名义 meaning in English

míngyì

name; titular

HSK 6nounTraditional 名義9 strokes

Meaning of 名义

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

míngyì

name
titular
nominal
in name
ostensible purpose

How to use 名义

名义 is common in the pattern 以……的名义 (in the name of, on behalf of), and as a modifier meaning nominal or titular. Example: 我以公司的名义给你写信。(Wǒ yǐ gōngsī de míngyì gěi nǐ xiě xìn.) I am writing to you on behalf of the company.

名 (míng) means name and 义 (yì) means meaning or righteousness, so 名义 is what something is called and claims to stand for. Think of it as the name on the label, which may or may not match what is inside.

Common mistake: Learners often use 名义 where they just mean a name, as in 你的名义是什么. For a person's name use 名字 (míngzi) or 姓名 (xìngmíng), and for the name of a thing use 名称 (míngchēng).

名义 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

汤tāng姆mǔ名míng义yì上shàng是shì基jī督dū徒tú。他tā从cóng来lái不bù去qù做zuò礼lǐ拜bài。

Tom is a Christian in name only. He never goes to church.

“但dàn是shì我wǒ们men是shì弟dì妹mèi，对duì吗ma？” “仅jǐn仅jǐn在zài名míng义yì上shàng。“

"But we're brother and sisters, aren't we?!" "In name we are."

他tā在zài利lì用yòng集jí体tǐ的de名míng义yì，为wèi自zì己jǐ谋móu利lì。

He is making use of the collective's name for his own profit.

汤tāng姆mǔ名míng义yì上shàng市shì公gōng司sī的de领lǐng导dǎo。他tā儿ér子zi做zuò所suǒ有yǒu重zhòng大dà决jué策cè。

Tom is the head of the company in name only. His son makes all the important decisions.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

名 míng · name · 6 strokes

义 yì · right conduct · 3 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 名义.

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
意义	yìyì	sense; meaning
排名	páimíng	to rank (1st, 2nd etc); ranking
著名	zhùmíng	famous; noted
义务	yìwù	duty; obligation (CL:項\|项[xiang4]); volunteer (work etc)
名人	míngrén	personage; celebrity
名片	míngpiàn	(business) card

Questions about 名义

What does 名义 mean?

名义 (míngyì) means "name; titular" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 名义?

名义 is made of 2 characters: 名 (6 strokes), 义 (3 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.

Is 名义 an HSK word?

Yes. 名义 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 名义 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 名义 is written 名義.

What does 名义上 mean?

名义上 (míngyì shang) means in name only or nominally, and it often hints that reality is different. For example, 他名义上是经理，其实什么都不管。He is the manager in name, but he actually manages nothing.

Is 名义 formal or casual?

It leans formal and appears often in news, business letters, and legal or official contexts. In casual speech people may say 代表 (dàibiǎo) or 替 (tì) instead of 以……的名义 when they mean on behalf of someone.