姓氏 xìngshì family name
How to remember 姓氏: 姓 surname + 氏 clan = family name.
Characters
How it is used
- The formal cover term for 'surname / family name' - 中国的姓氏 (Zhōngguó de xìngshì) Chinese surnames.
- Used when speaking of surnames as a category (百家姓, forms, genealogy), not to ask someone's name.
- To ask a name you'd say 您贵姓 (nín guìxìng), using 姓 alone, not 姓氏.
Example sentences
- 你的姓氏怎么写？ Nǐ de xìngshì zěnme xiě?How is your last name written?