His/Her/My name is … in Japanese
Author: Richard
Q: Hi there! I’ve looked all around Genkijapan.net and I didn’t see how to say “My name is . . .”, “What is your name?”, What is her\his name?”, and “His\her name is . . .” You’d you like to tell me on how I would say this in Japanese, please? - Scott
A: Hi Scott. There’s a mini page on this on the site called “Self Introductions”
Self intros or 自己紹介 (ji ko sho kai) are huge in Japan, you’ll get asked to do them everywhere you go!
The textbook way to say “My name is … ” is 私の名前は。。。 (watashi no namae wa) plus your name. But to be honest it does sound a little textbooky! In reality you usually just say your name plus です(desu) e.g. Richard です。 As usual, simple is always best.
There are a few more other phrases on the “Self Introductions” page.
Asking “What’s your name?” again you could use the texbook sounding お名前は何ですか？ (o na mae wa nan desu ka) but you usually hear お名前は ( o na ma e wa ) with an expectant look in your eye!
He is 彼 (kare), she is 彼女 (kanojyo) so What is his name? is 彼の名前は？ (kare no namae wa?) and What is her name is 彼女の名前は? (figure out the reading yourself ; ) ) Then it’s just the same to say the anwer.. His name is … is 彼の名前はplus the name and Her name is …. is 彼女の名前はplus the name.
Very easy once you learn the first few!
Be genki,
Richard
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