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August 1, 2019 By Masaki Mori
"Onamae wa nan desu ka" – asking someone's name in Japanese
How to say "what's your name?" in Japanese
Japanese native speakers would say "onamae wa nan desu ka". It's the Japanese polite expression for "what's your name?" In this blog post, I will explain it in detail based on its components. And also, I will explain a more polite expression and a more casual one. Let's get started!
Definition and meaning of "onamae wa nan desu ka"
Components of "onamae wa nan desu ka"
What is YOUR name in Japanese
Watashi no namae wa – telling your name in Japanese
Example: how to ask someone's name and how to answer it
More polite expression to ask someone's name
Casual way to ask someone's name – just saying "onamae wa"
First of all, let me start with a definition and meaning of "onamae wa nan desu ka".
onamae wa nan desu ka – お名前は何ですか (おなまえはなんですか) : a Japanese polite expression for "what's your name?"
Its definition and meaning are quite simple and clear, I think. To understand it a bit more, however, let me explain its components in detail.
Below are the ones.
o – お : a prefix which is often used to make its following word more polite. Here, it's used to make its following word, "namae", more polite. When Japanese people ask someone's name in Japanese, they normally use this prefix before "namae". They try to be as polite as possible. On the other hand, when they mention their own name, they don't use it. Learn more about "o" through the word, "omotenashi".
namae – 名前 (なまえ) : a noun meaning 'name'.
wa – は : a binding particle working as a case maker or topic maker. Here, it's put after the noun, "namae", to give a topic.
nan – 何 (なん) : an indefinite pronoun meaning 'what' in Japanese. It is quite similar to another pronoun, "nani", which also means 'what' in Japanese. They are basically the same, but depending on other words used together, their meanings can be different.
desu – です : an auxiliary verb put after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Perhaps, it's well known for a part of Japanese desu form. Here, it's put after the pronoun, "nan", to make it sound polite.
ka – か : a sentence ending particle put at the end of sentence to make a question. Here, it's put at the end of the sentence to change it to a question.
From these components, we can understand that the expression, "onamae wa nan desu ka" literally means 'what is a name?' This is more or less the same as what it really means.
As you can see here, the Japanese expression does not contain any word meaning 'your' in Japanese. So, it's not completely the same as the English expression, "what's your name?" However, in reality, Japanese people can understand that it implies 'what's your name?' Basically, they prefer indirect expressions. So, they often avoid referring to a particular person. They are used to this kind of omission of word.
Then, let me explain how to say "what is your name?" in Japanese through the example below.
anata no onamae wa nan desu ka – あなたのお名前は何ですか (あなたのおなまえはなんですか)
Below are new words used in the example sentence.
anata – あなた : a pronoun meaning 'you'.
no – の : a case particle put after a noun to make its possessive case. In the example sentence, it's put after the pronoun, "anata", to make its possessive case, "anata no", which means 'your' in Japanese.
Here, "anata no" is added at the beginning of the expression. So, we can understand that "your name" is asked. When we need to ask someone's name in a clear and direct way, we need to add some more information to the expression like this.
Then, let me explain how to answer this question in Japanese.
In English, we often use phrases like "my name is blah blah" or "I'm blah blah" to tell our name to others. There is a similar expression in Japanese. Below is it.
watashi no namae wa – 私の名前は (わたしのなまえは) : a Japanese expression for "my name is".
One new word is used in this expression.
watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning 'I'. Here, it has been changed to its possessive case due to help of the case particle, "no".
As you can see here, this expression is quite similar to the English expression, "my name is".
To understand how to use both expressions, please take a look at the example conversation below between two Japanese, Haru and Aki.
watashi no namae wa Aki desu – 私の名前はアキです (わたしのなまえはあきです)
My name is Aki.
This example conversation shows how Japanese people ask someone's name and also how they answer it. Both expressions are polite enough to fit with various situations including formal ones.
If we need to be more polite, we can use the more polite expression which corresponds well to "may I ask your name?"
onamae wo okiki shite mo yoroshii deshou ka – お名前をお聞きしてもよろしいでしょうか (おなまえをおききしてもよろしいでしょうか)
May I ask your name?
Below are new words used in the new expression.
wo – を : a case particle put after a noun to make the object word. In the example, it's put after the noun, "namae", to make the object word in the sentence. It's written as "wo", but its actual pronunciation is "o".
okiki – お聞き (おきき) : a noun meaning 'hearing' or 'listening'. In a way, hearing someone's name means that we've succeeded in asking someone's name. In Japanese, 'hearing' is quite often used as a polite expression of 'asking'. The first character, "o", is the prefix used to make a polite expression.
shite – して : a te form of the verb, "suru", which means 'to do' in Japanese. "Suru" is often put after a noun to make its verb form. In the example, it is put after the noun, "okiki", to make its verb form which means 'to ask (politely)'.
mo – も : a binding particle to ask for permission to do something. In the example, it is put after "okiki shite" to ask for permission to ask someone's name.
yoroshii – よろしい : an i-adjective meaning 'fine', 'good', 'okay', 'alright' or some such.
deshou – でしょう : a combination of the auxiliary verb, "desu", and another auxiliary verb, "u". It is widely used to ask, request or offer something politely. The auxiliary verb, "u", can add a nuance of "may", "can" or "would" to its prior word.
These are detailed explanations of the more polite expression to ask someone's name in Japanese. To tell the truth, by using other verbs we can make several more expressions. In other words, we can make similar expressions as many as we want. Yet, it doesn't make much sense honestly. Here, I focused only one expression.
So far, I've explained polite ways. Sometimes, however, we need to use a more casual expression to ask someone's name. In the following paragraphs, I will explain it.
For a casual way to ask someone's name in Japanese, I recommend Japanese learners to say just "onamae wa". It is a part of the expression, "onamae wa nan desu ka". This kind of abbreviation is very possible thanks to the trait of the particle "wa".
I explained it in detail in another blog post about the phrase, "anata wa", which means 'and you?' in Japanese.
As I explained, "wa" is a binding particle working as a case maker or topic maker. In reality, however, Japanese people often use it like a sentence ending particle. From the grammatical point of view, it is not. But Japanese people put it at the end of sentence quite often. A reason why this can happen is that they often omit all words after "wa" in an interrogative sentence. So, in a way, we can consider "anata wa" as an abbreviated form of question. As a result of this kind of omission, "wa" appears to be like a sentence ending particle. This is how the phrase,"anata wa", is made and also why it can be translated to "and you?"
The same thing happens to "onamae wa nan desu ka". Words after the particle, "wa", have been omitted and then only "onamae wa" remains. Japanese native speakers are very familiar with this kind of omission. Therefore, just saying "onamae wa" is very acceptable. They can understand that it is an abbreviated expression and means 'what is your name?'
"Onamae wa" is less polite than the full sentence, so would fit more with casual situations. Yet, the prefix, "o", still remains, so the abbreviated expression is still a bit polite. In a way, "onamae wa" is a very flexible expression. Perhaps, it would fit with more situations than its full sentence does.
Depending on the situation, we can omit the prefix, "o", too. This means that we can say "namae wa". Yet, we need to be very careful with its use. It could sound very rude.
In this blog post, I've explained the Japanese expression for 'what is your name?' And also, I've explained its related expressions. Let me summarize them as follows.
onamae wa nan desu ka – お名前は何ですか (おなまえはなんですか) : a Japanese expression for "what is your name?" It is polite enough to fit with various situations.
watashi no namae wa – 私の名前は (わたしのなまえは) : a Japanese expression for "my name is". It can be used to answer the question, "onamae wa nan desu ka?"
onamae wo okiki shite mo yoroshii deshou ka – お名前をお聞きしてもよろしいでしょうか (おなまえをおききしてもよろしいでしょうか) : a Japanese expression for 'may I ask your name?' This is a very polite expression.
onamae wa – お名前は (おなまえは) : an abbreviated expression of "onamae wa nan desu ka". It would fit with casual situations.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
Masaki Mori
Engineer, Industrial Translator, Blogger
I am trying to spread the Japanese culture through teaching the Japanese language. One of my goals is to make Japanese learners feel the culture through the language.
Filed Under: translation
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Written by Masaki Mori
I'm an engineer and industrial translator. Through teaching the Japanese language, I'm trying to make people feel the Japanese culture. Read More…
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