Guo

Guo
Guo surname in regular script
PronunciationGuō (Mandarin Pinyin)
Gwok3 (Cantonese Jyutping)
Koeh / Keh (Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī)
Language(s)Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese
Origin
Language(s)Old Chinese
DerivationState of Western Guo
Meaning"outer city wall"
Other names
Variant form(s)Kwok, Guok (Cantonese)
Guo, Kuo (Mandarin)
Kue, Koay, Kwek, Quek, Kwik (Hokkien)
Kue, Koay, Quek (Teochew)
Kuncoro, Kusuma, Kartono etc. (Indonesia)
Kuoch (Khmer - Cambodian)
Quách (Vietnamese)
Kwak (Korean)
Kaku (Japanese)
Derivative(s)Quách, Kwak
Guo
Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinGuō
Wade–Gilesko1
IPA[kwǒ]
Wu
Romanization[koʔ5]
Gan
Romanization[kuɔʔ55][1]
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping[gwok3]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ[Koeh]
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese/kwɑk̚/
Old Chinese
Zhengzhang/*kʷaːɡ/

"Guo", written in Chinese: , is one of the most common Chinese surnames and means "the wall that surrounds a city" in Chinese. It can also be transliterated as Cok, Gou, Quo, Quach, Quek, Que, Keh, Kuo, Kwo, Kuoch, Kok, Koc, Kwee, Kwek, Kwik, Kwok, Kuok, Kuek, Gock, Koay, or Ker. The Korean equivalent is spelled Kwak; the Vietnamese equivalent is Quách.

The different ways of spelling this surname indicate the origin of the family. For example, the Cantonese "Kwok" originated in Hong Kong and the surrounding area. In the Philippines, the spelling is "Que", "Ke", "Quepe", and "Kepa". In 2019, Guo was the 16th most common surname in mainland China.[2]

  1. ^ 熊正辉 (1995). 南昌方言词典. 江苏教育出版社. p. 289.
  2. ^ "新京报 - 好新闻,无止境".