# 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: [na̠ma̠e̞]
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

名(な)前(まえ) • (namae)
* 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…………新(しん)一(いち)…それが僕(ぼく)の名(な)前(まえ)ですか？
       Shin'ichi~‼ Cho, nande⁉ Dōshite Shin'ichi ga…
       Shin’ichi~!! Wait, why… Shin’ichi, why are you…
       ……… 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?
* (more specifically) a given name (excluding the surname)

#### 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”)

### References

* 1 2 “名前”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
* ↑ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* 1 2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* ↑ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* ↑ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
* ↑ Takebayashi, Shigeru (1993) The Kenkyusha Japanese-English Learner's Pocket Dictionary, Tōkyō: Kenkyūsha, →ISBN.

### Further reading

* “名前／なまえ”, in 語源由来辞典 (Gogen Yurai Jiten, “Etymology Derivation Dictionary”) (in Japanese), 2003–2025.

## 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: [nameː]

### Noun

名(な)前(めー) (namē)
* a name (word or phrase indicating a particular person, place, class, or thing)
* (more specifically) a given name (excluding the surname)

### References

* ↑ “ナメー” in Okinawa Center of Language Study, Shuri-Naha Dialect Dictionary (archived; reopens 2024).