名前

Japanese

Kanji in this term
名	前
な Grade: 1	まえ Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
名まえ (less common)

Etymology

Derived from 名 (na, “name”) +‎ 前 (-mae, front). Compare the semantics of Latin praenomen.

Appears as a term only in the last few centuries, becoming more widely used during the Meiji period. Similarity to English name and other Indo-European words derived from *h₁nómn̥ is coincidental.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) なまえ [nàmáé] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [na̠ma̠e̞]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

名(な)前(まえ) • (namae) ^{←なまへ (namafe)?}

1. a name (word or phrase indicating a particular person, place, class, or thing)
   • 2008 August 16, Gosho Aoyama, “ＦＩＬＥ(ファイル).5(ご)　憎(ぞう)悪(お)の村(むら) [File 5: Village of Hatred]”, in 名(めい)探(たん)偵(てい)コナン [Legendary Detective Conan], volume 61 (fiction), Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN:

     新(しん)一(いち)〰‼ちょ、なんで⁉どうして新(しん)一(いち)が…

     Shin'ichi~‼ Cho, nande⁉ Dōshite Shin'ichi ga…

     Shin’ichi~!! Wait, why… Shin’ichi, why are you…

     ………新(しん)一(いち)…それが僕(ぼく)の名(な)前(まえ)ですか？

     ……… Shin'ichi… Sore ga boku no namae desu ka?

     …Shin’ichi… Is that my name?

   • 2013 April 7 [2012 December 9], ONE with Murata, Yusuke, “15(じゅうご)撃(げき)目(め)　趣(しゅ)味(み)と仕(し)事(ごと) [15th Hit: A Hobby, or a Job?]”, in ONEPUNCH-MAN(【ワンパンマン】) [One-Punch Man], 6th edition, volume 2 (fiction), Tokyo: Shueisha, →ISBN, page 178:

     音(おん)速(そく)のソニック？誰(だれ)ですか？その頭(ず)痛(つう)が痛(いた)いみたいな名(な)前(まえ)の人(じん)物(ぶつ)は？

     Onsoku no Sonikku? Dare desu ka? Sono zutsū ga itai mitai na namae no jinbutsu wa?

     Sonic the Sound Speed? Who’s that? Is he giving you a headache with that redundant name?

2. (more specifically) a given name (excluding the surname)

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 名(な)前(まえ)解(かい)決(けつ) (namae kaiketsu)
• 名(な)前(まえ)看(かん)板(ばん) (namae kanban)
• 名(な)前(まえ)人(にん) (namaenin)
• 名(な)前(まえ)負(ま)け (namaemake)
• 取(と)り子(ご)名(な)前(まえ) (torigo namae)

See also

• 名(な) (na, “name, title”, as of a book or other work)
• 名(みょう)字(じ), 苗(みょう)字(じ) (myōji, “surname”)
• 姓(せい)名(めい) (seimei, “full name”)
• 氏(し)名(めい) (shimei, “full name”)
• 名(めい)称(しょう) (meishō, “name, appellation, what something or someone is called”)

Further reading

• “名前／なまえ”, in 語源由来辞典 (Gogen Yurai Jiten, “Etymology Derivation Dictionary”) (in Japanese), 2003–2024.

Okinawan

Kanji in this term
名	前
なー > な Grade: 1	めー Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Etymology

Cognate with Japanese 名前 (namae, “name”).

Can be analyzable as derived from 名 (nā, “name”) +‎ 前 (-mē, suffix describing a person to emphasize a quality or feature).

Pronunciation

• (Shuri-Naha) なめー [námèè] (Heiban - [0])
• IPA^(key): [nameː]

Noun

名(な)前(めー) (namē) 

1. a name (word or phrase indicating a particular person, place, class, or thing)
2. (more specifically) a given name (excluding the surname)