Example sentences
nín您guì贵xìng姓？
What's your surname? (polite)
wǒ我xìng姓chén陈。
My surname is Chen.
The story behind the character
姓
姓 is 女 (woman) plus 生 (to be born). Xu Shen wrote 姓，人所生也: your surname is what you were born out of. In the oldest Chinese families the line was traced through the mother, which is why the woman radical sits on the left. Say your 姓 and you're naming the person who started your line.