Servival Japanese [11] Greeting Part 4-A Introduce yourself. Beginner's level

 

When you meet a person first time, you will say “nice to meet you.” How do you say it in Japanese? Today, we learn how to socialize more with Japanese friend.

Some Japanese may be very shy and you may feel isolated in the actual Japanese life. But some are very easy-going and friendly. When you meet an acquaintance in a social occasion, why don’t you introduce yourself? You will never know who becomes your good friend unless breaking the ice. So, how to introduce yourself?

[Japanese] こんにちは。   Sarahです。              はじめまして。

[Roma-ji]    Konnichiwa.  Sarah desu.            Hajime mashite.

[meaning]  Hello.          I'm Sarah.               Nice to meet you.

This expression is less formal but you may say it to your future friends. You may notice we sometimes omit the subject, in this case, it is "I". But we can understand what we are saying even though we omit it. There are also several versions to introduce oneself. This is the other example.

 

[Japanese]  はじめまして。     　 やまぐち です。        よろしく。

[Roma-ji]    hajime mashite. 　 Yamaguchi desu.  Yoroshiku.

[meaning]   Nice to meet you. I'm Yamaguchi.    Yoroshiku.

 

Unlike American, Japanese people often use their family name when they introduce themselves. In addition, the phrase "Yoroshiku" is used with "hajime mashite." and to express our respect or/and wish to be a friend. This is something not in English.

Review

[Japanese] はじめまして。

[Roma-ji]   hajime mashite.

[Meaning]  Nice to meet you.

 

[Japanese] こんにちは。   Sarahです。              はじめまして。

[Romaji]    Konnichiwa.  Sarah desu.            Hajime mashite.

[meaning]  Hello.          I'm Sarah.               Nice to meet you.

 

[Japanese]  はじめまして。     　 やまぐち です。        よろしく。

[Roma-ji]    hajime mashite. 　 Yamaguchi desu.  Yoroshiku.

[meaning]   Nice to meet you. I'm Yamaguchi.    Yoroshiku.

 

Learn with sounds

<a title="flashcards" href="http://quizlet.com/_7sl6y" target="_blank">Flashcards Greeting, etiquette in Japanese [2]</a>

Learn with sounds 2

You do not need to understand everything but catch the phrases which you learned today.　(These phrases are in the second verse.)

 

<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8j2aOAaHzoY" frameborder="0" width="420" height="315"></iframe>

Review quiz

Which phrases you may say when you introduce yourself?

1. Arigatou.　ありがとう。

2. Hajime mashite.　はじめまして。

3. Youkoso.　ようこそ。

4. Yoroshiku.　よろしく。

5. Irasshai.　いらっしゃい。

 

The answer will be posted on Monday. Let's meet a new Japanese friend on italki in this weekend and practice these phrases.

Good luck and have a nice weekend.

 

Comments? Questions? Requests? Correction? Typos??

Thanks ;)