Chinese

名字

míngzi
name
  • HSK 1

Etymology graph

  • inherited
  • borrowed
  • derived
  • parts
  • meaning component
  • sound component
  • related
React Flow

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Origin

Combination of 名 (míng, “given name”) and 字 (zì, “courtesy name, given to an individual at adulthood”). Originally two different types of names in ancient China, in modern Chinese the two characters form a single word.

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lineage

  • characterChinese名 “name”
    • ideaChinese夕 “night; evening; dusk”
    • ideaChinese口 “mouth, especially the lips and internal mouth cavity (Classifier: 把 c)”
  • characterChinese字 “letter; symbol; character, especially a Chinese character (Classifier: 個／个 m c; 隻／只 c)”
    • meaningChinese宀 “a type of deep house with walls on all four sides, a roof, a main hall, and back rooms”
    • soundChinese子 “child; offspring; descendant”

Sources