← 课程列表 HSK 1 Lesson 3 Vocab Card
你叫什么名字
What's Your Name · Dialogues · Vocabulary · Grammar
student
brown
How to read this page: Line 1 = Chinese characters. Line 2 = pinyin (lined up character-by-character above each word). Line 3 = English meaning of the whole sentence, with the matching key word marked in (parentheses). Words in a pink box are this lesson's key vocabulary. Tap the 🔊 button to hear it read aloud — in the dialogue, speaker A and speaker B are read in two different voices.

📖 Text

Read the story once for the general idea, then go through it again line by line.

 A ：nǐ你jiào叫shén什me么míng名zì字 ？
A: What's your (name)? (literally, what are you (called)?)
 B ：wǒ我jiào叫lǐ李yuè月 。
B: My name is Li Yue.
 A ：nǐ你shì是lǎo老shī师ma吗 ？
A: Are you a (teacher)?
 B ：wǒ我bú不shì是lǎo老shī师 ，wǒ我shì是xué学shēng生 。
B: No, I'm (not) a teacher — I'm a (student).
 A ：nǐ你shì是zhōng中guó国rén人ma吗 ？
A: Are you (Chinese)?
 B ：wǒ我bú不shì是zhōng中guó国rén人 ，wǒ我shì是měi美guó国rén人 。
B: No, I'm not (Chinese) — I'm (American).
story illustration

📋 Key Vocabulary

Each word shows the part of speech, meaning, and an extra example sentence.

叫jiàoverb
to call, to be called
你叫什么名字？
What's your name?
什么shénmepron.
what
这是什么？
What is this?
名字míngzinoun
name
我的名字是李月。
My name is Li Yue.
我wǒpron.
I, me
我是学生。
I am a student.
是shìverb
to be
她是老师。
She is a teacher.
老师lǎoshīnoun
teacher
李老师是我们的汉语老师。
Teacher Li is our Chinese teacher.
吗mapart.
(turns a statement into a question)
你是学生吗？
Are you a student?
学生xuéshengnoun
student
他们是学生。
They are students.
人rénnoun
human, person
他是中国人。
He is Chinese.
中国Zhōngguón. (place)
China
我是中国人。
I am Chinese.
美国Měiguón. (place)
the United States
她是美国人。
She is American.

🧩 Grammar Focus

Structures from this story worth practicing.

① 什么 — asking "what"
疑问代词 "什么"
什么 (+ Noun)
The question word 什么 means "what." It can stand alone as the object of a question, or combine directly with a following noun, e.g. 什么书 ("what book").
你叫什么名字？
Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?
What is your name?
② 是-sentences and their negative with 不
"是" 字句
Subject + (不)是 + Noun/Noun Phrase
A 是-sentence states that someone or something equals or belongs to a category. Add 不 directly before 是 to make it negative.
我不是老师，我是学生。
Wǒ bú shì lǎoshī, wǒ shì xuésheng.
I'm not a teacher, I'm a student.
③ 吗 — turning a statement into a yes/no question
用 "吗" 的疑问句
Statement + 吗?
Adding the particle 吗 to the end of a statement turns it into a yes/no question, without changing the word order at all.
你是中国人吗？
Nǐ shì Zhōngguó rén ma?
Are you Chinese?

⭐ Key Sentences

Practice saying these sentences out loud. Try covering the English and translating from Chinese yourself.

1
你叫什么名字？
Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?
What is your name?
2
我叫李月。
Wǒ jiào Lǐ Yuè.
My name is Li Yue.
3
你是中国人吗？
Nǐ shì Zhōngguó rén ma?
Are you Chinese?
4
我不是中国人，我是美国人。
Wǒ bú shì Zhōngguó rén, wǒ shì Měiguó rén.
I'm not Chinese, I'm American.

✅ Quick Check

Answer in your head, then check with your teacher.

1. What name does speaker B give?
A. 王方    B. 李月    C. 张先生
2. Is speaker B a teacher or a student (dialogue 2)?
A. Teacher    B. Student    C. Not mentioned
3. What nationality is speaker B (dialogue 3)?
A. Chinese    B. American    C. British
4. How do you make a 是-sentence negative?
A. 是不    B. 不是    C. 没是
student 你叫什么名字？你是哪国人？Try answering both in Chinese! 🌍