Say your name and ask for theirs
IntroducedMeet Lin An
- Lin An introduces herself: I / me我variant of 叫叫林安。 Wǒ jiào Lín Ān. — My name is Lin An.
- I / me我 wǒ means I; variant of 叫叫 jiào introduces the name here. Use your own name after I / me我variant of 叫叫, including a non-Chinese name.
Ask the other person’s name
- you你variant of 叫叫what什么name (of a person or thing)名字？ Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? — What is your name?
- you你 nǐ means you; what什么 shénme means what; name (of a person or thing)名字 míngzi means name. Learn what什么name (of a person or thing)名字 together: “what name”.
Complete the full name question: 你叫什么____？
什么名字 means what name.
Compare question and answer
- Question: you你variant of 叫叫what什么name (of a person or thing)名字？ Answer: I / me我variant of 叫叫林安。 Change you你 to I / me我 because the person answering speaks about themself.
- Keep this simple naming pattern: I / me我variant of 叫叫…… . Do not add to be / is是 to the pattern we are practising.
A: hello你好！you你variant of 叫叫what什么name (of a person or thing)名字？ B: I / me我variant of 叫叫林安。you你(and …? / softener)呢？ — Hello! What is your name? My name is Lin An. And you? you你(and …? / softener)呢 nǐ ne is an optional follow-up phrase.
Someone asks 你叫什么名字？ Which answer gives your name?
我叫林安 introduces the speaker’s name; 我是学生 gives an identity.
Match these words.
我 is the speaker and 你 is the person addressed.
Hear a different name
- Play and find the name after variant of 叫叫.
- Wang Li (1900-1986), one of…王力 is Wáng Lì. In these Chinese names, the surname is first: to rule王 / power力 and (bound form) woods林 / (bound form) calm安. You do not have to invent a Chinese name to study Chinese.
Learn the full polite question first. You may also hear the shorter you你variant of 叫叫what什么？ in conversation; it is not automatically an incomplete sentence.
Which name did you hear?
The name after 叫 is 王力, Wáng Lì.
In 林安, 林 is the surname.
These Chinese names put the family name before the given name.
Introduce yourself
- Say I / me我variant of 叫叫 followed by your own name. Ask someone else’s name, or answer the recorded question without reading.
- Write or type your name sentence. An IME lets you enter pinyin and choose characters; see the typing guide.
I / me我variant of 叫叫…… gives your name. you你variant of 叫叫what什么name (of a person or thing)名字？ asks for another person’s name.
Next: say who someone is.
Greet, ask a name, then receive the answer.
The order follows the situation given.