Learn how to give your name
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| 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." |
| is |
| 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。 |
| 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。 |
| よろしく おねがいします。 |
| Do you remember the word for "I?" |
| わたし |
| わたし |
| And the topic-marking particle? |
| は |
| は |
| Do you remember how Megumi Sasaki says her name? |
| ささきめぐみ |
| 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。 |
| 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。 |
| 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。 |
| 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.) |
| 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.) |
| 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.) |
| 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. |
| What's next? |
| Show us what you can do. |
| When you're ready, take your assessment. |
| You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like. |
| Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results. |
| Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson! |
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