How to Say My Name Is in Chinese (我叫, wǒ jiào)

The phrase you want is 我叫, written wǒ jiào and pronounced roughly "wor jyow", with the name immediately after it. 我叫王小明 is the whole sentence: I am called Wang Xiaoming.

There is no word for is in it, and there is no article. Chinese does not insert a copula between the subject and this kind of verb, so the sentence is three units: I, am-called, name. Adding 是 produces 我是王小明, which is not a name introduction but a statement of identity, the kind of thing you say on the phone when the other person is trying to work out who they are speaking to.

Two alternatives cover the rest. 我姓 (wǒ xìng) gives only the surname, and it is what you answer when someone asks 您贵姓. 我的名字是 (wǒ de míngzi shì) is the formal, written version; it is grammatical and it is what a form or a letter might use, but in speech it sounds like a translation.

All three share one detail that learners get wrong in writing: the word 名字 is míngzi, with a neutral second syllable. Not míngzì. The character 字 is zì on its own, but inside 名字 the tone is lost, exactly as 亮 loses its tone inside 漂亮.

叫 (jiào) is a fourth tone and its core meaning is to call or to be called. 我叫王小明 is not I am Wang Xiaoming in the strict sense; it is I am called Wang Xiaoming, and the difference matters because it explains the grammar around it.

The same verb covers naming things. 这个叫什么 (zhège jiào shénme) means what is this called. 这叫饺子 (zhè jiào jiǎozi) means this is called a dumpling. In those sentences 叫 is doing exactly the same work it does with a person, which is a useful way to remember that it is a naming verb rather than a linking verb.

叫 is also the verb for asking someone to do something, as in 叫他来 (jiào tā lái, tell him to come), and for calling someone by a name, as in 你可以叫我小王 (you can call me Xiao Wang). The context separates these uses easily; they are all about naming or summoning.

The character is not to be confused with 教 (jiāo, to teach) or 觉 (jiào, as in 睡觉, to sleep). 教 is a first tone when it means to teach, and it is a different character with a different radical. Learners who mix them up write 我教王小明 and produce a sentence about teaching rather than about being named.

Pronunciation: the pinyin j is not quite the English j in jump. The tongue sits flat behind the lower teeth and the lips are spread, closer to a very light dz. The final iao is a single glide, like the vowel in yowl without the l. Keep it one syllable: jyow, not jee-ow.

名字 is one of the standard examples of neutral tone in every beginner course, along with 谢谢, 朋友 and 漂亮. 名 is míng, a second tone that rises. 字 is zì, a fourth tone, when it stands alone.

Inside 名字 the second syllable goes neutral: short, flat, and lower than the end of míng. Pinyin writes it as zi with no mark. The vowel also reduces, closer to a quick buzzy dz than to a full zee.

The same character keeps its fourth tone in other words. 字 alone means a written character: 这个字怎么写 (how do you write this character). 字典 (zìdiǎn) is a dictionary. 打字 (dǎzì) is to type. So the neutral tone is a property of the word 名字, not of the character 字.

Why it matters: 名字 is one of the most frequent nouns in a first conversation, and a full fourth tone there is audible. It makes the word sound clipped rather than warm, and combined with an English r or an American vowel it is often the thing that marks a beginner in an otherwise good sentence.

Practise the pair as a rhythm: a rising míng, then a short flat zi that barely takes a beat. If the second syllable is as long as the first, the neutral tone is missing.

姓 (xìng) is both a noun and a verb. As a noun it means surname; as a verb it means to have the surname. 我姓王 is therefore a complete sentence: my surname is Wang, or I am called Wang by surname.

This is the answer to 您贵姓 (nín guì xìng), the polite way to ask a stranger or a business contact for their surname. 贵 (guì) literally means precious or honorable, and it is a courtesy marker attached to the other person, not a description of them. The question takes 您, so the answer should not drop into 你.

A traditional humble reply exists: 免贵姓王 (miǎn guì xìng Wáng), roughly let me set aside the honorable and say Wang. It is old-fashioned and mostly heard from older speakers or in period dramas. 我姓王 is perfectly polite in modern use and is the safe answer.

姓 also appears in 姓名 (xìngmíng), the formal word for full name, and in 贵姓 itself. On a form, the field is usually 姓名, and the convention is to write the surname first. If a form has separate boxes, they are labelled 姓 and 名, and the order is surname then given name, left to right.

Note the pronunciation: xìng begins with the pinyin x, which is not the English s. The tongue is forward and the lips are spread, close to a breathy sh without the rounding. English sing is a rough approximation, but the vowel is tighter and shorter.

我的名字是 means my name is, literally my name is. It is built from 我的 (my), 名字 (name) and 是 (to be), and it is perfectly correct Chinese. It is also the version that sounds like a translation, because it spells out what 我叫 says in three syllables.

Where it fits: written introductions, a formal speech, a language class exercise, a letter, or a situation where you need to be unambiguous about which part is the name and which is the surname. It is also useful when correcting a written form, where you can specify the character: 王小明，大小的小 (Wang Xiaoming, the xiao as in big and small).

Where it does not fit: a party, a first meeting, a phone call to a colleague. In those places 我叫 is shorter, warmer and completely standard. A learner who opens every conversation with 我的名字是 sounds like a form being filled in.

The middle word is the one to watch. 名字 is míngzi, neutral second syllable. If you mark it as míngzì, the sentence still communicates, but the error is the same one that appears in 漂亮 and 谢谢, and it is one of the first things a teacher corrects.

A related formal word is 全名 (quánmíng), full name, used when a distinction is being made between the surname alone and the complete name. It is rare in speech and common in documents.

The ordinary question is 你叫什么名字 (nǐ jiào shénme míngzi), literally you are-called what name. 什么 is shénme, with a neutral me. The word order is fixed: the question word stays where the answer would go, so you do not move 什么 to the front the way English moves what.

A shorter, more casual version is 你叫什么 (nǐ jiào shénme), which drops 名字 because the context makes it obvious. It is fine between young people and in informal settings, but it is blunt with a stranger.

The polite version is 您贵姓 (nín guì xìng), surname only, used with elders, clients, interviewers and anyone you have just met in a business setting. If you want the full name rather than the surname, 怎么称呼您 (zěnme chēnghu nín, how should I address you) is the standard formal question; 称呼 (chēnghu) has a neutral second syllable.

The polite reply to 您贵姓 is a surname: 我姓王. Answering with a full name is not wrong, but it skips the question that was asked. If you want to offer more, add the full name afterwards: 我姓王，叫王小明.

One social note: Chinese speakers often exchange surnames and then use a title rather than a given name. 王先生, 王女士 and 王老师 are the normal forms of address. Using a given name alone is for friends, family and children, and doing it with an elder is a real breach.

A Chinese name puts the family name first and the given name second. 王小明 is 王 (surname) plus 小明 (given name), and if you write it in English letters the convention is Wáng Xiǎomíng, with the surname first and the given name treated as one unit.

Most surnames are one character. A small number are two: 欧阳 (Ōuyáng), 司马 (Sīmǎ), 诸葛 (Zhūgě), 上官 (Shàngguān). Given names are usually one or two characters, so a full name is normally two to four characters in total.

This order is not decoration. It carries the information a Chinese reader expects first: which family you belong to. Reversing it in a Chinese context does not just look foreign, it makes the name hard to parse, because the reader has no signal about where the surname ends.

When you write your name in Chinese characters or in pinyin for a Chinese reader, keep the surname first. When you write it in Latin letters for an international form, follow the form: many ask for family name and given name in separate boxes, and the order in the box is what matters, not the order on your passport.

Titles attach to the surname, not the given name: 王先生 (Mr. Wang), 王女士 (Ms. Wang), 王老师 (Teacher Wang), 王经理 (Manager Wang). For colleagues of roughly your own age, 小王 (Xiǎo Wáng) and 老王 (Lǎo Wáng) are common; the first is for someone younger, the second for someone older or familiar.

The shortest useful template is 我叫 ___，很高兴认识你. Fill the gap with your name, keep the comma, and you have a complete, natural introduction that works in almost any first meeting.

很高兴认识你 is worth unpacking because its order is the reverse of English. 很 is the default degree word, 高兴 means glad, 认识 means to know or to meet, and 你 is you. Literally: very glad to know you. English puts the meeting first and the pleasure after; Chinese puts the pleasure first.

认识 is rènshi, with a neutral second syllable, not rènshí. The same word appears in 我认识他 (I know him) and in 认识一下 (let us get acquainted). In the introduction it is followed directly by 你, with no preposition.

A slightly more formal variant is 认识你很高兴, which reverses the two halves and is common in writing and in speeches. Both are correct; the first is more conversational.

If you want to offer a shorter form of your name, add 你可以叫我… (you can call me…). 你可以叫我小王 is friendly and immediately gives the other person a way to address you. In a business setting, 这是我的名片 (here is my card) does the same job and is standard at the end of an introduction.

For a very formal meeting, 久仰 (jiǔyǎng, I have long heard of you) is the phrase for someone whose reputation precedes them. It is a set compliment, not a literal claim, and it is used when meeting a senior contact for the first time.

You have two options, and they are not exclusive. You can have your name transliterated into Chinese characters, or you can adopt a Chinese name, or both: a transliteration for documents and a Chinese name for daily use.

Transliteration picks characters that approximate the sound. Michael becomes 迈克尔 (Màikè'ěr), Emily becomes 艾米丽 (Àimǐlì), David becomes 大卫 (Dàwèi), Anna becomes 安娜 (Ānnà). The characters are chosen partly for sound and partly for a neutral or pleasant meaning, and the result is fixed once it is on a document.

A transliterated Western name keeps its original order, with a middle dot between the parts: 约翰·史密斯 is John Smith, given name first. This is the one clear exception to the surname-first rule, and it exists because the reader is meant to recognise a foreign name and read it in the original order.

A Chinese name you adopt follows Chinese rules: surname first, and ideally a surname that exists in Chinese. Many learners pick a surname that sounds like their own and a given name with a meaning they like. 我叫 followed by that name works exactly as it does for a Chinese person, and most people will assume it is your real name rather than a chosen one.

Practical advice: decide on the written form early and keep it consistent. A name that changes between a bank form, a WeChat profile and a business card creates real problems, because Chinese administrative systems match on the characters, not on the sound. If you have both, say so once: 我的中文名是… (my Chinese name is…).

Most of these come from English word order or from the spelling of the pinyin, not from a missing word.

• Pronouncing 叫 as jiāo or jiǎo. The verb for being named is jiào, a fourth tone. jiāo is 教, to teach, and it is a different character with a different meaning.
• Writing míngzì. The second syllable of 名字 is neutral and takes no tone mark. The dictionary form is míngzi, and the character 字 only has its fourth tone when it stands alone.
• Putting the given name first in a Chinese context. 王小明 is surname 王 first. Writing Xiaoming Wang on a Chinese form, or expecting a Chinese reader to parse it that way, breaks the one piece of structure the name carries.
• Using 我是 to introduce yourself in a first meeting. 我是王小明 is identification, the phone-call form. 我叫王小明 is the introduction.
• Answering 您贵姓 with a full name. The question asks for a surname; answer 我姓王. Add the full name afterwards only if you want to.
• Calling an elder by the given name alone. Use surname plus title: 王老师, 王先生, 王经理. The given name is for friends, family and children.