Soochow
/ˈsuːtʃaʊ/noun
A traditional English and Wade–Giles romanization of Suzhou, a historic city in Jiangsu Province, China.
Did you know?Soochow preserves Wade–Giles romanization, the system once commonly used in English before Pinyin made “Suzhou” the standard spelling.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Chinese tradition
Chinese
姑蘇 (Gūsū)
“Gusu, the ancient name associated with the region and nearby Mount Gusu”
6th Century CE
Middle Chinese
蘇州 (Su-zhou)
“Su Prefecture, the administrative name established under the Sui dynasty”
19th Century
English
Soochow
“An English rendering of the city’s name based on southern Chinese pronunciation and older romanization practices”
19th–20th Century
Wade–Giles
Soo-chou / Soochow
“Romanized forms used in Western books, maps, diplomacy, and missionary publications”
20th Century
Pinyin
Sūzhōu
“The modern Hànyǔ Pīnyīn romanization adopted as the standard international spelling”
Modern English
English
Suzhou
“The contemporary standard English form, while Soochow survives in historical names and institutions”