What is "xu"

n. A minor unit of currency in Vietnam, now little-used, forming a hundredth of a dong.

Xu is a surname of Chinese origin. It is pinyin transliteration of one of two Chinese surnames, both of which is transliterated as Hsü in the Wade–Giles system, and sometimes spelled without the diaeresis as Hsu. In 2010 許/许 was the 26th most common surname in the People's Republic of China according to the List of common Chinese surnames.

In Cantonese, 許/许 is systemically transcribed in Jyutping as Heoi and in Yale Romanization as Héui; customary spellings include Hui, Hoi, or Hooi.

In Southern Min, 許/许 is transcribed in Pe̍h-ōe-jī as Khó, in Teochew as Kóu, and customarily spelled Koh, Khoh, Khor, Khov, Khaw, or Ko.

In Gan, it can be spelled Hi or Hé.

For Hoa people the name is written as Hái or Hy in Vietnamese. Other spellings include Hee and Hu.

許/许 in Japanese is transliterated as Yurusu, Bakari, or Moto, and in Sino-Japanese as Kyo or Ko. The Korean pronunciation, using the Yale romanization system, is He or Ho.

Chinese immigrants with the surname who emigrated to Korea wrote it as 허 in Hangeul, which is also written as Heo. The Korean name 허 translated to Japanese word is ホ ( Romaji: Ho).

Overseas Chinese living in Vietnam ( Hoa) with the surname 許/许, had their surnames transliterated as the Hái or Hy for government purposes or when immigrating to the English-speaking World, particularly the United States.

Each time the Chinese surname was introduced to another language, the writing and pronunciation also changed. In Vietnamese 许 translates as hứa or hử.

Xu or XU may refer to:

• Chinese surname Xú
• Chinese Xǔ (surname)
• Xu (state) , a state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China
• ǃXu, a name for the ǃKung group of Bushmen, and may refer to the ǃKung language or the ǃKung people
• ǃXu (god), the creator god of the ǃKung
• xu, a minor currency of Vietnam, 100 xu = 1 dong
• Xu, a minor character in Final Fantasy VIII
• X unit (symbol xu), is a unit of length approximately equal to 0.1 pm (10 m), used for X-ray and gamma ray wavelengths
• Xavier University in Cincinnati, United States
• Xavier University of Louisiana, United States
• Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
• Xinjiang University, Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China
• XU (intelligence organisation), a clandestine intelligence organisation in occupied Norway during World War II
• PSA XU engine, a series of petrol engines from PSA

Xu is a Chinese surname. As of 2007 徐 was listed as the 11th most common surname within the People's Republic of China. It is Hsu in Wade-Giles.

In Cantonese 徐 is often transcribed as Tsui, T'sui, Choi, Chui or even Tsua.

In Japanese, the surname 徐 is transliterated as Omomuro, and in Sino-Japanese as Jo. The Korean pronunciation, using the Yale romanization system, is Se.

Chinese immigrants with the surname Xú who emigrated to Korea translated the surname to 서 (in Hangul), which is also romanized as Seo. The Korean name 서, translated to Japanese, is ソ ( Romaji: So).

In Vietnamese, 徐 is romanized as từ.

The State of Xu (also called Xu Rong or Xu Yi by its enemies) was an independent Huaiyi state of the Chinese Bronze Age that was ruled by the Ying family and controlled much of the Huai River valley for at least two centuries. With its capital at Xizhou and its ritual center at Pizhou, Xu's heartland was northern Anhui, northwestern Jiangsu, and the Lower Huai River valley.

An ancient but originally minor state that already existed during the late Shang dynasty, Xu was subjugated by the Western Zhou dynasty around 1039 BC, and was gradually sinified from then on. It eventually regained its independence and formed a confederation of 36 states that became powerful enough to challenge the Zhou empire for supremacy over the Central Plain. Able to consolidate its rule over a territory that stretched from Hubei in the south, through eastern Henan, northern Anhui and Jiangsu, as far north as southern Shandong, Xu's confederation remained a major power until the early Spring and Autumn period. It reached its apogee in the mid 8th century BC, expanding its influence as far as Zhejiang in the south. By that time, however, Xu's confederation began to break up as result of internal unrest. As its power waned, Xu was increasingly threatened by neighboring states, losing control over the Huai River to Chu. Reduced to its heartland, Xu was eventually conquered by Wu in 512 BC.