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Chinese name character

Chinese name character 通

tōng

The character 通 (Mandarin tōng) appears in 2 names and 2 syllables in this reference and is spelled Thong and Tong in Malaysia. Recorded meanings include “to pass through; to understand; to communicate”.

Names and syllables
4
Malaysian spellings
2
Strokes
11
Attested in records
4

4 names and syllables in this reference have 通 as one of their character options. For 4 of them, 通 is attested in records of real names; the rest are possible characters for that spelling.

Meanings of 通: the recorded options

  • to pass through; to understand; to communicate

    in 6 character options · attested

Unihan definition: pass through; common; communicate

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 通

通 Thong Hokkien · Teochew Tong Hokkien · Teochew · Mandarin
通 yields 2 spellings in our records. The label under each spelling is the romanization it follows, not the bearer’s dialect.
SpellingRomanization
ThongHokkien · Teochew
TongHokkien · Teochew · Mandarin

Readings of 通 by dialect

DialectReadingMalaysian spelling
HokkienPe̍h-ōe-jī thong Thong, Tong
TeochewPeng’im tong1 Thong, Tong
MandarinHanyu Pinyin tōng Tong

Readings from the character options in our name records; Unihan gives Mandarin tōng and Cantonese tung1.

2 names that can be written with 通

2 syllables that can stand for 通

Sources

  1. Wiktionary: 通 · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
  2. MDBG: 通 · mdbg.net · meaning
  3. Unicode Unihan Database: U+901A · 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 通 mean in a name?

Our records give several meanings for 通, including “to pass through; to understand; to communicate”. What a name actually means depends on the characters the family chose and how they combine.

How is 通 spelled in Malaysia?

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

Is every Thong written 通?

Not necessarily. The spelling Thong can also stand for 堂, 棟. Only the family knows which character was chosen.