Posted by alex do (65.45.140.4) on October 06, 2003 at 21:41:02:
In Reply to: Re: Chinese equivalent of surname "Thai" posted by Hcvveh Hvvhh on July 19, 2002 at 08:30:27:
Thai comes from cantonese Choi, which means wealthy (mandarin Cai). There are 100 surnames which have branched to nearly 800 variations.
Thai is the equivalent to chinese Tai meaning "extreme or great," and can only be used as a first name.
Thus the Viet surname Thai is still the cantonese Choi and the Mandarin Cai, without a doubt. French colonization has destroyed much of vietnamese ancient culture.
: According to Vietnamese version of One Hundred Family Surnames,> (from Mandarin Bai Jia Xing), Vietnamese THAI is the equivalent of Mandarin CAI with the fourth tone (grave accent. The Chinese character for it is used to write a bitter tasting vegetable called SOnchus oleraceus.
:
: : Hello,
: : My paternal grandfather was an ethnic Chinese (from the Canton region) born in Saigon, Vietnam. His surname is rendered Th�i (Thai, with acute accent over the "a") in Vietnamese. I have asked several Cantonese speakers to write the Chinese character for this name, and they have all written the character which means "peace", "grand" or "Thai" (as in Thailand). As far as I know, this surname is unique and doesn't have any associated meaning. Can anyone shed further light?