“Onamae wa nan desu ka” – asking someone’s name in Japanese

What does “onamae wa nan desu ka” mean in Japanese?

Japanese native speakers often say “onamae wa nan desu ka” to mean “what is your name?” in Japanese. In this blog post, I will explain this expression in detail based on its components. And then, I will also explain a more polite expression and a more casual one. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “onamae wa nan desu ka”
• Components of “onamae wa nan desu ka”
• Example #1: how to say “what is YOUR name?” in Japanese
• Watashi no namae wa: “my name is” in Japanese
• Example #2: how to ask someone’s name and how to answer the question
• More polite expression to ask someone’s name
• Onamae wa: a casual way to ask someone’s name
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “onamae wa nan desu ka”

First of all, let me start with the 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 is your name?”

Its definition and meaning are quite simple and clear, I think. To understand this expression more clearly, however, let me explain its components in detail, one by one.

Components of “onamae wa nan desu ka”

Below are the components used in the expression.

• o – お : a prefix used to make its following word polite. In the expression, it is put before the noun, “namae”, to make it sound polite. The formed phrase, “onamae”, is widely considered as the polite expression of “namae”, and often used like one word. When Japanese native speakers ask someone’s name in Japanese, they normally use the polite expression. They try to be polite. On the other hand, when they mention their own names, they don’t use the polite one. This particle can also be found in other words like “osusume“, “omotenashi“, and “okaeri“.
• namae – 名前 (なまえ) : a noun meaning ‘name’.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the expression, it is used to give the topic, “name”.
• nan – 何 (なん) : an indefinite pronoun meaning ‘what’ in Japanese.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb put after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Perhaps, it is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the expression, it is put after the pronoun, “nan”, to make it sound polite.
• ka – か : a sentence-ending particle put at the end of a sentence to make a question. As its definition suggests, it is put at the end of the expression to make the question.

From these components, we can understand that “onamae wa nan desu ka” literally means ‘what is a name?’ in Japanese. This is more or less the same as what the expression really means.

As you can see here, the Japanese expression does not contain any word referring to “you”. So, it is not completely the same as the English expression, “what is your name?” In reality, however, Japanese native speakers can interpret its meaning as ‘what is your name?’ They are familiar with this kind of omission, as they quite often omit a word referring to a particular person in a sentence.

Next, then, let me explain how to say “what is your name?” in Japanese through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “what is YOUR name?” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• anata – あなた : a pronoun meaning ‘you’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle put after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, it is put after the pronoun, “anata”, to make its possessive case, “anata no”, which means ‘your’ in Japanese.

“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 way, we should use a possessive case word additionally.

Then, let me explain how to answer this question in Japanese.

Watashi no namae wa: “my name is” in Japanese

In English, we often use phrases like “my name is blah blah” and “I’m blah blah” to tell our names to others. The Japanese language has a similar expression. 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”.

Below is the new word used in the expression.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. In the expression, it is used together with the case particle, “no”. The formed phrase, “watashi no“, is the possessive case which means ‘my’ in Japanese.

So, the Japanese expression is quite similar to the English one, “my name is”. They correspond well to each other, word by word.

Then, let me explain how to use this expression through the following example conversation.

Example #2: how to ask someone’s name and how to answer the question

This example conversation shows how Japanese people ask someone’s name and also how they answer the question. Both expressions used in this example are polite enough, so would be suitable for 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?”

More polite expression to ask someone’s name

Below are the new words used in the new expression.

• wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is put after the noun, “onamae”, to make the object word in the sentence. It is written as “wo”, but its actual pronunciation is “o”.
• okiki shi – お聞きし (おききし) : one conjugation of the verb, “okiki suru”, which means ‘to ask’, ‘to hear’, or ‘to listen’ in a polite way in Japanese. It has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle put after a verb or adjective to make its te form. In the example, it is put after the conjugated verb, “okiki shi”, to make its te form, “okiki shi te”. A verb needs to be changed to its te form to be connected with another verb or an adjective. So, “okiki suru” needs to be changed to its te form to be connected with “yoroshii”.
• yoroshii – よろしい : an i-adjective meaning ‘fine’, ‘good’, ‘okay’, or ‘alright’ in a polite way in Japanese.
• deshou – でしょう : the combination of the auxiliary verb, “desu”, and another auxiliary verb, “u”. It is widely used to ask, request, or offer something in a polite way. The auxiliary verb, “u”, can add the nuance of “may”, “can”, or “would” to its preceding word.

These are the components of the more polite expression to ask someone’s name in Japanese. Honestly, we can make several more expressions with other verbs. Yet, I focused on this expression, one of the most widely-used ones.

So far, I’ve explained polite ways to ask someone’s name. Sometimes, however, we need to use a more casual expression. In the following paragraphs, I will explain it.

Onamae wa: a casual way to ask someone’s name

Japanese native speakers often use the shortened version of “onamae wa nan desu ka” to ask someone’s name casually. They say “onamae wa”. In the Japanese language, this kind of abbreviation quite often happens. To understand this more clearly, let me explain the role of “wa” in an interrogative sentence.

Basically, “wa” is a particle working as a case marker or topic marker in a sentence. In a question, however, Japanese people use it as a sentence-ending particle. They often omit all words after the particle when the meanings of those words are understood from the situation and context. As the result of this omission, “wa” appears to be like a sentence-ending particle. And actually it can work so. This can happen to “onamae wa nan desu ka”. The all words after the particle can be omitted, and “onamae wa” remains. This is the reason Japanese native speakers can use the shortened phrase to ask someon’s name.

Like in other languages, shortened phrases are considered more casual than their original sentences in the Japanese language. So, we can use “onamae wa” to ask someone’s name in a casual way in Japanese.

Summary

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 suitable for 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 shi te yoroshii deshou ka – お名前をお聞きしてよろしいでしょうか (おなまえをおききして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) : a shortened version of “onamae wa nan desu ka”. We can use this to ask someone’s name in a casual way.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.