(míng zì) - name (of a person or thing) in Mandarin
míngzìTraditional: 名字
Translation
name (of a person or thing)
Word origin
名字 (míngzi) 'name' joins 名 'name' with 字 'written character'. 名 is an ideograph of 夕 'evening' over 口 'mouth', from calling out one's name in the dark; 字 shows a child (子) under a roof (宀), an offspring of basic graphs.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 名 (name: 夕 evening + 口 mouth) + 字 (character)
Stroke order
名
字
Examples
？
What is your name?
李。
My name is Li Ming.
？
What is the name of this place?
。
Please write down your name.
。
I forgot his name.
名字 (míng zì) means name (of a person or thing). It is used as a noun in everyday Mandarin speech.
Used in
Stories
(4)Grammar articles
(4)Mandarin Verb Conjugation: Why It Doesn't Exist and What Replaces It
Mandarin Question Formation: 吗, V-Not-V, 还是, and the In-Situ Wh-Word System
Mandarin Resultative Complements: Fusing a Result onto the Verb (看见, 吃完, 找到)
Mandarin Word Order: SVO, Topic-Comment, and the 把 Construction That Reorders Everything
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Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 5.