su nombre
/su nombɾe/from spelling rules
In Spanish, su nombre means your name formally.
su nombre is used to refer to the name of a person when you are addressing them in a polite or formal manner.
Which one should you use?
While su nombre is the formal way to say your name, you should use tu nombre in informal situations when speaking with friends, family or children.
How does it change in a sentence?
The possessive adjective su is ambiguous and can mean his, her, its or your (formal) depending on the context of the sentence.
How do you pronounce it?
/su nombɾe/
When do people say it?
When formally introducing yourself in Spain, it is common to include both your father's and mother's surnames, such as in the phrase Yo me llamo María López Martínez. To introduce yourself, you can say Mi nombre es [Name] or simply Soy [Name].
Did you know?
- The word nombre can also be a colloquial exclamation meaning 'no way' or 'come on'. In this context, it is actually a contraction of no, hombre, meaning 'no, man'.
- The English word 'name' and the Spanish word nombre share a common ancestor in the Proto-Indo-European root '*nomn-', which is the linguistic link between the two languages.
- When filling out official paperwork, you will often see Nombre used to refer specifically to your first name, while Apellidos covers your surnames.
Examples in context
- ¿Cuál es su nombre?What is your name? (formal)
- ¿Me puede decir su nombre?Can you tell me your name?
- No recuerdo su nombre, lo siento.I don't remember your name, I'm sorry.
- Escriba su nombre en este papel.Write your name on this paper.
Example conversation
Lucía is registering Javier at a clinic.
- LucíaBuenos días, ¿me dice su nombre?Good morning, could you tell me your name?
- JavierSí, me llamo Javier García.Yes, my name is Javier García.
- LucíaGracias, señor Javier.Thank you, Mr. Javier.
- JavierDe nada, señora Lucía.You're welcome, Mrs. Lucía.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries nombre, su, CC BY-SA 4.0.
