2.12: Lesson 1 Grammar - The verb 姓 (xìng)
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The verb 姓 (xìng) literally means "to be surnamed" or "to have the surname." It may seem awkward at first that there's a verb just for this, but you'll find that it's used quite often in Chinese. 姓 (xìng) is used most often to tell someone your own surname ("family name" or "last name"), or to ask the surname of someone else.
Although 姓 (xìng) is equivalent to the English expression "last name" this can be misleading, since in Chinese the 姓 (xìng) comes before the given name. For this reason, it may be easier for you to think of 姓 (xìng) as meaning "family name" or "surname".
Structure
Subj. + 姓 + [Surname]
Examples
-
我姓王。
Wǒ xìng Wáng.
My family name is Wang. - 你老板姓李吗?
Nǐ lǎobǎn xìng Lǐ ma?
Is your boss's last name Li?
- 那个帅哥姓张。
Nàge shuàigē xìng Zhāng.
That handsome guy's last name is Zhang.
- 我爸爸姓周,我妈妈姓林 。
Wǒ bàba xìng Zhōu, wǒ māma xìng Lín.
My father's family name is Zhou. My mother's family name is Lin.
- 他女朋友姓钱。
Tā nǚpéngyou xìng Qián.
His girlfriend's last name is Qian.
- 你好,我姓毛。
Nǐ hǎo, wǒ xìng Máo.
Hello. My last name is Mao.
- 我姓赵,我太太也姓赵。
Wǒ xìng Zhào, wǒ tàitai yě xìng Zhào.
My last name is Zhao. My wife's last name is also Zhao.
- 我的中文老师姓陈。
Wǒ de Zhōngwén lǎoshī xìng Chén.
My Chinese teacher's surname is Chen.
- 你奶奶也姓陈吗 ?
Nǐ nǎinai yě xìng Chén ma?
Is your grandma's family name also Chen?
- 他们都姓李。
Tāmen dōu xìng Lǐ.
They all have Li as their family name.
Asking Someone's Surname
You can also use 姓 (xìng) to ask people their surnames. You could do this quite directly by saying:
- 你姓什么?
Nǐ xìng shénme?
What is your last name?
However, the formal way to ask has a set form, and this is almost invariably the way people ask:
- 您贵姓?
Nín guì xìng?
What is your honorable surname?
Literally this means "What is your honorable surname?" Use this form whenever you ask someone their surname in Chinese.
[adapted from AllSet Learning Chinese Grammar Wiki, Creative Commons License BY-NC-SA 3.0]
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