Is it possible to shorten 你叫什么名字? to 你叫什么?
Will it still mean the same? Or it is possible to reply to 你叫什么? with something different, not just Surname+Name?
你叫什么? - 叫我‘你的噩夢’ :)
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1asking people '你叫什么' is rude– Tang Ho ♦Commented May 17, 2019 at 12:09
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some users might suggest 你叫什么 might literally correspond to "what are you called?" and represent a similar degree of impoliteness– user6065Commented May 17, 2019 at 13:06
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naturally, when referring to o.s. 叫什么 may be suitable cf. jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3397594&chapterid=2 陆诀冷脸冷声地对着段寒江公事公办地提问：“姓名？” 段寒江隔着一张桌子蓦地笑了下，回道：“你说我叫什么！”– user6065Commented May 20, 2019 at 3:17
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The sentence 你叫什么? may have two meanings depending on the tone: What are you called? & What are you (fucking) calling?– xenophōnCommented May 21, 2019 at 5:52
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2 Answers
No. It is rude to say so in Chinese. It is quite hard to understand as it is a kind of language sense.
Another way to shorten the sentence is "你的名字是？" though it is not as good as the original sentence "你叫甚麼名字？"
Simplicity is important but in some case can be fatal and lead to misunderstanding.
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Do most native speakers think it as rude? Why shorten sentence a little bit like this would be considered as rude?– 炸鱼薯条德里克Commented May 17, 2019 at 22:52
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@炸鱼薯条德里克 "你叫甚麼名字?" is specifically asking someone's name ", which mean you are treated as a human; "你叫甚麼" could mean "what is your name" but it can also mean "what are you called" ;the answer to "你叫甚麼?" could be "Peter" or "butt licking dog". And worse, "你叫甚麼?" can be literally interpreted as "what are you yelling about"– Tang Ho ♦Commented May 18, 2019 at 0:37
"你叫甚麼名字?" specifically asking someone's name, which mean you are treating the person you are asking as a human; "你叫甚麼" could mean "what is your name" but it can also mean "what are you called" ;the answer to "你叫甚麼?" could be "Peter" or "The Devil". And worse, "你叫甚麼?" can be literally interpreted as "what are you yelling about?" or "why are you yelling?"
If you think "你叫甚麼名字?" is too wordy, you can use "什稱呼?" (how may I address you?)
Example:
請問先生你叫什麼名字? (May I ask, Mister, what is your name called?) --> 先生什稱呼? (how may I address you, Mister)