How to ask people’s name in Chinese? There are so many different ways, depending on the situations.What’s your name and also my name is, this would be the very first interaction in between you and the Chinese person. Today allowed’s see how to ask the name as well as answer it in Chinese.
How to Say What’s Your Name in Chinese: The common way
你叫什么
nǐ jiào shén me – literal. you are called what liberal. what’s your name
- Q: 你叫什么？(Nǐ jiào shénme?)
- A: 我叫…… (Wǒ jiào……)
你叫什么 is an informal and probably the primarily utilized means of how to ask people’s name in Chinese. You can utilize 你叫什么 to an individual that has to do with the same age or more youthful than you. It can additionally be utilized amongst coworkers at your work environment, as long as the person you’re asking is not your exceptional. In Chinese, level of politeness is not as rigorous as in Japanese or Korean, yet with specific expressions such as asking individuals’s name or greetings, you need to be cautious with which degree of politeness you choose for various situation and/or individuals.
你叫什么名字
nǐ jiào shén me míngzi – literal. you are called what name liberal. what’s your name
- Q: 你叫什么名字？(Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?)
- A: 我叫…… (Wǒ jiào……)
你叫什么名字 is generally the same as 你叫什么. 名字 is a person’s name, it could be used to refer to both their full name and their first name only. 姓名 xìng míng full name, also means name, only it’s more used in written language, like when you fill out a form and you are asked to write down your name, you will usually see 姓名.
你的名字是什么
nǐ de míng zì shì shén me – literal. your name is what liberal. what’s your name
- Q: 你的名字是什么？(Nǐ de míngzì shì shénme?)
- A: 我的名字是…… (Wǒ de míngzì shì……)
Another phrase of how to ask what is your name in Chinese would be 你的名字是什么, it is the equivalent of 你叫什么名字, they mean the same thing, only with different word choices. 你的名字是什么 is less common than 你叫什么 or 你叫什么名字.
你姓什么
nǐ xìng shén me – literal. you family name what liberal. what’s your family name
Q: 你姓什么？(Nǐ xìng shénme?)
A：我姓……，叫…… (Wǒ xìng……, jiào…….)
There is a method of just how to ask what’s your name in Chinese if you especially wan to ask a person’s surname. People’s name are made from a first name, as well as a surname. For individuals that you wish to be respectful with, as opposed to asking their name, you can ask their surname rather. 你姓什么 is a reasonably informal way to ask an individual’s last name, compared to 你贵姓.
Dialogue
A: 你 叫 什 么 名 字 ？
Nǐ jiào shén me míng zi ?
What is your name?
B: 我 叫 李 小玉 。
Wǒ jiào Lǐ xiǎoyù .
My name is Li Xiaoyu.
A: 你 叫 什 么 名 字 ？
Nǐ jiào shén me míng zi ?
What is your name?
B: 我 叫 王 安娜 。 你 呢 ？
Wǒ jiào Wáng ānnà . Nǐ ne ?
My name is Wang Anna. What about you?
A: 我 叫 李 大伟 。
Wǒ jiào Lǐ dàwěi .
My name is Li Dawei.
A: 你 叫 什 么 名 字 ？
Nǐ jiào shén me míng zi ?
What’s your name?
B: 我 叫 丹 丹 ， 你 呢 ？
Wǒ jiào Dān dān , nǐ ne ?
My name is Dandan. What about you?
A: 我 叫 Daniel 。
Wǒ jiào Daniel .
My name is Daniel.
Vocabulary
叫 jiào vt. to call or to be called
什么 shén me pron. what
名字 míng zi n. name
Expansion
Other use of the verb 叫（v. to call）
1. 老板 在 叫 你 ， 快 点儿 过去 。
Lǎobǎn zài jiào nǐ , kuài diǎnr guòqù .
The boss is calling you, hurry up.
2. 刚刚 谁 叫 我 ？
Gānggāng shéi jiào wǒ ?
Who was calling me just now?
Grammar
Word order of the Chinese question:
In English, the word order of the question is to place the question word in the front of the sentence, however the word order of the Chinese question is to maintain words order of the statement and then alter the “asked component” to the equivalent inquiry word.
Sample Sentences:
我 叫 Joyce .
wǒ jiào Joyce. .
I am called Joyce.
你 叫 什 么 名 字 ？
nǐ jiào shén me míng zi ?
You are called what name?
他 叫 什 么 名 字 ？
tā jiào shén me míng zi ?
What’s his name?
她 叫 什 么 名 字 ？
tā jiào shén me míng zi ?
What’s her name?
#2.How to Ask People’s Name in Chinese: The polite and respectful way
请问怎么称呼
qǐng wèn zěn me chēng hū – literal. please (allow me to) ask how to address (you) liberal. how would you like to be addressed?
- Q：请问您怎么称呼？(Qǐngwèn nín zěnme chēnghu?)
- A：我叫……，你可以叫我…… (Wǒ jiào……, nǐ kěyǐ jiào wǒ…….)
Instead of their name, some people might prefer to be addressed with their title, such as 博士bó shì Dr., 医生 yī shēng Dr., 先生 xiān sheng Sir., 经理 jīng lǐ Manager, 老师 lǎo shī Teacher, 老板 lǎo bǎn Boss, 厂长 chǎng zhǎng Factory Manager… If you want to ask specifically how a person would like to be addressed, use 请问怎么称呼, you can put 你 or 您 into this sentence and say 请问你怎么称呼 or 请问您怎么称呼. Also, in Chinese the way you address someone with their title would be: Last Name + Title. For example, Dr. Li would be 李医生 lǐ yī shēng.
贵姓
guì xìng – literal. noble family name liberal. may I know your family name
- Q：您贵姓？(Nín guìxìng?)
- A：免贵姓…… (Miǎn guì xìng…….)
贵姓 can be used with 你 or 您, with 您贵姓 even more polite than 你贵姓. This is probably as polite as it can get of how to ask what is your name in Chinese. But be careful when people ask you 你贵姓 or 您贵姓, make sure you drop the 贵 guì respectful, noble.
Bonus:
Q：敢问阁下尊姓大名？(Gǎn wèn géxià zūn xìng dàmíng?)
A：不敢当，在下…… (Bù gǎndāng, zàixià…….)
#3. On the phone
Phone call conversations are often different from other situations, here are the ways to ask the name on the phone.
请问哪位
qǐng wèn nǎ wèi – literal. please (allow me to) ask which one liberal. who are you please
- Q: 喂，请问哪位？(Wèi, qǐngwèn nǎ wèi?)
- A: 你好，我是…… (Nǐ hǎo, wǒ shì……)
- A：喂，请问……在吗？(Wèi, qǐngwèn……zài ma?)
If you want to be polite when asking a question, there’s no other phrase better than 请问. Start any question with this and you will get the instant effect of being polite. Also 位 wèi is a polite version of measure word for people. When you don’t know the person and want to be polite to ask their name or who they are, especially ON THE PHONE, say 请问哪位.
您是哪位
nín shì nǎ wèi – literal. (respectful) you which one liberal. who are you please
您 is the polite way of saying 你. 您是哪位 generally means the same as 请问哪位, the difference is 您是哪位 is more likely to be used IN PERSON than on the phone.
- Q: 我就是。您是哪位？(Wǒ jiùshì. Nín shì nǎ wèi?)
- A：我是……呀。(Wǒ shì……ya.)
#4. How to Ask People’s Nickname in Chinese
你有小名吗
nǐ yǒu xiǎo míng ma – literal. you have nickname, yes? liberal. do you have a nickname
In Chinese, 小名 means nickname, ask your close friend 你有小名吗 to call them by their nickname. If they say 没有 méi yǒu I don’t have (one), you can even give them a 小名.
