Introducing yourself in French

When you meet someone, a simple introduction can quickly move from a greeting to exchanging names and talking about where you are from.

You'll learn a few common patterns for introducing yourself and asking someone the same basic questions.

Saying your name

One common way to introduce yourself is je m'appelle + name.

Je m'appelle + name

You can also introduce yourself with je suis + name:

Both patterns are useful. Je m'appelle Marie gives your name directly, while je suis Marie identifies you with être.

Asking someone's name

Use Comment tu t'appelles ? to ask someone you address as tu for their name.

Comment tu t'appelles ?

With someone you address as vous, use Comment vous vous appelez ?

You can learn Comment tu t'appelles ? and Comment vous vous appelez ? as complete questions before you study the grammar behind s'appeler in more detail.

Saying where you are from

Use venir de + place to say where you are from.

venir de + place

The form after de can change depending on the place. For now, learn common expressions such as de France, du Canada, and des États-Unis as complete patterns.

To ask where someone is from, use Tu viens d'où ? in everyday conversation.

With vous, use Vous venez d'où ?

You may also encounter D'où viens-tu ? and D'où venez-vous ?. These express the same basic question with a different word order.

Saying your nationality

You can also introduce where you are from by giving your nationality with être.

être + nationality

Many nationality words change according to the person they describe, as in français / française and canadien / canadienne.

For more practice with nationality, see Talking about nationality.

Saying where you live

Where you are from and where you live are not always the same. Use habiter à with a city to say where you live.

habiter à + city

With countries, the preposition changes:

You can combine origin and residence when they are different:

To ask someone where they live, use Tu habites où ?

With vous, use Vous habitez où ?

Saying what you do

You can also give a simple profession or role when you introduce yourself.

Use être + profession:

être + profession

French normally does not use un or une before a profession in a simple statement such as je suis étudiant or je suis médecin.

You do not need to include your profession every time you introduce yourself. It is another useful piece of information you can add when it fits the interaction.

Saying that you are pleased to meet someone

After exchanging names, you can use enchanté or enchantée to say that you are pleased to meet someone.

In writing, enchanté and enchantée agree with the speaker. A man typically writes enchanté, while a woman typically writes enchantée. The pronunciation is the same.

Putting an introduction together

You can combine these patterns to make a short introduction without needing a long conversation.

The other person can use the same information to continue the conversation:

You do not need to give all of this information every time you meet someone. Choose the pieces that fit the interaction.

From learning to practice

Introductions are short exchanges rather than fixed scripts. Being able to combine a few familiar patterns lets you share the information that fits the situation and respond when someone asks the same questions about you.