Question

You go to a friend's house for a family gathering. When you meet a friend's parents, what should you call a friend's mother? This is for Chinese class.

Answer 1

姓名 (xìng míng) – Full name

姓 (xìng) Family name

名字 (míng zi) Name

Informal: 你叫什么名字？(nǐ jiào shén me míng zi) What are you called?

Informal: 我叫。。。(wǒ jiào…) I’m called…

This is the most common and polite way to ask someone’s family name in Chinese, however, in general it is not customary to simply ask for the family name:

Polite: 你贵姓？(nǐ guì xìng) What is your family name?