Introducing Yourself in Japanese

One of the first things you’ll want to do is be able to introduce yourself to someone.

Here’s what a basic intro looks like:

はじめまして。リンガルイズムです。よろしくおねがいします。

Can’t read it or don’t know what’s going on? Here’s the breakdown:

 

Basic Structure:

[Your name] + [です・desu]

E.g. Lingualism です。

NOTE: In Japanese, foreign names and words use the ‘katakana’ writing system, which is similar to hiragana.

Using katakana, my blog name becomes: リンガルイズム・ringaru-izumu. Unlike hiragana, katakana often uses 【ー】 to indicate a lengthened sound.

 

Adding more: 

When meeting someone for the very first time only, people say 「はじめまして・hajimemashite」.

NOTE: Don’t say it to someone you’ve already met…they’ll think you’ve forgotten them already =P

Then, they introduce themselves:

eg. はじめまして。 リンガルイズムです。

 

Closing the introduction: 

To end your intro politely, you can add 「よろしくおねがいします・yoroshiku onegaishimasu」。It  means “please treat me well”.

よろしく・yoroshiku = well; appropriately etc.

おねがいします・onegaishimasu = please.

Our intro now looks like this:

eg. はじめまして。 リンガルイズムです。よろしくおねがいします。

 

簡単ね！・かんたん　ね！・Kantan ne! = It’s simple! Feel free to introduce yourself in the comments  (^_^)/

Saying Sorry in Japanese

Saying ‘sorry’ is a big deal in Japan, so I’ve heard (and watched in dramas and anime =P )

I’m going to be covering four common phrases:

1. すみません (sumimasen)

2. ごめんなさい (gomen nasai)

3. 失礼します（しつれいします）(shitsurei shimasu)

4. おじゃまします (ojyama shimasu)

They’re  in separate posts so it doesn’t end up as a massive eyesore of information in one hit (^-^)/