Chinese Language Basics

To hear the Chinese characters below spoken out aloud, use your cursor to highlight them. A speaker icon should then appear which when clicked will play the audio for the highlighted characters.

Asking about somebody’s name

When meeting someone for the first time it is generally polite to ask what their surname is first.

• Person A:
  • 请问，您贵姓？
  • Qǐngwèn, nín guìxìng?
  • What is your (honourable) surname?
• Person B:  我姓王。
  • Wǒ xìng Wáng.
  • My surname is Wang.

• Notes:

  • Surname
    • The word “surname” in Chinese (姓 xìng) can be a noun or a verb. The noun form will be fairly comfortable for English speakers to use.  For example, it is also possible to say (but not commonly said in China):
      • 我的姓是王。Wǒ de xìng shì wáng.
      • My surname is Wang.
    • The verb form will seem strange to English speakers. Literally translated in means:
      • 我姓王。Wǒ xìng Wáng.
      • I am surnamed Wang.
  • Honourable
    • The word 贵 guì is placed before the word for surname (姓 xìng). It has the following meanings:
      • expensive (这儿的咖啡很贵。Zhè’er de kāfēi hěn guì。 This place’s coffee is expensive.)
      • honourable
        • 您贵姓 (Nín guìxìng? Your honourable surname?)
        • 贵公司 ….. (Guì gōngsī….. Your honourable company ……
          • a very polite and formal way of referring to someone else’s company
        • 贵学校 ….. (Guì xuéxiào ….. Your honourable school …..)
          • a very polite and formal way of referring to someone else’s school
  • You.
    • It is also important to use the polite form of the word for you in Chinese when asking this question:
      • 您 nín – you (polite)
      • 你 nǐ – you (familiar)
        • It is incorrect to use 你 (nǐ) in this expression as it is too familiar for such a formal way of addressing someone.

Once you get to know someone better, you can ask what their first name is. The way to ask this is:

• Person A:
  • 你叫什么名字？
  • Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì？
  • What is your first name?
• Person B:
  • 我叫小红。
  • Wǒ jiào xiǎo hóng。
  • My (first) name is Xiaohong.

• Notes:

  • To call, to be called
    • The verb in Chinese is 叫 jiào。
      • 我叫小红。Wǒ jiào Xiǎohóng。This literally means “I am called Xiaohong”.
    • When this verb 叫 jiào is used to ask someone’s name, they can either respond with:
      • just their first (given) name
        • 我叫小红。
        • Wǒ jiào Xiǎohóng.
      • their full name including your surname
        • 我叫王小红。Wǒ jiào Wáng Xiǎohóng。
        • My name is Wang Xiaohong.
  • Names – word order
    • Chinese always put their surname or family name first and their individual name last.
    • In the Chinese concept of things the family is bigger (more important) than the individual, so it should come first.
      • The concept of family encompasses current living family and ancestors. It also encompasses relatives too. This is why family is considered bigger (more important) than the individual family member.
      • Many other things in Chinese are ordered in the same way, i.e. from big to small. For example:
        • Family names:
          • 王小红 Wáng Xiǎohóng
          • Family > individual
        •  Addresses:
          • 中国北京中山路30号。
          • Zhōngguó Běijīng Zhōngshān lù 30 hào.
          • China, Beijing, Zhongshan Road, No. 30