How to Introduce Yourself in Japanese Fluently. Easy Phrases.

Want to be able to introduce yourself in Japanese?

You’re at the right place.

To do a proper 自己紹介 (jikoshoukai – self introduction), you’ll need to know some common Japanese words and phrases. And that’s exactly what you get here.

So, read on. It’ll take you a minute.

By the way, you should also HEAR real spoken Japanese to get used to how to introduce yourself in Japanese. That way, you can say it fluently without worrying about pronunciation or whether you’re saying things wrong or not.

So, listen to this free audio lesson from JapanesePod101 (a popular Japanese learning program).

• Lesson #1 – What’s your name in Japanese?
• Lesson by JapanesePod101 – Want to learn? click here for more fun & easy lessons.

1.こんにちは。

• Meaning: Hello
• Romanization: Konnichiwa

“Konnichiwa” is a greeting you say when you meet someone. You’ve probably heard of this word before, right? It’s just a way to say hello when you first meet someone new. You could also say the following….

• in the morning: おはよう”Good morning” (ohayou)
• in the afternoon:こんにちは”Hello”. (konnichiwa)
• in the evening:こんばんは”Good evening” (konbanwa)

2.はじめまして。

• Meaning: Nice to meet you
• Romanization: Hajimemashite

This next phrase is another kind of greeting for people you meet for the first time. Obviously, you wouldn’t say it the second time you meet someone.

• Example :こんにちは、はじめまして。
  • Konnichiwa, hajimemashite.
  • Hello, nice to meet you.

3.私の名前は___です。

• Meaning: My name is ___
• Romanization: Watashi no namae wa ___ desu.

Now, this is how you introduce yourself in Japanese. It’s a very formal way. By the way, “namae” means “name” which is easy to remember. And “watashi” is “I” or “my.”

• Example: 私の名前はマイケル・ジョーダンです。
  • Watashi no namae wa maikeru jo-dan desu.
  • My name is Michael Jordan,

3. ___です。

• Meaning: I’m ___.
• Romanization: ___ desu.

This is a more casual way to introduce yourself in Japanese. Essentially, the word “desu” acts like “to be/I am/is, etc.” in this form, although it’s not quite the same nor a verb. But that’s a topic for another time.

So, you can say…

• マイクです
  • Maiku desu.
  • I’m Mike.

4.___と呼(よ)んでください。

• Meaning: Please call me ___
• Romanization: ___ to yonde kudasai.

Here’s another variation to introduce yourself in Japanese.

If you have a preferred name or nickname that you want to be called instead of your real or long name, use this variation instead. It’s also a nice way to get closer to the person you are meeting and brings things to  a more casual level.

• Example:マイクと呼んでください。
  • Maiku to yonde kudasai.

5.___から来(き)ました。

• Meaning: I’m from___
• Romanization: ___ kara kimashita.

If you’re going to introduce yourself, you may also want to say here you are from. Put the name of the country or region in the ___. Literally, it means “I came/come from ___” but you can use it to say “I’m from ___.”

• Example: オーストラリアから来ました。
  • O-sutoraria kara kimashita.
  • I’m from Australia (literally: I came from Australia.)

Why include this in your Japanese self-introduction? If you’re talking with Japanese natives, they’ll want to know where you’re from, so it’s a good detail to add.

6. ___からまいりました。

• Meaning: I’m from ___
• Romanization: kara mairimashota.

This is also used to say where you are from. It is pretty close to “___から来(き)ました” above, but “___からまいりました” is used in business situation.

• Example: オーストラリアからまいりました。
  • O-sutoraria kara mairimashita.
  • I’m from Australia.

7. ___ にすんでいます。

• Meaning: I live in ___.
• Romanization: ___ ni sunde imasu.

This phrase is used to say where you live. So, put whatever region, city or country in there.

• Example: 東京にすんでいます。
  • Toukyou ni sunde imasu.
  • I live in Tokyo.

8. しゅみは ___です。

• Meaning: My hobby is ___.
• Romanization: Shumi wa __ desu.

This phrase is used to say what your hobby is. Put the your hobby into the ___. By the way, “shumi” means hobby.

• Example: しゅみはサイクリングです。
  • Shumi wa sakuringu desu.
  • My hobby is cyclying.

9. 私は ___ です。

• Meaning: I’m a/an ___.
• Romanization: Watashi wa ___ desu.

This is used to say what you do for a living. Put your current job into the empty space.

• Example: 私はサラリーマンです。
  • Watashi wa sarari-man desu.
  • I’m an office worker. (literally: salary man, a Japanese word for office/company employees (usually for males))

You can also drop “watashi” from here and just say “___ desu” like you did when introducing yourself casually. Saying “watashi” too much doesn’t sound natural in Japanese because if you’re talking about yourself, Japanese will understand the context. In fact, Japanese is a very context-dependant languge where they don’t use much pronouns like “I” or “you.”

10. どうぞよろしくおねがいします。

• Meaning: Please be kind to me.
• Romanization: Douzu Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

This is a Japanese set phrase that you say after you introduce yourself in Japanese. If you’re wondering why it’s said and what it really means, well, that’s a whole topic of it’s own as well — and it’s rooted in Japanese culture. So, long story short, culture.

In the case of introductions, just think of it as “please treat me well” or “Please be kind to me” which you automatically say when introducing yourself. Others will reply the same. And of course, you would want someone to be kind to you, right?

• Example: どうぞよろしくおねがいします。
  • Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu
  • Please be kind to me.

Now You Can Introduce Yourself in Japanese

Now you know how to introduce yourself in Japanese.

And for the most part you just need that to say:

• 私(わたし)の名前(なまえ)は___です。
• Meaning: My name is ___
• Romanization: Watashi no namae wa ___ desu.

Or, more caually…

•  ___です。
• Meaning: I’m ___.
• Romanization: ___ desu.

So, go ahead and introduce yourself down in the comments section below.

– Team IJ

P.S. For a similar guide, check out this other article: how to introduce yourself in Japanese.