Japanese Phrases: How To Introduce Yourself in

Japanese
Of anything that youll ever need to learn, its Japanese
introductions.
Reading is nice. Writing is good. Grammar studies are fine.
But most learners out there, above all, want to speak and be understood
in Japanese. The easiest way to do it?

Its to talk about yourself.

Its to have a set introduction youll repeat again and again. Why?

Because who doesnt start with introducing themselves? Everyone

does.

Learn to introduce yourself in Japanese and youve got 1/3rd of a Japanese

conversation squared away. The rest are topics of interest and closing
greetings. And if youre interested you can learn with actual Audio & Video
Lessons at JapanesePod101.com.

So, heres what youll need for a self Japanese self introduction. Ill
give you two ways. The first one is a simple and easy one that most people
do it includes my name is and nice to meet you. The second one is
more lengthy where you can talk about yourself in more detail.

1. The first, quick way, to introduce yourself.

Everyone uses this. Its used when meeting new people.
1.

Nice to meet you Hajimemashite

2.

My name is (name). (There can be several variations.)

A.

I am (name). Watashi wa (name) desu. (name)

B.

My name is (name) Watashi no namae wa (name) desu

(name)

C.

Im (name) (name) desu (name)(Note: this is very

casual)

3.

Please treat me well Yoroshiku onegaishimasu

A.

What in the world is Please treat me well? Well, it is a

rough translation and has no equivalent in English. This is simply
a set phrase you need to use in such encounters. Why? Because
Japanese language. Because politeness. And because why wouldnt
you be treating a new person well?

So, heres your script you might want to use.

(name)
Hajimemashite. Watashi wa (name) desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
2. The second way to introduce and talk about yourself.
In other words, this is your elevator pitch that youll use over and over when
you need to talk about yourself. In Japanese, this is called a jikoshoukai (
) or self-introduction, thats a lot more detailed than the method we used
above. And its often used in group settings when everyone has to say a little
about themselves.
In general, this second method is very useful to know because now you can
talk about yourself!
1.

Hello,nice to meet you.

2.

My name is

3.

I am from .

4.

I am years old.

5.

I am a (student/occupation).

6.

Ive been learning Japanese for

7.

I am learning Japanese because

8.

Please treat me well.

Heres how you introduce yourself in Japanese.

1.

2.

Hello,nice to meet you.

A.

Hello konnichiwa

B.

Nice to meet you Hajimemashite

My name is
A.

3.

Watashi wa (name) desu. (name)

I am from .
A.

(Place) kara kimashita. (Place)

i.

B.

Use it to say where youre from.

Amerikajin desu.

i.
4.

I am years old.
A.

5.

In case you want to say your nationality. I am American.

Watashi wa (age) sai desu. (age)

I am a (student/occupation).
A.

Watashi wa (position) desu. (position)

i.

B.

I am a student: Watashi wa gakusei desu.

Watashi no shigoto wa (job) desu.(job)

i.

My job is programming: Watash no shigoto wa

puroguramingu desu.

C.

(Job) o shiteimasu. (Job)

i.

Just means Im doing (job), as if youre answering What

do you do.

6.

Ive been learning Japanese for

A.

Watashi wa (time)kan nihongo o benkyou shiteimasu. (time)

i.

example: 1 year. Watashi wa ichi nen kan nihongo o

benkyou shiteimasu.

7.

I am learning Japanese because

A.

Watashi wa (reason) da/kara, nihongo o benkyoushiteimasu.

(reason) /
i.

example: Because youre interested in Japan.

a.

Watashi wa nihon ni kyoumi ga aru kara, nihongo o

benyoishiteimasu.

8.

Please treat me well

A.

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu

So, heres your introduction script you might want to use.

, (name) (age)(job)
(time) (reason) /

Or, if cant you read yet and just want to say it out loud:
Konnichiwa, Hajimemashite. Watashi wa (name) desu. Amerikajin desu.
Watashi wa (age) sai desu. Watashi no shigoto wa (job) desu. Watashi
wa (time)kan nihongo o benkyou shiteimasu. Watashi wa (reason) da/kara,
nihongo o benkyoushiteimasu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Conclusion: Is this perfect? Aw, hell no. We could omit 90% of the
watashis there to sound more natural. But perfection is not the name of
the game. In fact you should. But, the name of the game is to start right now
and keep going. You can always adjust and correct yourself while you go
along.
So, heres what you do now.
1.

Create your self introduction.

2.

Leave me a comment and introduce yourself.

3.

And start learning even more Japanese. I suggest trying out