Chinese surname

周

The Chinese surname 周 (Mandarin zhōu, Cantonese zau1) is spelled Chew, Chaw, Chiu in Malaysia, depending on the dialect romanization.

Mandarin (pinyin)	zhōu
Cantonese (Jyutping)	zau1
Definition (Unihan)	Zhou dynasty; circumference

Spelling tree of 周

周 is spelled 3 ways in our records. Each label is the romanization a spelling follows, not the bearer’s dialect.

Spelling	Romanization
Chew	Hokkien · Teochew
Chaw	Cantonese
Chiu	Hokkien · Teochew

All surname characters and spellings

Spellings of 周 in Malaysia

ChewSpelling common in Hokkien, Teochew romanization
ChawSpelling common in Cantonese romanization
ChiuSpelling common in Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese romanizationAlso stands for 趙, 招

Character readings and definition: Unicode Unihan Database (Unicode License). A spelling describes how the name is written, not anyone’s dialect or background.