How to Say ‘What's your name?’ in Simplified Chinese
你叫什么名字？
nǐ jiào shén me míng zì
[nee jiào shénme míngzi]
💬 Usage Tip: Question words like 什么 stay in the same spot as the answer would. So 你叫什么名字？ is answered 我叫……名字 or just 我叫……. There's no reordering like in English "What is…".
Phrase Breakdown
你叫
nǐ jiào
you are called
你 (nǐ) means 'you' and 叫 (jiào) means 'to be called'. 叫 has a falling tone.
你叫小王吗？
Are you called Xiao Wang?
Words in this phrase
你
nǐ
[nee]
you
The informal or neutral word for “you,” suitable for peers or casual conversation.
如果对方和你年纪差不多，可以说“认识你”。
If the other person is about your age, you can say “nice to meet you” with 你.
叫
jiào
[jiào]
to be called; to be named
Used to state someone's name.
他叫小明。
He is called Xiaoming.
什么名字？
shén me míng zì
what name?
什么 (shénme) means 'what' and 名字 (míngzi) means 'name'. The 么 and 字 are light and unstressed.
他叫什么名字？
What is his name?
Words in this phrase
什么
shén me
[shénme]
what
Question word asking about things.
你想吃什么？
What do you want to eat?
名字
míng zì
[míngzi]
name
A person's name or the name of a thing.
他的名字很好听。
His name sounds nice.
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