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Chinese name character

Chinese name character 有

yǒu

The character 有 (Mandarin yǒu) appears in 2 names and 2 syllables in this reference and is spelled Yew, Eu and Yau in Malaysia. Recorded meanings include “to have; to exist; abundant”.

Names and syllables
4
Malaysian spellings
3
Strokes
6
Attested in records
3

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

Meanings of 有: the recorded options

  • to have; to exist; abundant

    in 4 character options · attested

Unihan definition: have, own, possess; exist

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 有

有 Yew Hokkien · Hakka Eu Hokkien Yau Cantonese
有 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
YewHokkien · Hakkaattested in name records
EuHokkienattested in name records
YauCantonesepossible

Readings of 有 by dialect

DialectReadingMalaysian spelling
HokkienPe̍h-ōe-jī iú Yew, Eu
CantoneseJyutping jau5 Yau
HakkaPha̍k-fa-sṳ yû Yew
MandarinHanyu Pinyin yǒu –

Readings from the character options in our name records; Unihan gives Mandarin yǒu and Cantonese jau5.

2 names that can be written with 有

2 syllables that can stand for 有

Sources

  1. Wiktionary: 有 · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
  2. MDBG: 有 · mdbg.net · meaning
  3. Unicode Unihan Database: U+6709 · 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 有 mean in a name?

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

How is 有 spelled in Malaysia?

In our records 有 is spelled Yew (Hokkien, Hakka), Eu (Hokkien) and Yau (Cantonese). A spelling follows a dialect’s romanization; it does not show which dialect anyone speaks.

Is every Yew written 有?

Not necessarily. The spelling Yew can also stand for 耀, 友, 優, 瑤. Only the family knows which character was chosen.