名字
name
HSK level
- Pinyin
- míngzi
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 1
- Strokes
- 12
- Register
- neutral
- Measure word
- 个
- In episodes
- 5
Stroke order for 名字
名字 is written with 12 strokes (名: 6, 字: 6). The animation replays automatically.
What does 名字 mean?
名字 (míngzi) is the everyday word for 'name' — a person's name, a pet's name, a place name, the name of anything.
The second syllable 字 is unstressed (neutral tone). The most common HSK 1 question is 你叫什么名字 ('what's your name?'), literally 'you are called what name.'
Two notes for English speakers: first, in Chinese 名字 usually refers to the full given name (or full name including surname), not specifically a first name — to disambiguate, 姓 (xìng) is the family name and 名 alone is the given name. Second, for formal situations like filling out a form or asking an elder, 您贵姓 ('your honored surname') is the polite formula, not 名字. 名字 is neutral/informal and what you'll hear in everyday conversation.
Character by character
Memory hook: 名 (name) + 字 (characters) = the characters that spell your name.
Hear 名字 in real episodes
名字 appears in 5 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed, 4 of them below. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
这首歌很快就火了，很多人第一次记住了刘欢的名字。
The song quickly became a hit, and many people learned Liu Huan's name for the first time.
Liu Huan, Who Sang the 2008 Beijing Olympics Theme 'You and Me,' Dies at 63Elementary
有的想要你的名字，还有你的身份证，然后卖给别的人。
Some want your name and your ID, and then they sell them to other people.
Laid Off and Still Job Hunting, He Has Helped Pull Nearly 60,000 Fake Jobs Off LinkedIn
它的名字叫洛厄尔。
Its name was Lowell.
A Hurricane Flattened Hawaii's Avocado Trees — So One Island Held a Guacamole Contest and Saved Its Own Radio StationElementary
比赛的名字叫 HYROX。
The name of the competition is HYROX.
HYROX Changes Rules After Beijing Bowel AccidentBeginner
Example sentences
你叫什么名字？
Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?
What's your name?
spoken
我的名字是李明。
Wǒ de míngzi shì Lǐ Míng.
My name is Li Ming.
neutral
他的名字很好听。
Tā de míngzi hěn hǎotīng.
His name sounds nice.
spoken
请在这儿写你的名字。
Qǐng zài zhèr xiě nǐ de míngzi.
Please write your name here.
polite
Common phrases with 名字
Synonyms
姓名 is the formal 'full name' (surname + given name), used on forms, documents, and official contexts. 名字 is conversational. On a passport application you'll see 姓名; in a coffee shop you'll be asked 名字.
Just 名 alone means 'given name' (the part after the surname) and shows up in compounds — 名片 (business card), 有名 (famous). In daily speech, the full word 名字 is what people say.
Don't confuse 名字 with
FAQ
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 名字 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
You just saw 名字 in 5 episodes. Fluentide keeps feeding you news episodes at your level, so this word — and thousands like it — resurface in real sentences until they stick. Full pinyin and translation every time. Free to start.