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Chinese name character

Chinese name character 守

shǒu

The character 守 (Mandarin shǒu) appears in 3 names and 2 syllables in this reference and is spelled Siew, Shou and Show in Malaysia. Recorded meanings include “to keep, guard; to abide by”.

Names and syllables
5
Malaysian spellings
3
Strokes
6
Attested in records
1

5 names and syllables in this reference have 守 as one of their character options. For 1 of them, 守 is attested in records of real names; the rest are possible characters for that spelling.

Meanings of 守: the recorded options

  • to keep, guard; to abide by

    in 5 character options · attested

Unihan definition: defend, protect, guard, conserve

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 守

守 Siew Hokkien · Teochew Shou Mandarin Show romanization not stated
守 yields 3 spellings in our records. The label under each spelling is the romanization it follows, not the bearer’s dialect.
SpellingRomanizationattested in name records
SiewHokkien · Teochewattested in name records
ShouMandarinpossible
Showromanization not statedpossible

Readings of 守 by dialect

DialectReadingMalaysian spelling
HokkienPe̍h-ōe-jī siú Siew
TeochewPeng’im siu2 Siew
MandarinHanyu Pinyin shǒu Shou

Readings from the character options in our name records; Unihan gives Mandarin shǒu and Cantonese sau2.

3 names that can be written with 守

2 syllables that can stand for 守

Sources

  1. Wiktionary: 守 · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
  2. MDBG: 守 · mdbg.net · meaning
  3. Unicode Unihan Database: U+5B88 · 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 守 mean in a name?

Our records give several meanings for 守, including “to keep, guard; to abide by”. What a name actually means depends on the characters the family chose and how they combine.

How is 守 spelled in Malaysia?

In our records 守 is spelled Siew (Hokkien, Teochew), Shou (Mandarin) and Show. A spelling follows a dialect’s romanization; it does not show which dialect anyone speaks.

Is every Siew written 守?

Not necessarily. The spelling Siew can also stand for 秀, 修, 袖, 兆. Only the family knows which character was chosen.