Chinese word

名

Pronunciation

Pinyinmíng

Meaning

  • measure wordperson

Example

班上有三名学生。bān shàng yǒu sān míng xué shēng

There are three students in the class.

Illustration for 名 (person)

More examples

操场上有两名学生在踢球。cāo chǎng shàng yǒu liǎng míng xué shēng zài tī qiú

There are two students kicking a ball on the playground.

Core concept

A person viewed as a separate, countable individual.

Common phrases

  • 两名学生liǎng míng xué shēng

    two students

  • 几名同学jǐ míng tóng xué

    several classmates

Similar words

个gè: A widely used measure word for counting people or things.
位wèi: A measure word for counting people in a courteous or respectful way.

Definition in Chinese

用作量词，表示人数，常置于数词之后，与“学生、医生、工作人员”等职业或身份词连用，表示若干人或某一名额。yòng zuò liàng cí biǎo shì rén shù cháng zhì yú shù cí zhī hòu yǔ xué shēng yī shēng gōng zuò rén yuán děng zhí yè huò shēn fèn cí lián yòng biǎo shì ruò gān rén huò mǒu yì míng é

Word origin

名 (míng, "name") first referred to a person's name and later became a measure word for counting people as distinct individuals.

Usage tips

  • Formal records and announcements favor this form, while casual speech usually chooses a more everyday expression.

Word lists with this word