Learn Hardcore Chinese: nín hǎo,nín jiào shénme míngzi ne?

您 (nín) is the polite, respectful singular “you,” used for elders, customers, teachers, etc. 你 (nǐ) is the regular “you” for peers and friends. Using 您 with close friends can sound overly formal or distancing.

Is there a plural form of 您?

Use 你们 (nǐmen) as the plural “you,” even in polite contexts. 您们 is heard colloquially in some areas but is generally nonstandard in formal writing.

Why is 您 repeated in 您好，您叫什么名字呢？? Isn’t that redundant?

The first 您 is part of the greeting 您好. The second 您 is the subject of the question. Repeating it is natural and polite.

What does 呢 (ne) do here? Do I need it?

呢 softens the tone and sounds friendlier. The sentence is also fine without it: 您叫什么名字？ With or without 呢, this is a wh-question, not a yes–no question.

Can I use 吗 (ma) here?

No. 吗 is only for yes–no questions and cannot appear in a sentence that already has a question word like 什么 (shénme). So 您叫什么名字吗？ is ungrammatical.

What exactly does 叫 (jiào) mean in this sentence?

Here 叫 means “to be called; to be named.” Pattern: Subject + 叫 + Name, e.g., 我叫王明.

How is 叫 different from 叫做 or 名叫?

For people’s names, 叫 is the most common in speech. 叫做 tends to be used for things/definitions. 名叫 is formal/literary, common in news or writing.

Do I need 名字? Can I just ask 您叫什么呢？

Yes, 您叫什么呢？ is natural and common. Adding 名字 makes the meaning explicit but doesn’t change it here.

How should I answer this question?

Common replies:

我叫 + name (I’m called …)
我姓 + surname (My surname is …)
More complete: 我姓张，叫张华。 You can add a polite closer like 请多关照.

What’s a more formal/polite way to ask someone’s name?

请问，您贵姓？ (Asks for the family name only; very polite)
请问，您怎么称呼？ (How should I address you?) Both are more deferential than 您叫什么名字？

When should I use 您好 instead of 你好?

Use 您好 with older people, higher-status people, customers, or on the phone. Use 你好 with peers and friends; 您好 can feel stiff among close acquaintances.

What are the tones and neutral tones in this sentence?

您 (nín): 2nd tone
好 (hǎo): 3rd tone
叫 (jiào): 4th tone
什么 (shénme): me is neutral
名字 (míngzi): zi is neutral
呢 (ne): neutral Neutral syllables are lighter and shorter.

Are the spaces and punctuation normal in Chinese writing?

Standard Chinese uses no spaces between characters; spaces here just show word boundaries. Use Chinese punctuation: ， after 您好, and ？ at the end.

How would this look in traditional characters?

您好，您叫什麼名字呢？ Only 什么 → 什麼 changes; 您好 and 名字 stay the same.

Why is the order 您 + 叫 + 什么 + 名字 and not 您什么名字叫?

Chinese keeps normal S–V–O in wh-questions; the question word stays in place. So it’s Subject (您) + Verb (叫) + Object (什么名字), without inversion.

Any common mistakes to avoid with this pattern?

✗ 您叫什么名字吗？ (Don’t use 吗 with 什么)
✗ 您叫名字是什么？ (Wrong order/excess words)
✗ 您叫什么的？ (Odd particle) Correct: 您叫什么名字？ or 您叫什么名字呢？