This is the 9697th most frequent Japanese word.
苗字
Surname; family name.
In this sentence, '苗字' refers to the last name of a person, used in a polite request form.
苗字を教えていただけますか？
Could you tell me your surname?
Here, '苗字' is discussed in the context of how the term can be written with different kanji, reflecting linguistic variation.
日本では苗字が名字とも書かれる場合があります。
In Japan, the word for surname can also be written as '名字'.
In this example, '苗字' is describing someone's surname, highlighting its uniqueness.