(xìng) - surname, family name; to be surnamed in Mandarin
xìngTraditional: 姓
Translation
surname, family name; to be surnamed
Word origin
Written with 女 (nǚ, woman) beside 生 (shēng, to be born, also the phonetic), a record of the earliest clan names being reckoned through the mother.
- Origin
- Chinese
- Root
- 女 (nǚ, woman) + 生 (shēng, to be born, phonetic)
Stroke order
姓
Examples
，。
My surname is Wang and my given name is Ming.
？
May I ask your surname?
。
She takes her mother's surname.
村。
Most of the people in this village are surnamed Li.
？
Which are the commonest surnames in China?
姓 (xìng) is the family name, the part that comes first in a Chinese name. 王明 is 姓王, 名明, and 姓名 together means the full name on a form.
It is a verb as often as it is a noun, and that is the piece to learn first. 我姓王 means my surname is Wang, with no 是 anywhere near it. 我是姓王 is wrong, and the polite question that goes with it is 您贵姓, answered with 我姓 plus the name alone: 我姓王, not 我姓王明.
The trap is the answer's shape. 你叫什么名字 asks for the whole name and takes 叫; 您贵姓 asks only for the surname and takes 姓. Mixing them, or bolting 是 onto 姓, marks a sentence as learner Chinese in the first three seconds of an introduction.
Where this fits
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姓: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "姓" (surname, family name; to be surnamed): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 58.