how to introduce yourself in japanese

[karateka]

I know very little Japanese and was wondering how do you introduce yourself

and maybe some other useful phrases

[TalnSG]

Originally Posted by karateka

I know very little Japanese and was wondering how do you introduce yourself

and maybe some other useful phrases

oh dear, you need the one Japanese word that I get tongued with if I talk to fast.... Hajimemashita.

I'll leave the rest to Nagoyankee-san or someone else who is a native speaker.

[SSJup81]

To introduce yourself, you need to use a pronoun, naturally. The basic way is by saying...

Watashi wa (your name) desu.

Watashi means "I", but so does "atashi", "ore", "watakushi", and "boku. Which you use depends on the person. For adults, "watashi" is a safe one to use. Watakushi is just extreme suck-up level, to my knowledge. "Ore" and "boku" are masculine. Boku is for younger males, for the most part...ore is kind of rude and casual. Atashi is mostly used by young girls, to my knowledge.

Some other phrases...

Douzo yoroshiku onegai shimasu.
O-genki desu ka?

And my mind blanked out just now. ><;

[Jamaru]

dont forget to ask how the other person is by saying "Genki desu ka?" they or (if you are asked the question ) shold reply with "Genki desu"

[Nathan]

"genki desu ka" is more of a normal greeting, not really an introduction sirs, as its just asking "how are you?"

お元気ですか？ (o'genki desu ka?)
How are you?

元気です、おかげさまで。 (genki desu, okage sama de)
I'm well, thank you.
Keep in mind this is the long formal version. A more common version excludes the "okagesamade" part.


Edit: SSJup81 has laid it out nicely.

始めまして　（はじめまして）　(hajimemashite)
Doesn't translate well literally. Think of it as a formal first hello.

*****
(name)です。　((name)です） ((name) desu).
I am (name).
*****
[Edit2: Removed "私は" from this sentence.]

[どうぞ]よろしくお願いします　（おねがいします）　([douzo] yoroshiku　onegaishimasu)
It's nice to meet you.

Words in the "[]" are not really necessary, and add levels of formality.

[Nagoyankee]

In my rather long life as a Japanese-speaker, I don't think that I have ever said or heard another Japanese say "Watashi wa (name) desu." That just sounds plain 'foreign' to me.

[SSJup81]

Originally Posted by Nagoyankee

In my rather long life as a Japanese-speaker, I don't think that I have ever said or heard another Japanese say "Watashi wa (name) desu." That just sounds plain 'foreign' to me.

That's how we're taught when introducing ourselves. Watashi wa (whatever your name is) desu. Maybe book Japanese is significantly different from how natives actually speak it or something.

[Nathan]

I can't think of anytime I've used the whole thing since most of my time in Japan was spent using casual speech / broken Japanese. I wasn't aware that its completely improper.

Edit: Or maybe my brain was just broken there. You'd use "watashi wa" in front of jobs, nationalities, etc. Just went back to the basics in my books, doesn't put it in front of names at all.

[Simonerenge]

honto ni sumimasen chotto sumimasen

[SSJup81]

Just thought of another greeting.

Ohayou gozaimasu. A polite way of saying good morning.

Originally Posted by Nathan

I can't think of anytime I've used the whole thing since most of my time in Japan was spent using casual speech / broken Japanese. I wasn't aware that its completely improper.

Edit: Or maybe my brain was just broken there. You'd use "watashi wa" in front of jobs, nationalities, etc. Just went back to the basics in my books, doesn't put it in front of names at all.

Really? My book does. One of the first things I learned was to introduce myself in that fashion when first meeting a person. I doubt you'd do that after that first time, though.

Douzo yoroshiku onegai shimasu. Watashi wa Wendy Elyssa McBride desu.