LESSON NOTES

Absolute Beginner S1 #1
Meeting - What's Your Name in
Chinese?
CONTENTS
2
2
2
2
3
3
4
4
5

Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Pinyin
English
Vocabulary
Sample Sentences
Vocabulary Phrase Usage
Grammar
Cultural Insight

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SIMPLIFIED CHINESE
1.

A:

2.

B:

3.

A:

4.

B:

TRADITIONAL CHINESE
1.

A:

2.

B:

3.

A:

4.

B:

PINYIN
1.

A:

Nho.

2.

B:

Nho, n jio shnme mngz?

3.

A:

W jio Zhng Ln.

4.

B:

W jio Wng Xiofng.

ENGLISH
CONT'D OVER
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ABS OLUT E BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - MEET I NG - WHAT 'S YOUR NAME I N CHI NES E?

1.

A:

Hello.

2.

B:

Hello, what's your name?

3.

A:

I'm Zhang Lin.

4.

B:

I'm Wang Xiaofang.

VOCABULARY
S implie d

Tr aditional

Pinyin

English

nho

hello

you

jio

to call

shnme

what

mngz

name

I, me

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Nho, w jio Wng Guy.

Sh n ma?

Hello, I'm Wang Guoyi.

Is it you?

W jio Z n.

N jio shnme mngz?

My name is Zi an.

What is your name?

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ABS OLUT E BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - MEET I NG - WHAT 'S YOUR NAME I N CHI NES E?

N shu shnme?

Jnnin, w mimi yu ch le yzhng zhunj,

What did you say?

jio Yugung.

My sister put out another album this year

called "Moonlight."

W wngj tde mngz.

W de pngyu hn shui.

I forget his name.

My friend is really handsome.

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

(n h o) / (nnh o) - "Hello" in Chinese is made up of two words: (n),
meaning "you" and ' (ho), meaning "good." On very formal meetings, you can replace the
(n) with the formal term for "you," which is (nn). (jio) is literally the verb for "to call."
So, as in the case of our dialogue, when you are saying, "My name is ____," in Chinese,
actually you are saying "I'm called ______."

GRAMMAR
The Focus of This Lesson is Pronouns in Chinese

"I'm Zhang Lin."

Here is a listing of pronouns in Chinese:

Chinese

"English"

(w)

"I, me"

(wmen)

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"we, us"

ABS OLUT E BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - MEET I NG - WHAT 'S YOUR NAME I N CHI NES E?

"you" -

(n)

informal

"you" -

(nmen)

plural

"you" -

(nn)

formal

(t)

"he, him"

(tmen)

"they, them"

(t)

"she, her"

(tmen)

"they, them"

(t)

"it"

What Is Your Name?

In Chinese, as we heard in this lesson's dialogue, one way of asking a person their name is:

N jio shnme mngz?

"What is your name" (literally: "You called what name?")
The question word "what" in Chinese is (shnme).

CULTURAL INSIGHT

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ABS OLUT E BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - MEET I NG - WHAT 'S YOUR NAME I N CHI NES E?

Chinese Names

Chinese names are given surname first, and then given name. Generally, Chinese names are
made up of two or three characters total (including the surname, which is generally just a
single character). We see a couple examples of names in this lesson's dialogue.
For Example:
1.

Zhng Ln
(surname here is , given name is )

2.

Wng Xiofng
(surname here is , given name is )

Chinese names are full of meaning and not all characters are suitable for a name. It is best to
not attempt to choose one's own name in Chinese. Enlist the help of a Chinese friend so you
don't end up with a name that will cause some raised eyebrows and snickers.

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ABS OLUT E BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - MEET I NG - WHAT 'S YOUR NAME I N CHI NES E?