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Chinese Name Structure
A Chinese family name precedes the given name. Both family
and given
names can be composed of one character or two characters. However,
family names
with two characters or more than two characters are far less common.
Normally, all
legitimate
children of a married couple bear the family name of the
father. A married woman
may put her husband family name before her full name.
Grammar Points
Click to Listen and Read Aloud
This section shows the common ways Chinese people tell their names during introduction.
wǒ shì Lǐ Shīshī 。
1. 我是李诗诗。
I am Li Shishi.
wǒ jiào Wáng Yù 。
2. 我叫王玉。
I am called Wangyu.
wǒ xìng Lǐ ，míng Shīshī 。
3. 我姓李，名诗诗。
My family name is Li, given name is Shishi.
wǒ xìng Lǐ ，míngjiào Shīshī 。
4. 我姓李，名叫诗诗。
My family name is Li, given name is called Shishi.
wǒ xìng Lǐ ，mù zǐ lǐ ；míng Shīshī ，shīgē de shī 。
5. 我姓李，木子 李；名诗诗，诗歌的诗。
My family name is Li, the character Li (李) with the components mu (木) and zi (子),
given name is Shishi. The character shi (诗) of the word shige (诗歌-poem).
Note: In the above example, the girl tells both the pronunciation and the written form (Chinese character) of her names. It is necessary because in Hanyu, many characters (the Chinese Written form) are having same pronunciation e.g., 李 and 理 are two family names pronounced as Lǐ; 张and 章are two family names pronounced as Zhāng.
tā xìng Lǐ ，mù zǐ lǐ ；míngjiào Shīshī ，shīgē de shī 。
6. 她姓李，木子 李；名叫诗诗，诗歌的诗。
Her family name is Li, the character Li (李) with the components mu (木) and zi (子),
given name is called Shishi. The character shi (诗) of the word shige (诗歌-poem).
tā xìng Wáng ，míng Yù 。
7. 她姓王，名玉。
Her surname is Wang, given name is Yu. (玉-jade)
tā xìng Wáng ，míngjiào Yù 。
8. 她姓王，名叫玉。
Her surname is Wang, given name is called Yu.
tā xìng Wáng ，dān míng Yù 。
9. 她姓王，单名玉。
Her surname is Wang, single-character given name is Yu.
Note: In the above example, the fact that the given name is composed of a character is especially mentioned. 单means single; 单名 means a single-character given name.
wǒ xìng ōuyáng ，dān míng Lóng 。
10. 我姓欧阳，单名龙。
My surname is OuYang, single-character given name is Long. (龙-dragon)
wǒ fù xìng ōuyáng ，dān míng Lóng 。
11. 我复姓欧阳，单名龙。
My compound surname is OuYang, single-character given name is Long.
Note: In the above example, the fact that the family name is composed of more than one character is specially mentioned. 复 means compound; 复姓 means a family name with more than one character, a compound surname is usually composed of two characters.
tā shì ōuyáng Lóng 。
12. 他是欧阳 龙。
He is Ouyang Long.
tā jiào ōuyáng Lóng 。
13. 他叫欧阳 龙。
He is called Ouyang Long.
tā xìng ōuyáng ，míngjiào Sīshī 。
14. 她姓欧阳， 名叫思诗。
Her surname is Ouyang, given name is called Sishi. (思-think of; long for 诗-poem 思诗-think of
or long for poem. The parents might hope their girl has a well educated mind or beauty of
poems)
tā fù xìng ōuyáng ，míng Sīshī 。
15. 她复姓欧阳，名思诗。
Her compound surname is Ouyang, given name is called Sishi.
wǒ jiào ōuyáng Sīshī 。
16. 我叫欧阳思 诗。
I am called Ouyang Sishi.
wǒ shì ōuyáng Sīshī 。
17. 我是欧阳思 诗。
I am Ouyang Sishi.
Downloads
- Lesson 1 MP3 (Right Click and Save Link)
