How to say “surname” in Chinese
surname; be surnamed
“Surname” in Chinese is 姓, xìng: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
姓 is read xìng. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 女 “woman”; on the right, 生 “be born”: long ago, family lines were traced through the mother.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “姓”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 姓. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我姓王。wǒxìngWángMy surname is Wang.
- 你姓什么nǐxìngshénmeWhat’s your surname?
- 您贵姓？nínguìxìngMay I ask your surname?
- 你们校长姓什么？nǐmenxiàozhǎngxìngshénmeWhat's your principal's last name?
- 请写一下你的姓名、年龄和性别。qǐngxiěyíxiànǐdexìngmíng,niánlínghéxìngbiéPlease write your name, age and sex.
- 先生，您贵姓？xiānsheng,nínguìxìngMay I ask your surname, sir?
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “May I ask your surname?”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “surname” in Chinese?
“Surname” in Chinese is 姓, pinyin xìng.
What does 姓 mean?
姓 (xìng) means “surname; be surnamed”.
How do you write 姓?
姓 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 姓?
姓 is read xìng. Tones: xìng — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“surname” in the lesson “May I ask your surname?”
This word is from the topic “People around you” of HSK 2. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free