SpaceMeeting people · First time
How to introduce yourself in JapaneseHajimemashite, and what comes next
Many learners know はじめまして, then freeze when the other person asks a question back. Let’s practice from your name to answering “Where are you from?”.
· 4 min read
Start with this line
はじめまして、アレックスです。よろしくお願いします。
Hajimemashite, Arekkusu desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. — Nice to meet you, I’m Alex. Glad to know you.
Replace アレックス with your own name. Names from other languages are usually said in katakana, the way they sound in Japanese.
Three parts of a first greeting
- はじめまして (hajimemashite) — “nice to meet you”, said only the first time you meet.
- 〜です (… desu) — “I’m …”. Put your name in front of it.
- よろしくお願いします (yoroshiku onegaishimasu) — there’s no exact English match. It’s close to “I look forward to getting to know you”, and it closes your introduction politely.
If someone says it to you first, こちらこそ (kochira koso, “likewise”) is a short, natural reply.
The whole conversation
Space’s “Greet someone new” lesson goes a little further than the greeting. Read it once with the English, then try saying Alex’s lines.
Satoはじめまして。佐藤です。Hajimemashite. Satō desu.
Nice to meet you. I’m Sato.
Alexはじめまして、アレックスです。よろしくお願いします。Hajimemashite, Arekkusu desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Nice to meet you, I’m Alex. Glad to know you.
Satoこちらこそ。アレックスさんは、どちらからですか？Kochira koso. Arekkusu-san wa, dochira kara desu ka?
Likewise. Where are you from, Alex?
Alexカナダから来ました。Kanada kara kimashita.
I’m from Canada.
Satoそうなんですね。日本は長いんですか？Sō nan desu ne. Nihon wa nagai n desu ka?
Oh, I see. Have you been in Japan long?
Alexいえ、まだ三か月です。Ie, mada san-kagetsu desu.
No, only three months so far.
The romanized readings are added for this article. In the lesson, you read each line in Japanese with its English translation.
LISTEN & TRY
Hear the conversation
This is the same audio as the Space lesson, a little under twenty seconds long. Listen once, then play it again and say Alex’s lines along with it.
If the audio doesn’t play here, you can still read and hear the conversation in the lesson below.
When you’re asked where you’re from
どちらからですか？ (dochira kara desu ka?) is a polite “Where are you from?”. Answer with your country or city and から来ました (kara kimashita), “I came from…”.
- アメリカから来ました。 (Amerika kara kimashita.) — I’m from the US.
- オーストラリアから来ました。 (Ōsutoraria kara kimashita.) — I’m from Australia.
Notice that Sato calls Alex アレックスさん. People add さん (-san) to others’ names, but not to their own, so you’d still introduce yourself as just アレックスです.
Keeping the conversation going
そうなんですね (sō nan desu ne, “Oh, I see”) shows you heard the answer before you ask the next thing. You can use it yourself after the other person replies.
To answer how long you’ve been in Japan, swap the time in まだ三か月です: まだ一週間です (mada isshūkan desu, only a week so far) or 二年です (ni-nen desu, two years). If you didn’t catch the question, もう一度お願いします。 (Mō ichido onegaishimasu, “Once more, please”) keeps things moving.
Say it all the way through
- Listen to the conversation once.
- Say Alex’s introduction with your own name.
- Answer どちらからですか？ with where you’re from.
You don’t have to say everything in one go. Your name and よろしくお願いします are already a complete greeting.
The conversation and its audio come from Space’s published lesson. The extra phrases and romanized readings are added for this article and have no audio. Choose your words to suit the person and the situation.