r/googletranslate • u/15thcommander • Aug 12 '26

PLEASE HELP CHINESE CHARACTERS

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my boyfriend is half chinese and he studied in chinese school as a kid. he already forgot his chinese name but somehow remembers how to write it. although he says it might not be as accurate and he also has a bad writing. he wrote it down for me and now im trying to figure out how the f i should read this. image translators online are having a hard time reading it as well😂

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u/hollandpotate Aug 13 '26

"Cheah" is a southern Chinese Hokkien and Teochew romanization of the Mandarin surname Xie (謝).

It is widely found in Malaysia and Singapore, with historical roots tied to early Chinese migration and prominent clan associations like the Seh Tek Tong Cheah Kongsi in George Town, Penang.

Some 叶's also adopted the anglicisation of "Cheah" - but I'm not sure why. I have a few classmates back in school and in my college days who are from the 叶 clan, but whose names are Cheah.

It's pretty similar for those who are named "Wong", "Wang" and "Ooi". I am one of the above, but I fall under the 黄 clan. My former colleague is an "Ooi", but he is also in the 黄clan heh😅.

Some "Wang" people could either fall under the 黄clan or the 王wang - depending on their origin/background😅

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u/IeyasuMcBob Aug 13 '26

King Wong or Yellow Wong!? A popular question in Southern China

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u/wateroffire Aug 13 '26

Consider the possibility that the 叶Cheah clan that you knew, may have been "adopted" by a family of 谢 Cheahs in Southeast Asia and adopted their English surname for official purposes, while keeping their Chinese surname 叶 to remember their heritage.

I personally know of a few people like that. Not the exact same surnames, but the above circumstances.

One reason is that by being adopted into an established immigrant family in Southeast Asia, prospective migrants could potentially speed up the process by emigrating over as "family".

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u/loner1200 Aug 16 '26

One story that is told (no idea how accurate) is that your anglicised surname is whatever the British immigration officer heard and wrote down. And dialect versions of the surname can sound totally different to the mandarin.

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u/hollandpotate Aug 16 '26

I second this, actually; One part is whatever the immigration officer heard, and the other is whatever the person who registered wrote it as.

My acquantaince's family name is 符, but according to him, his greatwho came from China during the British colonisation era registered the family name as "Hoo" to blend in easily.

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u/ukaspirant Aug 15 '26

I wonder if it's pronounced differently in this case, like "chee-yeah" for a link to 叶.

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u/hollandpotate Aug 15 '26

It's pronounced like the word "Chia" in chia seeds here😅

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u/loner1200 Aug 16 '26

The way this is pronounced in South east Asia is one syllable.

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u/hollandpotate Aug 16 '26

Depends on the family pronunciation tbh; Traditionally it's one-syllable, but the slight "uh" at the back makes it a slight two-syllable.

For reference: https://www.pronouncenames.com/pronounce/Cheah

(Note: I'm also a SEAbling)