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名 (míng) — name; (classifier) for people (formal count); place (in a competition or ranking)

Definition

名 is a formal classifier for people — use it in written or polite speech (三∼学生). It also means 'name' or 'place' in a ranking. For everyday 'name' (of a person or thing), 名字 is more common.

noun
nameplace (in a competition or ranking)
classifier
for people (formal count)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 名。
    Wǒ men bān yǒu sān míng xué shēng.
    Our class has three students.
  • 名。
    Bān lǐ lái le wǔ míng xīn tóng xué.
    Five new classmates came to the class.
  • 名。
    Tā kǎo shì dé le dì yī míng.
    He got first place in the exam.

Origin

Compound ideograph
六书liùshū
会意huìyì

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.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 2500 Most Frequent Chinese Words1000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsMeasure Words2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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