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Chinese name character

Chinese name character 千

qiān

Traditional: 韆

The character 千 (Mandarin qiān) appears in 2 names and 4 syllables in this reference and is spelled Chien, Qian, Chian and Chieng in Malaysia. Recorded meanings include “thousand; many”.

Names and syllables
6
Malaysian spellings
4
Strokes
3
Attested in records
2

6 names and syllables in this reference have 千 as one of their character options. For 2 of them, 千 is attested in records of real names; the rest are possible characters for that spelling.

Meanings of 千: the recorded options

  • thousand; many

    in 7 character options · attested

Unihan definition: thousand; many, numerous; very; (Cant.) a cheater, swindler

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 千

千 Chien Hokkien · Hakka Qian Mandarin Chian Hokkien Chieng Foochow
千 yields 4 spellings in our records. The label under each spelling is the romanization it follows, not the bearer’s dialect.
SpellingRomanizationattested in name records
ChienHokkien · Hakkaattested in name records
QianMandarinpossible
ChianHokkienpossible
ChiengFoochowpossible

Readings of 千 by dialect

DialectReadingMalaysian spelling
HokkienPe̍h-ōe-jī chhian Chien, Chian
HakkaPha̍k-fa-sṳ chhiên Chien
MandarinHanyu Pinyin qiān Qian
FoochowBàng-uâ-cê chiĕng Chieng

Readings from the character options in our name records; Unihan gives Mandarin qiān and Cantonese cin1.

2 names that can be written with 千

4 syllables that can stand for 千

Sources

  1. Wiktionary: 千 · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
  2. MDBG: 千 · mdbg.net · meaning
  3. Unicode Unihan Database: U+5343 · 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 千 mean in a name?

Our records give several meanings for 千, including “thousand; many”. What a name actually means depends on the characters the family chose and how they combine.

How is 千 spelled in Malaysia?

In our records 千 is spelled Chien (Hokkien, Hakka), Qian (Mandarin), Chian (Hokkien) and Chieng (Foochow). A spelling follows a dialect’s romanization; it does not show which dialect anyone speaks.

Is every Chien written 千?

Not necessarily. The spelling Chien can also stand for 謙, 健, 堅. Only the family knows which character was chosen.