Mandarin
Cai
Recorded in the Guangxu-era 重修信宜縣志
卷一暂无直接记载。
清光緒十七年《重修信宜縣志》卷一（敖式槱修、梁安甸纂）· 每条附原书页码
蔡
Source-backed sample
Cai / Choi (蔡)
Cai is a major Chinese surname written 蔡 in both simplified and traditional Chinese. Overseas records may show the same surname as Cai, Choi, Chua or Choy depending on dialect and migration history.
Cantonese / Overseas
Choi, Choy
Legacy spelling
Tshai
Lingnan record status
Under review
No verified Lingnan village link is published in this MVP sample.
Romanization Matrix
| System / Context | Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mandarin Pinyin | Cai | Modern Mainland pinyin spelling for 蔡. |
| Cantonese / Overseas | Choi / Choy | Common in Hong Kong and Cantonese diaspora records; Choy is a frequent variant spelling. |
| Hokkien & Teochew (Nanyang) | Chua / Coi | Chua is the dominant spelling in Hokkien- and Teochew-speaking communities across Southeast Asia. |
| Diaspora & Legacy | Chai / Thai / Chae | Chai appears in Hakka records; Thai in Vietnamese and Chae in Korean background. |
Origin notes
Cai is a major Chinese surname written 蔡 in both simplified and traditional Chinese. Overseas records may show the same surname as Cai, Choi, Chua or Choy depending on dialect and migration history.
Cai / Choi is part of the Lingnan Archive surname library. The page records common romanization patterns and source notes, while leaving clan hall, commandery, generation poem and Lingnan village links empty until stronger public sources verify them.
For similar spellings, also see Cui / Choi (崔).
Lingnan relevance notes
This page has not yet linked the Cai / Choi surname to a verified Lingnan (Western Guangdong) village record. Submit village sounds, ancestral tablets, tombstone photos or older documents for preliminary review.
Related villages
No verified related village records are published for this surname yet.
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