Mandarin
Li
黎
Source-backed sample
Li / Lai (黎)
Li is a Chinese surname, written 黎 in simplified Chinese and 黎 in traditional Chinese. Overseas records may show the same surname as Li、Lai、Lye depending on dialect and migration history.
Cantonese / Overseas
Lai
Legacy spelling
Lai
Lingnan record status
Under review
No verified Lingnan village link is published in this MVP sample.
Romanization Matrix
| System / Context | Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mandarin Pinyin | Li | Modern Mainland pinyin spelling for 黎. |
| Cantonese / Overseas | Lai | Commonly encountered in Cantonese and overseas Chinese records. |
| Diaspora & Legacy | Lai / Lye / Ly / Lei | Family and migration records may preserve older or regional spellings. |
Origin notes
Li is a Chinese surname, written 黎 in simplified Chinese and 黎 in traditional Chinese. Overseas records may show the same surname as Li、Lai、Lye depending on dialect and migration history.
Li / Lai 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. Note that 赖 shares the Cantonese spelling Lai with 黎.
For similar spellings, also see Lai / Lai (赖).
Lingnan relevance notes
This page has not yet linked the Li / Lai 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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