EP 3: Basic Japanese Introduction
How to introduce yourself in Japanese
So how do you introduce yourself (in Japanese) when you meet someone for the first time?
Recently I have learned these basic sentences that I feel can be pretty useful to make small talk in Japanese. There are quite a number of new vocabulary here so buckle up!
Hajime-mashite (はじめまして）
Nice to Meet You. This is a common and useful phrase to use when you meet someone for the first time.
Watashi wa ____ Desu (わたしは ＿＿＿です）
I’m ______. So you can literally put your name in the blank. For instance, I’d say Watashi wa Sa-do desu. (わたしはサードです). Another way to say the same would be to say “Watashi no namay wa Sa-do desu”. (So instead of saying I’m Saad i am basically saying - My name is Saad”).
Note 1: One important thing to note that in Japanese the particle ‘wa’ is always written as ‘ha’ (は). But you should still pronounce it as ‘wa’. (Don’t ask me why :S)
Note 2: The word desu (です）is pronounced as “Des” and has no meaning. It just makes the sentence very polite / formal. If you are speaking to your friend most likely you won’t be using a lot of desu (です).
Note 3: I have noticed that many native speakers also skip the ‘watashi wa’ (I’m) and just go directly to “Name Desu”. It probably sounds more natural. However I think for beginners like me and you, there is no harm to use ‘Watashi wa’.
Watashi wa <country name> jin desu. So for Australia its going to be “Watashi wa Ōsutoraria Jin Desu” (ワタシはオーストラリアじんです).
So the literal meaning is ‘I am Australian’. So if you want to say you are American it will be “Watashi wa America Jin Desu”. (わたしはアメリカじんです).
But some slight variation of the above is also useful to learn, for example if you want to say instead ‘I’m from Australia'‘ you could also say “Watashi wa Ōsutoraria shusshin desu” (私はオーストラリア出身です).
New vocabulary:
Jin = it means person. Hito also means person and has the same kanji as Jin (人). It is probably one of the easiest kanji to remember and master. If you look closely, the kanji of Jin/Hito actually looks like a person.
Shusshin = from / place. I am from Australia.
Ima <country name> ni Sunde imasu. (いま_______ に住んでいます).
Now I live in <Country Name>. This is useful if lets say you are from a country but now you are living in a different country. Watashi wa america jin desu. Ima nihon ni sunde imasu. (I’m an American, now I live in Japan).
New vocabulary:
Ima = Now
Ni = a particle often used for place / direction / location. Just like in english “to”. So whenever you are talking about a place or direction, you have to use the “Ni” particle. Example Offisu ni ikimasu / I am going to office (オフィスにいきます).
Sunde imasu = to live or living. I live in Singapore.
Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu / よろしくお願いします
I am not exactly sure what is the actual translation of this. But this is a phrase that is commonly used when you meet someone. The meaning is similar to ‘nice to meet you’ but not quite. It is often used and can be very useful for you to learn.