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Chinese name character

Chinese name character 素

sù

The character 素 (Mandarin sù) appears in 9 names and 3 syllables in this reference and is spelled Soo, Su and Sor in Malaysia. Recorded meanings include “white; plain; original”.

Names and syllables
12
Malaysian spellings
3
Strokes
10
Attested in records
5

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

Meanings of 素: the recorded options

  • white; plain; original

    in 16 character options · attested

Unihan definition: white (silk); plain; vegetarian; formerly; normally

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 素

素 Soo Hokkien · Cantonese · Teochew Su Mandarin Sor Hokkien
素 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
SooHokkien · Cantonese · Teochewattested in name records
SuMandarinpossible
SorHokkienpossible

Readings of 素 by dialect

DialectReadingMalaysian spelling
HokkienPe̍h-ōe-jī sò͘ Soo, Sor
CantoneseJyutping sou3 Soo
TeochewPeng’im sou3 Soo
MandarinHanyu Pinyin sù Su

Readings from the character options in our name records; Unihan gives Mandarin sù and Cantonese sou3.

9 names that can be written with 素

3 syllables that can stand for 素

Sources

  1. Wiktionary: 素 · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
  2. MDBG: 素 · mdbg.net · meaning
  3. Unicode Unihan Database: U+7D20 · 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 素 mean in a name?

Our records give several meanings for 素, including “white; plain; original”. What a name actually means depends on the characters the family chose and how they combine.

How is 素 spelled in Malaysia?

In our records 素 is spelled Soo (Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew), Su (Mandarin) and Sor (Hokkien). A spelling follows a dialect’s romanization; it does not show which dialect anyone speaks.

Is every Soo written 素?

Not necessarily. The spelling Soo can also stand for 舒, 思. Only the family knows which character was chosen.