and how they combine.

How is 灵 spelled in Malaysia?

In our records 灵 is spelled Ling (Cantonese, Mandarin). A spelling follows a dialect’s romanization; it does not show which dialect anyone speaks.

Is every Ling written 灵?

Not necessarily. The spelling Ling can also stand for 玲, 菱, 凌. Only the family knows which character was chosen.