How to Give Your Name - JapanesePod101

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Japanese by JapanesePod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to give your name in Japanese.

For example, "Nice to meet you. I’m Megumi Sasaki. Pleased to meet you."

はじめまして。わたしはささきめぐみです。よろしくおねがいします。(Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Sasaki Megumi desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

Two passengers, Megumi Sasaki and Ken Kobayashi, are seated next to each other on a plane to Japan.

Before you hear their conversation, let’s preview some of its key components.

はじめまして (hajimemashite)

"Nice to meet you."

はじめまして (enunciated)

はじめまして

よろしくおねがいします (yoroshiku onegai shimasu)

"pleased to meet you"

よろしくおねがいします (enunciated)

よろしくおねがいします

Listen to the conversation, and focus on Megumi’s response.

Ready?

はじめまして。わたしはこばやしです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Kobayashi desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

はじめまして。わたしはささきめぐみです。よろしくおねがいします。(Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Sasaki Megumi desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

Once more with the English translation.

はじめまして。わたしはこばやしです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Kobayashi desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

"Nice to meet you. I’m Kobayashi. Pleased to meet you."

はじめまして。わたしはささきめぐみです。よろしくおねがいします。(Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Sasaki Megumi desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

"Nice to meet you. I’m Megumi Sasaki. Pleased to meet you."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Megumi Sasaki introduces herself?

"Nice to meet you. I’m Megumi Sasaki. Pleased to meet you."

はじめまして。わたしはささきめぐみです。よろしくおねがいします。(Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Sasaki Megumi desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

First is the phrase, はじめまして, meaning "Nice to meet you." は-じ-め-ま-し-て. はじめまして。

This phrase is usually the first thing someone says when making a self-introduction in Japanese. はじめまして。

Now, let's look at the last part of Megumi's response.

よろしくおねがいします。This literally means, "Be good [to me], please." There is no equivalent in English since the meaning is understood from the context of the situation. In the context of meeting someone for the first time, it translates as "Pleased to meet you." よ-ろ-し-く- お-ね-が-い-し-ま-す.

よろしくおねがいします。

Do you remember how Megumi says,

"I'm Megumi Sasaki."

わたしはささきめぐみです。

First is わたし, meaning "I." わ-た-し. わたし.

Next is the particle, は, the topic-marking particle. は. It marks わたし, "I," as the topic of the sentence. Think of it like "as for" in the expression, "as for me.…"

Together, it's わたしは. "As for me." わたしは.

Next is Megumi Sasaki's name. Note the name order.

First is Megumi's family name, ささき, Sasaki. さ-さ-き. ささき, followed by her given name, めぐみ, Megumi. め-ぐ-み. めぐみ.

Together, it's ささきめぐみ, "Sasaki Megumi." ささきめぐみ.

In Japanese, the order is family name first, followed by given names.

Last is です. Here, it’s like the "am" in "I am." It's a linking verb. で-す. です.

All together, it's わたしはささきめぐみです. This literally means, "As for me, Sasaki Megumi am," but it translates as "I'm Megumi Sasaki."

わたしはささきめぐみです。

The pattern is

わたしは NAME です。

"I’m NAME."

わたしは NAME です。

To use this pattern, simply replace the {NAME} placeholder with your name.

Imagine you’re Jun Sasaki. In Japanese, じゅんささき. じゅ-んさ-さ-き. じゅんささき.

Say

"I'm Jun Sasaki."

Remember Japanese name order: family name first, followed by given names.

Ready?

わたしはささきじゅんです。

"I'm Jun Sasaki."

わたしはささきじゅんです。

Now, do you remember how Ken Kobayashi says,

"I'm Kobayashi."

わたしはこばやしです。

"I'm Kobayashi."

わたしはこばやしです。

The pattern is the same, but Ken Kobayashi uses only his family name, Kobayashi. He omits his given name, Ken.

The pattern is

わたしは FAMILY NAME です。

"I'm FAMILY NAME."

In Japan, it’s common to give only one’s family name in a self-introduction.

Let's practice this pattern with Jun Sasaki.

Drop Jun Sasaki's first name and say

"I'm Sasaki."

わたしはささきです。 (Watashi wa Sasaki desu.)

"I'm Sasaki."

わたしはささきです。 (Watashi wa Sasaki desu.)

Again, the key pattern is

わたしは NAME です。

"I'm NAME."

わたしは NAME です。

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

はじめまして。わたしはこばやしです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Kobayashi desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

"Nice to meet you. I’m Kobayashi.

Pleased to meet you."

はじめまして。わたしはこばやしです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Kobayashi desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

はじめまして。わたしはささきめぐみです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Sasaki Megumi desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

"Nice to meet you. I’m Megumi Sasaki. Pleased to meet you."

はじめまして。わたしはささきめぐみです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Sasaki Megumi desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

はじめまして。わたしはささきじゅんです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Sasaki Jun desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

"Nice to meet you. I’m Jun Sasaki. Pleased to meet you."

はじめまして。わたしはささきじゅんです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Sasaki Jun desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

はじめまして。わたしはかのうかなです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Kano Kana desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

"Nice to meet you. I’m Kana Kano. Pleased to meet you."

はじめまして。わたしはかのうかなです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Kano Kana desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

はじめまして。たなかです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Tanaka desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

"Nice to meet you. I’m Tanaka. Pleased to meet you."

はじめまして。たなかです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Tanaka desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

Did you notice the last speaker omits わたしは?

She says,

はじめまして。たなかです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Tanaka desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

Nice to meet you. I’m Tanaka. Pleased to meet you."

はじめまして。たなかです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Tanaka desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

Tomoko Tanaka omits わたしは and only says her family name, たなか, followed by です。

When it’s clear from context the speaker often omits the topic in Japanese. Here, it's clear the speaker is talking about herself.

The pattern is

NAME です。

"I'm NAME."

You should be aware of this shortcut, but for this lesson, we'll use the pattern

わたしは {NAME} です。

"I’m NAME."

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speakers, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say

"Nice to meet you."

はじめまして。

And how to say

"Pleased to meet you."

よろしくおねがいします。

Do you remember the word for "I?"

わたし

And the topic-marking particle?

は

Do you remember how Megumi Sasaki says her name?

ささきめぐみ

Do you remember how Megumi Sasaki says,

"I'm Megumi Sasaki."

わたしはささきめぐみです。

All together, do you remember how Megumi Sasaki introduces herself?

はじめまして。わたしはささきめぐみです。よろしくおねがいします。

Finally, do you remember how Ken Kobayashi introduces himself?

はじめまして。わたしはこばやしです。よろしくおねがいします。

Let's practice.

Imagine you're ささきじゅん.

Respond to Ken Kobayashi’s self introduction.

Ready?

はじめまして。わたしはこばやしです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Kobayashi desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

はじめまして。わたしはささきじゅんです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Sasaki Jun desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

Listen again and repeat.

はじめまして。わたしはささきじゅんです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Sasaki Jun desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're たなかともこ.

Use only your family name in your self introduction.

Ready?

はじめまして。わたしはこばやしです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Kobayashi desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

はじめまして。わたしはたなかです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Tanaka desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

Listen again and repeat.

はじめまして。わたしはたなかです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Tanaka desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're かのうかな.

Ready?

はじめまして。わたしはこばやしです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Kobayashi desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

はじめまして。わたしはかのうかなです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Kano Kana desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

Listen again and repeat.

はじめまして。わたしはかのうかなです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Kano Kana desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

When introducing yourself as a Japanese learner, use the name or name order with which you’d like to be addressed.

For example, you might want to use just your given name:

わたしはめぐみです。"I'm Megumi."

Or given name followed by family name:

わたしはめぐみささきです。"I'm Megumi Sasaki."

Well Done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to give your name in Japanese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of introducing yourself.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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