Teochew

T1E1O1C3H4E1W4
/tiˈoʊt͡ʃuː/

proper noun

A variety of Southern Min Chinese, spoken in the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong and its diaspora.

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RareScrabble 15

Meanings

proper noun

alternative Teo Chew · alternative Diojiu · alternative Teochiu · alternative Tiuchiu · alternative Tie-chiu · alternative Teochow · alternative Chiuchow · alternative Chiu Chow · alternative Chiu Chau · alternative Thailand Taechew · alternative Thailand Taechiew · alternative Thailand Taechiu · alternative Indonesia Tio Ciu · alternative Indonesia Tiociu · alternative Trieu Chau

  1. A variety of Southern Min Chinese, spoken in the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong and its diaspora.

    'I do not speak English,' the young man said sanguinely in Malay, then said it again in Teochew, to test the white man.

    2015, William L. Gibson, Singapore Yellow, Singapore: Monsoon Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 116
    1 more example

    […] Lim Peng Siang, Low Kim Pong, Teo Sian Keng and Lee Choon Guan were leaders of Fukien dialect group; Lam Kim Seng, Chua Tse Yong were Teochew leaders; Loke Yew and Lam Wai Fong were Cantonese leaders.

    1995, Yen Ching-hwang, Community and Politics: The Chinese in Colonial Singapore and Malaysia, Marshall Cavendish International, →ISBN

    Synonyms: Chaozhou

  2. dateduncommonA city in the eastern part of China's Guangdong province, now more commonly called Chaozhou.

    "I miss my family in Teochew. […] Returning to Teochew now is also not an option […]"

    2014, Song Cheng Miang, Teochew Red, Hokkien Green, Partridge Publishing Singapore
    3 more examples

    Fong Kai is a well known porcelain-producing center in eastern Kwangtung. It is only 8 li away from Teochow (Chaochow), and easily accessible.

    1955, Review of Hong Kong Chinese Press

    As mentioned previously (in Chapter II), the Huang Kang Uprising in Teochew (also known as the first Teochew Uprising) had been fermenting long before the formation of the T'ung Meng Hui.

    1976, Yen Ching Hwang, The Overseas Chinese and the 1911 Revolution: With special reference to Singapore and Malaya, Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, page 310

    It has been said that this dish was created by the court house chefs when the secretaries of the various civil departments in Teochew City did not want their officials to look uncivilised eating chicken with bones at formal events.

    2015, Eric Low, Teochew Heritage Cooking: A treasury of recipes for Chinese comfort food, Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd, →ISBN, page 72
  3. The Chaoshan region where Teochew is spoken.

    Changlim in the Chaozhou (Teochew) region emerged as Amoy's rival for domination of the coastal trade.

    2019, Kwa Chong Guan, “Prelude to the History of the Chinese in Singapore”, in Kwa Chong Guan, Kua Bak Lim, editors, A General History Of The Chinese In Singapore, page 16
    4 more examples

    In Fukien and the Teochew region of eastern Kwangtung there are places where every man in every village within a radius of twenty miles or more bears the same surname, the clan being virtually a small nation with its own territory.

    1972, Austin Coates, China, India and the Ruins of Washington, page 94

    When they later moved down south to the Teochew region, their language developed into the Teochew dialect, whose tone is very similar to Minnan Huà.

    2007, Lee Khoon Choy, Passage Through China: This Land So Rich in Beauty, page 22

    Mr and Mrs Chen were from the same town in the Chaoshan (Teochew) Region and spoke the same variety of Teochew dialect.

    2014, Sihua Liang, Language Attitudes and Identities in Multilingual China, page 92

    While some Teochews came to Singapore from Dapo (also Dabu, or Hakka district), language differences led to Dapo being separated from the Teochew region, leaving only eight districts, although after the 19th century, the Chinese government further divided the 8 districts into 11.

    2020, Shawn Seah, My Father's Kampung: A History Of Aukang And Punggol, page xvii
nounTeochew (plural Teochews or Teochew)

plural Teochews · alternative Teo Chew · alternative Diojiu · alternative Teochiu · alternative Tiuchiu · alternative Tie-chiu · alternative Teochow · alternative Chiuchow · alternative Chiu Chow · alternative Chiu Chau · alternative Thailand Taechew · alternative Thailand Taechiew · alternative Thailand Taechiu · alternative Indonesia Tio Ciu · alternative Indonesia Tiociu · alternative Trieu Chau

  1. A person of Chaoshan heritage.

    However, the majority of Singaporean Teochews speak the Swatow (named after the main Teochew city in southeast China) variety.

    2012, Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew, A Sociolinguistic History of Early Identities in Singapore: From Colonialism to Nationalism, Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, page 45
    3 more examples

    The founding of the Four Seas Communications Bank by the leading Teochew merchants in 1907 marked the heyday of Teochew economic strength. However, the inter-war years was a period of economic regression for the Teochews.

    1985, Lim Keak Cheng, Social Change and the Chinese in Singapore: A Socio-economic Geography with Special Reference to Bāng Structure

    "Yes! You are Teochew. Aiyah, don't you know, our people are known for being pirates, smugglers, and greate businessmen. [The Hong Kong billionaire] Li Ka-shing is Teochew, you know!"

    2011, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, A Tiger in the Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 9

    They were followed by the Teochews, who arrived poor and dispossessed, but soon used their entrepreneurial skills in Bangkok to build their wealth.

    2015, Phil Macdonald, Carl Parkes, National Geographic Traveler: Thailand, 4th edition, Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 27
adjectiveTeochew (not comparable)

alternative Teo Chew · alternative Diojiu · alternative Teochiu · alternative Tiuchiu · alternative Tie-chiu · alternative Teochow · alternative Chiuchow · alternative Chiu Chow · alternative Chiu Chau · alternative Thailand Taechew · alternative Thailand Taechiew · alternative Thailand Taechiu · alternative Indonesia Tio Ciu · alternative Indonesia Tiociu · alternative Trieu Chau

  1. not comparableRelating to the Chaoshan region of China or its people.

    […] when Rev. Guthrie Gamble started the first company in the southern Chinese Teochew city of Swatow […]

    1996, Danny Tze-Ken Wong, Our Anchor Holds: A History of the Boy's Brigade in Malaysia, 1946-1996
    2 more examples

    My grandfather, Mr Kua Kim Par, left the Teochew city of Chaozhou circa 1896 because of the political turmoil in China with the decline of the Qing Dynasty.

    2014, Kua Ee Heok, Ageing Baby Boomers, Write Editions / Tusitala (RLS) Pte Ltd, →ISBN

    Liang: So where do most members of your Jiazu live? Chen: Chaozhou (Teochew city). Two thirds of the population live in Chaozhou. Err...three fourths, actually, because only my father, his brother and the sons of some relatives have left (Chaozhou) to work elsewhere.

    2014, Sihua Liang, Language Attitudes and Identities in Multilingual China: A Linguistic Ethnography, Springer, →ISBN, page 92

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounA variety of Southern Min Chinese, spoken in the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong and its diaspora.

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Origin

  1. Teochew潮州
  2. EnglishTeochew

From Teochew 潮州 (dio⁵ ziu¹). See also Hokkien 潮州 (Tiô-chiu). Doublet of Chaozhou.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Cantonese 潮州話 /潮州话
  • 潮州話 /潮州话one of the divisions of the Chinese language
Chinese Mandarin 潮州話 /潮州话
  • 潮州話 /潮州话 (Cháozhōuhuà)one of the divisions of the Chinese language
French teochew
  • teochewone of the divisions of the Chinese language
Japanese 潮州語
  • 潮州語 (chōshūgo)one of the divisions of the Chinese language
Korean 조주어
  • 조주어 (jojueo)one of the divisions of the Chinese language
Malay bahasa Teochew
  • bahasa Teochewone of the divisions of the Chinese language
Russian чаоша́ньский
  • чаоша́ньский (čaošánʹskij)one of the divisions of the Chinese language
Thai แต้จิ๋ว
  • แต้จิ๋ว (dtɛ̂ɛ-jǐu)one of the divisions of the Chinese language
Vietnamese tiếng Triều Châu, tiếng Tiều
  • tiếng Triều Châuone of the divisions of the Chinese language
  • tiếng Tiềuone of the divisions of the Chinese language
Cite this entry
APA

Teochew. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Teochew

MLA

“Teochew.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Teochew. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Teochew,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Teochew.

Source: Teochew on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.