Tsai (蔡)
A Taiwanese surname.
蔡 Ts'ai
- Zhuyin
- ㄘㄞˋ
- Pinyin
- cài
- Wade-Giles
- Ts'ai
- Further spellings of 蔡
- Tsai, Cai, Tsay
- Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-lô)
- Tshuà
- Hakka (Sixian)
- cai⁵⁵
- Rank in Taiwan
- 9th most common surname, roughly 2.93% of the population (2023 Ministry of the Interior figures)
What the character means
In classical texts, 'wild grass' or 'a large tortoise'; it is also the name of an ancient state.
Where the surname comes from
Tradition traces it to Cai Shu Du (蔡叔度), a son of King Wen of Zhou, whose son Cai Zhong (蔡仲) was enfeoffed at Cai in present-day Henan. When Chu conquered Cai, its people adopted the state's name as their surname. Hall name (堂號): 濟陽堂.
Saying it 我姓蔡 — wǒ xìng cài (ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄘㄞˋ), "my family name is 蔡"
Sources: rank and share, 內政部 全國姓名統計分析 (Ministry of the Interior, National Name Statistics), data as of 2023-06-30. Taiwanese Hokkien readings, 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 (MOE Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi), 百家姓 appendix. Hakka, 教育部臺灣客語辭典 (MOE Dictionary of Taiwan Hakka), 百家姓表, Sixian (四縣腔).