Meaning of 名
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- name
- noun (part of speech)
- place (e.g. among winners)
- famous
- classifier for people
How to use 名
On its own, 名 is common as a polite classifier for people and for rankings, like 第一名 (dì yī míng, first place). In everyday speech you usually say 名字 (míngzi) for a person's name. Example: 我们班有三十名学生。(Wǒmen bān yǒu sānshí míng xuésheng.) Our class has thirty students.
名 is made of 夕 (xī, evening) on top of 口 (kǒu, mouth). Picture someone in the dark evening who cannot be seen, so they must use their mouth to call out their name.
Common mistake: Learners often write 夕 as 夂 or attach the strokes wrongly, so remember the top is 夕 with a short dot inside. Also, do not say 你的名是什么 to ask a name; use 你叫什么名字 (nǐ jiào shénme míngzi).
名 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
名 míng · name · 6 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 名.
| 名字 | míngzi | name (of a person or thing) |
| 有名 | yǒumíng | famous; well-known |
| 名单 | míngdān | list of names |
| 姓名 | xìngmíng | surname and given name; full name |
| 名称 | míngchēng | name (of a thing); name (of an organization) |
| 报名 | bàomíng | to sign up; to enter one's name |
| 排名 | páimíng | to rank (1st, 2nd etc); ranking |
| 著名 | zhùmíng | famous; noted |
| 名人 | míngrén | personage; celebrity |
| 名片 | míngpiàn | (business) card |
| 点名 | diǎnmíng | roll call; to mention sb by name |
| 名牌儿 | míngpáir | erhua form of 名牌[ming2 pai2] |
Questions about 名
What does 名 mean?
名 (míng) means "name; noun (part of speech)" and is used as a noun and measure word.
How do you write 名?
名 is made of 1 character: 名 (6 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.
Is 名 an HSK word?
Yes. 名 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 名 and 个 as classifiers for people?
个 (gè) is neutral and used in casual speech. 名 (míng) sounds more formal and appears in news, official counts, and written notices, like 五名警察 (wǔ míng jǐngchá, five police officers).
How do 名字, 姓名, and 名称 differ?
名字 (míngzi) is the everyday word for a person's or thing's name. 姓名 (xìngmíng) means full name and is used on forms. 名称 (míngchēng) is for names of things or organizations, not people.