名字
name
míngzi
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 breakdown
name; famous
written character; word (neutral tone in this compound)
Memory hook: 名 (name) + 字 (characters) = the characters that spell your name.
Measure word for 名字
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
Hear it in real Fluentide episodes
名字 appears in 1 podcast episode at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
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
姓 is specifically the surname / family name. 名字 usually refers to the whole name or the given name. 我姓李 = 'My surname is Li'; 我的名字叫李明 = 'My name is Li Ming.'
字 alone (4th tone) means 'written character' — '中' is a 字, 'good' has 4 字 in 你好吗 ... oh wait, 3. 名字 as a compound takes neutral tone on the second syllable and means 'name.'