mihi nomen est

My Name Is

Level 2

Word for word, a name is to me.

How It Works

Latin says a name is to someone: mihi (to me), tibi (to you), puero (to the boy), puellae (to the girl).

The name itself stays in the nominative, because est joins it to nomen.

In the question, quod matches nomen, which is a neuter noun. You may also see quid, the plain word for what.

Mihi nomen est Marcus.
My name is Marcus.
Mihi means to me, and Marcus is the name.
Quod tibi nomen est?
What is your name?
Quod matches the neuter noun nomen. Tibi means to you.
Tibi nomen est Iulia.
Your name is Iulia.
The same pattern with tibi for you.
Puellae nomen est Livia.
The girl's name is Livia.
Puellae is the to form of puella.
Puero nomen est Franciscus.
The boy's name is Francis.
Puero is the to form of puer.

Using ego, as if the name were the subject.
Ego nomen est Marcus.
Mihi nomen est Marcus.
Ego is the form for the doer. A name belongs to me, so the word is mihi.
Putting the name in the accusative.
Mihi nomen est Marcum.
Mihi nomen est Marcus.
The verb est joins nomen and the name, so the name stays in the nominative.

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

mihi nomen estLevel 2My Name Is

My name is is built from mihi and est, so both come first.

egonomensummihi nomen esttibituqui

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