míng 名 I N name, (personal) given name ■ 他们 要给新生儿取个名。Tāmen yào gěi xīnshēngér qǔ ge
míng. They’re going to name their newborn baby. II MEASURE WORD (used for people, especially those
with a specific position or occupation) 一名军人 yì míng jūnrén a soldier / 两名学生 liǎng míng xuésheng
two students
míngcì 名次 N place in a competition, position in a name list
míng’é 名额 N the number of people assigned or allowed for a particular purpose, quota of 大学招生名
额 dàxué zhāoshēng míng'é university enrolment quota
míng fù qí shí 名副其实 IDIOM be worthy of the name 名副其实的好老师 míngfùqíshí de hǎo lǎoshī a good
teacher in every sense of the word
míngpái 名牌 N famous brand, name brand
míngpiàn 名片 N name card, visiting card (张 zhāng)
míngshèng 名胜 N famous scenic spot ■ 这个 地区有很多名胜，每年吸引大批旅游者。Zhège dìqū
yǒu hěn duō míngshèng, měi nián xīyǐn dàpī lǚyóuzhě. The area boasts many famous scenic spots
and attracts large numbers of tourists every year.
míngshèng gǔjī 名胜古迹 IDIOM famous scenic spots and cultural relics
míngyù 名誉 N reputation, honor 名誉博士 míngyù bóshì honorary doctorate / 恢复 名誉 huīfù míngyù restore
honor
míngzi 名字 [comp: 名 given name + 字 courtesy name] N name, given name ■ 我的名字叫王 小明。
Wǒ de míngzi jiào Wáng Xiǎo Míng. My name is Wang Xiaoming. ■ “你知道他的名字
吗？”“不知道。”“Nǐ zhīdào tā de míngzi ma?” “Bù zhīdào.” “Do you know his name?”
“No.”
NOTE: To be exact, 名字 míngzi only means given name, but informally 名字 míngzi may also mean full
name (family name + given name). The formal word for full name is 姓名 xìngmíng. See 姓 xìng.
míng 明 ADJ bright
míngbai 明白 [comp: 明 bright + 白 white] 1 ADJ clear, obvious ■ 对不起，我没有说明 白。Duìbuqǐ,
wǒ méiyǒu shuō míngbai. Sorry, I didn’t make it very clear. 2 V understand, see the point ■ 老师又解
释了一遍，我才明白了。 Lǎoshī yòu jiěshì yí biàn, wǒ cái míngbai le. I only understood after the
teacher explained it again. ■ 我还 不明白，能不能再说一遍。Wǒ hái bù míngbai, néng bu néng
zài shuō yí biàn? I still don’t understand. Could you say it again?
míngliàng 明亮 [comp: 明 bright + 亮 bright] ADJ bright, well-lit ■ 这间房间很明亮，我很喜 欢。Zhè
jiān fángjiān hěn míngliàng, wǒ hěn xǐhuan. This room is very bright. I like it.
míngmíng 明明 ADV clearly, obviously, as clear as day ■ 你明明知道，为什么要说不知道？Nǐ
míngmíng zhīdào, wèishénme yàoshuō bùzhīdào? You obviously knew it; why did you say you
didn’t?
míngnián 明年 [modif: 明 (in this context) next + 年 year] N next year ■ 明年我二十一岁 了！
Míngnián wǒ èrshìyī suì le! I’ll be twenty-one next year!
NOTE: 明年 míngnián is next year only to this year 今 年 jīnnián. For the year after another year, we use 第 二
年 dì-èr nián or 下一年 xià yì nián. For example: ■ 他们在2012年结婚，第二年生了一个儿 子。Tāmen zài èr-líng-yī-èr
nián jiéhūn, dì-èr nián shēngle yí ge érzi. They married in 2012 and had a son the following year. It would be
wrong to use 明年 míngnián in this example.míngquè 明确 [comp: 明 clear + 确 definite, specific] ADJ & V definite and explicit; make definite and
explicit ■ 他说得很明确，本月十五日下 午三点二十五分到达北京机场。Tā shuō de hěn
míngquè, běnyuè shíwǔ rì xiàwǔ sān diǎn èrshíwǔ fēn dàodá Běijīng jīchǎng. He made it very
clear— he will be arriving at Beijing Airport at 3:25 p.m. on the fifteenth of this month. ■ 请你明
确一下 品种、数量和交货日期。Qǐng nǐ míngquè yíxià pǐnzhǒng, shùliàng hé jiāohuò rìqī.
Please be definite about the product specifications, quantity and date of shipment.