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Chinese name character

Chinese name character 錫, simplified 锡

xī

Simplified: 锡

The character 錫 (Mandarin xī) appears in 1 name and 2 syllables in this reference and is spelled Sek and Siah in Malaysia. Recorded meanings include “tin; to bestow”.

Names and syllables
3
Malaysian spellings
2
Strokes
16
Attested in records
2

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

Meanings of 錫: the recorded options

  • tin; to bestow

    in 3 character options · attested

Unihan definition: tin (element 50, Sn); bestow, confer

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 錫

錫 Sek Hokkien · Cantonese Siah Hokkien
錫 yields 2 spellings in our records. The label under each spelling is the romanization it follows, not the bearer’s dialect.
SpellingRomanizationattested in name records
SekHokkien · Cantoneseattested in name records
SiahHokkienpossible

Readings of 錫 by dialect

DialectReadingMalaysian spelling
HokkienPe̍h-ōe-jī siah, sek Sek, Siah
CantoneseJyutping sek3 Sek
MandarinHanyu Pinyin xī –

Readings from the character options in our name records; Unihan gives Mandarin xī and Cantonese sek3.

1 names that can be written with 錫

2 syllables that can stand for 錫

Sources

  1. Wiktionary: 錫 · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
  2. MDBG: 錫 · mdbg.net · meaning
  3. Unicode Unihan Database: U+932B · 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 錫 mean in a name?

Our records give several meanings for 錫, including “tin; to bestow”. What a name actually means depends on the characters the family chose and how they combine.

How is 錫 spelled in Malaysia?

In our records 錫 is spelled Sek (Hokkien, Cantonese) and Siah (Hokkien). A spelling follows a dialect’s romanization; it does not show which dialect anyone speaks.

Is every Sek written 錫?

Not necessarily. The spelling Sek can also stand for 石, 碩, 惜. Only the family knows which character was chosen.