How do you name smth OR what do you name smth?
Hello everyone!

The question is: which word to use - HOW or WHAT?

It is believed to be a common mistake among Russian learners of English to ask "How do you call it?" instead of "What do you call it?"

Is it the same with the verb "name"? - HOW do you name it OR WHAT do you name it?

Thanks in advance.

p.s._1: e.g.
- What do you call those shoes? (not HOW do you call ... ?)
- Those are trainers.

- What do we name young people at the age of 15? (not HOW do you name ... ?)
- We name them teenagers.

p.s._2: I've just edited my question as I see I had initially put it in a confused way.
forget about "smth".

Question

How do you name smth OR what do you name smth?
Hello everyone!

The question is: which word to use - HOW or WHAT?

It is believed to be a common mistake among Russian learners of English to ask "How do you call it?" instead of "What do you call it?"

Is it the same with the verb "name"? - HOW do you name it OR WHAT do you name it?

Thanks in advance.

p.s._1: e.g. 
- What do you call those shoes? (not HOW do you call ... ?)
- Those are trainers.

- What do we name young people at the age of 15? (not HOW do you name ... ?)
- We name them teenagers.

p.s._2: I've just edited my question as I see I had initially put it in a confused way.
forget about "smth".

Answer

Hello! 
If you are asking someone for the English word for an object or action, there are a few ways to ask:
'What do you call that?' 
'What is the name for that?' 
'What is the word for that?'

If asking about a verb, the answer would change the verb to a gerund (swimming).

Examples:

Person A: (pointing to a bag) What do you call that?
Person B: This is called a backpack.

Person A: What is the word for when you run really fast?
Person B: That's called sprinting.

I hope this helps you!

Answer

@Duncan Hi Duncan! I've just edited my question as I see I had initially put it in a confused way, forget about "smth". 
The question is: which word to use - HOW or WHAT? In questions like "What do you call those shoes? (not HOW do you call those shoes?)"

Answer

@Brends I've seen "Smth" used a few times and it always confused me too. As far as I can tell it's an abbreviation for "something". Although I've never seen a native speaker use it. Although they probably so.

@Alexia Usually when you need a placeholder it's better to use "x". People will understand that universally. Or if it's two different things use "x" and "y".

Answer

Hi Brends! I added up some examples for I might have put it incompletely from the beginning.

Answer

Hi Alexia. We usually ask people what their name is. I'm assuming that you want to find out what someone's name is? I'm not sure what (smth) is. In English a common surname is Smith. :) I hope that helps. So when I first meet you for example I might ask you: "What is your name?"