叫 jiào — to be called, to be named

Meanings

1. 1

   to be called, to be named

   Used in the pattern X 叫 Y to give a name. 叫 is itself the verb, so no 是 follows it: 我叫小明, not 我叫是小明.

   verb
2. 2

   to call out; to call someone over

   verb

Example sentences

• 我叫小明。Wǒ (third tone, dipping) jiào (fourth tone, falling) Xiǎomíng. (third tone, dipping)···

  My name is Xiaoming.

• 你的老师叫什么名字？/你的老師叫什麼名字？Nǐ (third tone, dipping) de (neutral tone) lǎoshī (third tone, dipping) jiào (fourth tone, falling) shénme (second tone, rising) míngzi? (second tone, rising)···

  What’s your teacher’s name?

Common mistakes

• Not quite我叫是小明。

  Correct我叫小明。

  Learners add 是 because English uses "is" in "my name is…". In Chinese the verb is 叫 itself; a second verb is ungrammatical.

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