Questions & Answers about Wie heißen Sie?
Why do we use Wie here when the English translation says "What"?
In English, we ask "What is your name?", but in German, you literally ask "How are you called?". The question word Wie means "how". Using Was ("what") here would sound completely unnatural to a German speaker.
Why is Sie written with a capital S?
The formal word for "you" in German is Sie, and it is always capitalized to show respect, even at the end of a sentence. If you wrote it with a lowercase s, sie would mean "she" or "they".
What is the word order rule for this question?
In German W-questions, the question word (Wie) is always in the first position, and the action verb (heißen) must come exactly second. The subject (Sie) follows right after the verb.
What exactly does the verb heißen mean?
It translates best to "to be called" or "to be named". While you can say Mein Name ist... in German, using the special verb heißen is the most common and natural way to ask for or state a name.
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