把……称为……

bǎ... chēngwéi...

call... ... (把……称为……)

把 A 称为 B means “call A B.” It is used when giving a name, title, or accepted label.

Anchor example

人们把春节称为中国最重要的节日。

Rénmen bǎ Chūnjié chēngwéi Zhōngguó zuì zhòngyào de jiérì.

People call Spring Festival the most important festival in China.

HSK 4

1 structures

15 exercises

Lesson summary

Read the sample sentence and notice how 把……称为…… works in the frame: 把 A 称为 B.

Explanation

把...称为... is used for naming or labeling. A is the thing or person being named, and B is the name or title. It is more formal than 叫 and common in explanations and written Chinese. Do not use it for a casual direct address like “call me tomorrow”; that meaning uses 打电话 or 叫, not 称为.

Structure Patterns

1 structures

Grammar pattern

把 A 称为 B

states the name, title, or label given to A

人们把春节称为中国最重要的节日。

Rénmen bǎ Chūnjié chēngwéi Zhōngguó zuì zhòngyào de jiérì.

People call Spring Festival the most important festival in China.

Common Mistakes

Using 称为 for phone calls: 明天把我称为。For phone calls, say 明天给我打电话。称为 means “call/name as.”
Reversing A and B: 人们把中国最重要的节日称为春节。That changes the meaning. Keep the object first: 把春节称为中国最重要的节日。

Usage Notes

称为 is more formal than 叫做.
B is usually a name, title, label, or description.
The passive version is A 被称为 B.

Practice

15 exercises

1 / 15

Fill in the blank:

人们把春节____中国最重要的节日。

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