Origin | |
---|---|
Word/name | China |
Region of origin | China, Bianjing, Hainan and Hong Kong, Macau |
Other names | |
Variant form(s) | Wung, Vong, Huang, Wang, Heng |
Wong is the Jyutping, Yale and Hong Kong romanization of the Chinese surnames Huang (traditional Chinese: 黃; simplified Chinese: 黄) and Wang (Chinese: 王), two ubiquitous Chinese surnames; Wang (Chinese: 汪), another common Chinese surname; and a host of other rare Chinese surnames, including Heng (traditional Chinese: 橫; simplified Chinese: 横), Hong (Chinese: 弘), Hong (traditional Chinese: 閎; simplified Chinese: 闳), and Hong (Chinese: 宏)
Note that, while 汪 (Wang/Wung) could be distinguished by its tone, 黃 (Wong/Huang) and 王 (Wong/Wang) are homophones in Cantonese. To differentiate the two in conversation, 黃 (Wong/Huang) is customarily referred to by native Cantonese speakers as 黃色嘅黃 (Wong as in yellow), 黃河嘅黃 (Yellow River Wong), 黃金嘅黃 (yellow gold Wong), 大肚黃 (big belly Wong, as the character resembles a person with a big belly), or by native Mandarin speakers as "grass-head Wong" (due to its first radical), whereas 王 (Wong/Wang) is referred as the 三劃王 "three-stroke Wong" (due to its prominent 3 horizontal strokes) or the 'King' Wong (due to its meaning).