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Chinese name character

Chinese name character 信

xìn

The character 信 (Mandarin xìn) appears in 9 names and 3 syllables in this reference and is spelled Sin, Sing, Shin and Xin in Malaysia. Recorded meanings include “to believe, to trust; trustworthy; true” and “trust, faith”.

Names and syllables
12
Malaysian spellings
4
Strokes
9
Attested in records
5

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

Meanings of 信: the recorded options

  • to believe, to trust; trustworthy; true

    in 12 character options · attested

  • trust, faith

    in 4 character options

Unihan definition: trust, believe; letter

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 信

信 Sin Hokkien · Hakka Sing Teochew Shin Hokkien · Hakka Xin Mandarin
信 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
SinHokkien · Hakkaattested in name records
SingTeochewattested in name records
ShinHokkien · Hakkapossible
XinMandarinpossible

Readings of 信 by dialect

DialectReadingMalaysian spelling
HokkienPe̍h-ōe-jī sìn Sin, Shin
HakkaPha̍k-fa-sṳ sin Sin, Shin
TeochewPeng’im sing3 Sing
MandarinHanyu Pinyin xìn Xin

Readings from the character options in our name records; Unihan gives Mandarin xìn and Cantonese seon3.

9 names that can be written with 信

3 syllables that can stand for 信

Sources

  1. MDBG: 信 · mdbg.net · meaning
  2. Wiktionary: 信 · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
  3. Unicode Unihan Database: U+4FE1 · 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 信 mean in a name?

Our records give several meanings for 信, including “to believe, to trust; trustworthy; true” and “trust, faith”. What a name actually means depends on the characters the family chose and how they combine.

How is 信 spelled in Malaysia?

In our records 信 is spelled Sin (Hokkien, Hakka), Sing (Teochew), Shin (Hokkien, Hakka) and Xin (Mandarin). A spelling follows a dialect’s romanization; it does not show which dialect anyone speaks.

Is every Sing written 信?

Not necessarily. The spelling Sing can also stand for 成, 新, 星, 勝. Only the family knows which character was chosen.