How to Give Your Name - ChineseClass101

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Chinese by ChineseClass101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to give your name in Chinese.

For example, "Hello. My name is Zheng Zhu. Pleased to meet you."

你好。我叫朱正。很高兴认识你。(Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Zhū Zhèng. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

Two passengers, Anna Xu and Zheng Zhu , are seated next to each other on a plane to China.

Before you hear their conversation, let’s preview some of its key components.

你好 (nǐ hǎo)

"hello"

你好

很高兴认识你 (hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ)

"pleased to meet you"

很高兴认识你

Listen to the conversation, and focus on Anna’s response.

Ready?

你好。我叫朱正。很高兴认识你。(Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Zhū Zhèng. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

你好。我叫许安娜。很高兴认识你。(Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Xǔ Ānnà. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

Once more with the English translation.

你好。我叫朱正。很高兴认识你。

“Hello. My name is Zheng Zhu. Pleased to meet you."

你好。我叫许安娜。很高兴认识你。

"Hello. My name is Anna Xu. Pleased to meet you."

Let’s break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Anna introduces herself?

"Hello. My name is Anna Xu. Pleased to meet you."

你好。我叫许安娜。很高兴认识你。(Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Xǔ Ānnà. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

First is 你好 (nǐ hǎo), meaning "hello." 你好. 你好.

This is a commonly used greeting, and is often said when meeting people for the first time.

This starts with the word, 你 (nǐ), "you." 你.

Next is the word, 好 (hǎo), "good." 好.

Together, it’s 你好 (nǐ hǎo). This phrase literally means "you good" but translates as "Hello." 你好.

Pronunciation note: when there are two third tones in a row, the first one changes to the second tone. Listen to the pronunciation again. 你好 (Nǐ hǎo). 你好.

This pronunciation change is not reflected in the pinyin, as you will still see two third tones.

Before we look at how Anna introduces her name, let's look at the last part of Anna's response.

很高兴认识你。(Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.) "Nice to meet you" or "Pleased to meet you." 很高兴认识你。

First is 很 (hěn), "very." 很. 很.

This is followed by, 高兴 (gāoxìng), translating as "pleased" in this context. 高兴. 高兴.

Next is 认识 (rènshi), "to know." 认识. 认识.

Last is the word, 你 (nǐ), "you." 你.

All together, 很高兴认识你。(Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.) Literally, "Very pleased to meet you," but it translates as "Pleased to meet you." 很高兴认识你。

When meeting someone for the first time, you'll often hear this phrase, but omitting it in favor of a simple 你好 (nǐhǎo) is often enough.

Do you remember how Anna Xu says,

"My name is Anna Xu."

我叫许安娜。(Wǒ jiào Xǔ Ānnà.)

First is 我 (Wǒ), "I." 我. 我.

Next is the word, 叫 (jiào), which translates as "to be called." 叫. 叫.

Together it's, 我叫 (Wǒ jiào), literally, "I'm called," but it translates as “My name is…” 我叫.

This phrase is used to introduce one’s own name.

Next is Anna Xu’s name, 许安娜 (Xǔ Ānnà).

First is Anna’s family name, 许 (Xǔ). 许. "Xu." 许.

Followed by her given name, 安娜 (Ānnà). 安娜. "Anna" 安娜.

All together, 我叫许安娜。(Wǒ jiào Xǔ Ānnà.) "My name is Anna Xu."

我叫许安娜。

For Chinese names, the order is family name followed by given names.

For example, Zheng Zhu uses this order when he says, 我叫朱正。

His family name, 朱 (Zhū), is followed by his given name, 正 (Zhèng).

The pattern is

我叫 {NAME}。

"My name is {NAME}."

我叫 {NAME}。

To use this pattern, simply replace the {NAME} placeholder with your name.

Imagine you’re Xianwen Xu. In Chinese, 许先文 (Xǔ Xiānwén). 许先文. 许先文.

Say

"My name is Xianwen Xu."

Ready?

我叫许先文。 (Wǒ jiào Xǔ Xiānwén.)

"My name is Xianwen Xu."

我叫许先文。

When introducing yourself as a Chinese learner, you might want to use just your given name.

我叫先文。 (Wǒ jiào Xiānwén.)

"My name is Xiānwén."

我叫先文。

You can feel free to use the name you would like to be called.

Again, the key pattern is

我叫 {NAME}。

"My name is {NAME}."

我叫 {NAME}。

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speaker.

你好。我叫朱正。很高兴认识你。(Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Zhū Zhèng. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

“Hello. My name is Zheng Zhu. Pleased to meet you.”

你好。我叫朱正。很高兴认识你。

你好。我叫许安娜。很高兴认识你。(Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Xǔ Ānnà. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

“Hello. My name is Anna Xu. Pleased to meet you.”

你好。我叫许安娜。很高兴认识你。

你好。我叫许先文。很高兴认识你。(Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Xǔ Xiānwén. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

“Hello. My name is Xianwen Xu. Pleased to meet you.”

你好。我叫许先文。很高兴认识你。

我是李殷如。(Wǒ shì Lǐ Yīnrú.)

“I'm Yinru Li.”

我是李殷如。

我是李琳。(Wǒ shì Lǐ Lín.)

“I'm Lin Li.”

我是李琳。

Did you notice how the last speaker used a different pattern?

She says,

我是李琳。(Wǒ shì Lǐ Lín.)

"I am Lin Li." 我是李琳。

First is 我 (wǒ), "I." 我.

Next is 是 (shì). Here, it’s like the "am" in “I am.” 是. 是.

Together, 我是 (Wǒ shì). "I am." 我是.

Last is the speaker’s name, 李琳. (Lǐ Lín.)

Note: the name order, last name, 李 (Lǐ), followed by given name, 琳. 李琳.

All together, 我是李琳。(Wǒ shì Lǐ Lín.) I am Lin Li. 我是李琳。

This is also a common way to introduce yourself.

The pattern is

我是 {NAME}.

"I am {NAME}."

我是 {NAME}.

You should be aware of this pattern, but for this lesson, we’ll use the pattern

我叫 {NAME}。

"My name is {NAME}."

我叫 {NAME}。

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speakers, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say

"Hello."

你好。(Nǐ hǎo)

And how to say “I?”

我. (Wǒ)

Do you remember how to say Anna Xu in Chinese?

许安娜. (Xǔ Ānnà)

Do you remember how Anna says,

“My name is Anna Xu.”

我叫许安娜。(Wǒ jiào Xǔ Ānnà.)

Do you remember how to say

"Pleased to meet you."

很高兴认识你。 (Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

很高兴认识你。(Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

Do you remember how Anna Xu says,

"Hello. My name is Anna Xu. Pleased to meet you."

你好。我叫许安娜。很高兴认识你。(Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Xǔ Ānnà. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

Do you remember how Zheng Zhu says,

"Hello. My name is Zheng Zhu. Pleased to meet you."

你好。我叫朱正。很高兴认识你。(Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Zhū Zhèng. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

Let's practice.

Imagine you're 许先文 .

Respond to Zheng Zhu ’s self introduction.

Ready?

你好。我叫朱正。很高兴认识你。(Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Zhū Zhèng. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

你好。我叫许先文。很高兴认识你。(Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Xǔ Xiānwén. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

Listen again and repeat.

你好。我叫许先文。很高兴认识你。

Let's try another.

Imagine you're 李琳 (Lǐ Lín).

Ready?

你好。我叫朱正。很高兴认识你。(Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Zhū Zhèng. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

你好。我叫李琳。很高兴认识你。(Nǐ hǎo, Wǒ jiào Lǐ Lín. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

Listen again and repeat.

你好。我叫李琳。很高兴认识你。

Let's try one more.

Imagine you're 李殷如 (Lǐ Yīnrú).

Ready?

你好。我叫朱正。很高兴认识你。 (Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Zhū Zhèng. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

你好。我叫李殷如。很高兴认识你。(Nǐ hǎo, Wǒ jiào Lǐ Yīnrú. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

Listen again and repeat.

你好。我叫李殷如。很高兴认识你。

When speaking with elders or people of higher social status, it's recommended to use 您 (nín), the honorific term for “you” instead of 你.

您. "You" in honorific speech. 您 . 您.

So to sound more respectful, Zheng Zhu, who is younger than Anna, could say,

您好。我叫朱正。很高兴认识您。

Well Done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to give your name in Chinese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of introducing yourself.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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