课程Level 1 · 入门 → 课 3

Level 1 · Lesson 3

您贵姓?
May I ask your surname?

请问,您贵姓?我姓李。

Ask for a surname politely with 请问 and 贵姓, and answer with 姓.

听 · Listen

对话

李明 — 请问,您贵姓?
Excuse me — may I ask your surname?
王先生 — 我姓王。请问你姓什么?
My surname is Wang. And what is your surname?
李明 — 我姓李,我叫李明。
My surname is Li; my name is Li Ming.
王先生 — 李先生,你好!
Hello, Mr Li!
李明 — 王先生,您好!
Hello, Mr Wang!
王先生 — 她姓什么?
What is her surname?
李明 — 她姓张,她叫张小美。
Her surname is Zhang; she is called Zhang Xiaomei.
王先生 — 张小姐,您好!
(as she walks over) Hello, Miss Zhang!

讲解 · Explanation

我姓李,我叫李明。

Two verbs, two jobs. 姓 xìng takes the family name and nothing else — 我姓李. 叫 jiào takes the whole name or the given name — 我叫李明, and 张小美 could say 我叫小美. So 我姓李明 is wrong, and so is 我叫李 on its own. This is why a Chinese self-introduction so often comes in two beats: surname first, then the full name.

请问,您贵姓?

请 qǐng before a verb is the polite frame of Chinese, so 请 + 问 'ask' gives 请问 — 'excuse me, may I ask'. 贵姓 is the honour you pay someone else: 贵 means 'honourable', and the phrase goes only with 您. You never say it of yourself, so the answer is 我姓王, not 我贵姓王.

王先生,您好!张小姐,您好!

A title follows the surname in Chinese, the mirror image of English: 王先生 is Mr Wang, 张小姐 is Miss Zhang. Listen to the second syllables — they are not alike. 先生 goes light and toneless, xiānsheng, while 小姐 keeps its third tone, xiǎojiě, two third tones in a row exactly like 你好. And when you use a title, 您 comes with it almost automatically: the title and the pronoun are doing the same polite work.

生词 · Vocabulary

Meaning 注 · Note
to be surnamed; surname takes the family name only
please 请 + verb makes a request polite
to ask
贵姓 your honourable surname only with 您, never of yourself
先生 Mr, sir after the surname: 王先生
小姐 Miss after the surname: 张小姐; on the mainland 女士 nǚshì is the safer formal choice

练习 · Practice

您贵姓? Your surname is Li. Which answer is correct?
请问,您______姓? Ask for someone's surname in the polite way.
王先生 Which syllable is this man's family name?
排一排。 Arrange the words: 'Excuse me, may I ask your surname?'
姓、叫、请问、小姐 Match each word to its meaning.

用一用 · Use it

请问,您贵姓?我姓……,我叫……

Say the whole polite exchange aloud. Ask 请问,您贵姓? then answer for yourself in two beats: 我姓 … first, 我叫 … second. Finish by greeting the person with their surname plus a title — 王先生,您好!or 张小姐,您好!