How to Introduce Yourself in Japanese

A self-introduction — じこしょうかい (jikoshōkai) — is the first real thing you will say in Japanese, and it follows a friendly, predictable script. Learn the handful of phrases below and you can introduce yourself to anyone.

Start with はじめまして

Open with はじめまして (hajimemashite). Literally "for the first time," it is the standard "nice to meet you" you say at the very start. A small nod or bow goes with it.

Say your name

The basic pattern is わたしは … です (watashi wa … desu) — "I am …":

• わたしはマイクです。(Watashi wa Maiku desu.) — "I am Mike."

In a more formal setting, use … ともうします (… to mōshimasu), a humble "my name is …": マイクともうします。You can drop わたしは once it is obvious you are talking about yourself — Japanese leaves out the topic when it is clear.

Where you are from

Two easy options:

• … からきました (… kara kimashita) — "I came from …": アメリカからきました。(Amerika kara kimashita.)
• …じんです (…jin desu) — "I am [nationality]": アメリカじんです。(Amerika-jin desu.)

Add one detail

A self-intro often adds a job or status with the same … です pattern:

• がくせいです。(Gakusei desu.) — "I am a student."
• エンジニアです。(Enjinia desu.) — "I am an engineer."

Close with よろしくおねがいします

End with よろしくおねがいします (yoroshiku onegai shimasu). It has no clean English equivalent — somewhere between "please be kind to me" and "I look forward to getting to know you" — and it politely closes almost every introduction.

Put it together

はじめまして。マイクです。アメリカからきました。がくせいです。よろしくおねがいします。

Hajimemashite. Maiku desu. Amerika kara kimashita. Gakusei desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Mike. I'm from America. I'm a student. I look forward to getting to know you."

That is a complete, natural self-introduction in five short sentences — and every piece reuses the same です building block.

Notice how much work the little words は and です are doing. They are the glue of Japanese — see Japanese particles for beginners. And once introductions feel easy, learn the greetings and honorifics that go with them.

Practice saying your own self-introduction out loud on Llearny — speaking from the very first lesson.