TongTong
Sign in

命名 (mìng míng) — to name, to give a name to

Definition

命名 (mìngmíng) is the verb 'to name / to give a name to,' used for formal or official acts of naming (products, places, discoveries). 名称 is the resulting 'name' (noun); 名字 is everyday 'name' of a person or thing.

verb
to nameto give a name to

Examples

  • 命名''。
    Tā men gěi zhè ge xīn chǎn pǐn mìng míng wèi ' xīng xing '.
    They named this new product 'Xingxing'.
  • 命名。
    Kē xué jiā yòng yí wèi zhù míng wù lǐ xué jiā de míng zì mìng míng le zhè kē xíng xīng.
    Scientists named this planet after a famous physicist.
  • 命名。
    Gōng sī jué dìng yǐ chuàng shǐ rén de xìng shì mìng míng qí zǒng bù dà lóu.
    The company decided to name its headquarters building after the founder's surname.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

命mìngto name
名míngname

命 gives or names, and 名 is the name assigned.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
令
令lìng命mìng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

命 combines 口, a mouth, with 令, which gives the sound.

Open 命 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

Open 名 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 65000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.