Focus on French Verbs: s'appeler

The pronominal verb s'appeler means "to be called" or "to be named." French uses it to say what someone, a place, or a thing is called — including the introductions you hear on day one.

English usually says "my name is," but French expresses the same idea with s'appeler. The verb also covers the names of places, organizations, objects, books, films, and other things.

Conjugation

S'appeler is the pronominal form of appeler. Appeler is a regular -er verb with a spelling change: the l doubles in forms such as je m'appelle, tu t'appelles, and ils s'appellent, while nous nous appelons and vous vous appelez keep a single l.

The reflexive pronoun changes with the subject:

See s'appeler for all tenses and forms.

Saying your name

The most familiar use of s'appeler is to say someone's name:

The basic pattern is:

subject + reflexive pronoun + appeler + name

Je m'appelle Léa can be read literally as "I am called Léa," but the natural English translation is usually "My name is Léa."

Asking someone's name

Use Comment… ? with s'appeler to ask someone's name:

The choice between tu and vous depends on how you address the person. The first pair uses inversion; the second pair places comment at the end. Both are common.

Asking someone else's name

The same construction works when asking about another person:

The verb agrees with the person or people whose names you are asking about.

Names of places and things

S'appeler is not limited to people. French commonly uses it to say what a place, organization, object, work, or other thing is called:

S'appeler + name

When s'appeler gives the name of someone or something, the name follows the verb directly:

s'appeler + name

This is different from English constructions such as "go by the name of." Ordinary French can simply use s'appeler.

S'appeler vs appeler

S'appeler and appeler are closely related, but they describe the naming relationship from different perspectives.

Use s'appeler to say what someone or something is called:

Use appeler when someone gives or uses that name:

The same contrast works with a nickname:

The first part tells you his name. The second tells you what other people call him.

S'appeler by a different name

S'appeler can describe a name used now or at another point in time:

The imperfect s'appelait and s'appelaient are particularly useful when talking about former names.

Comment ça s'appelle ?

A very useful question for learners is:

You can use these when you do not know or cannot remember the French name for something.

The corresponding answer is often:

This makes s'appeler useful not only for introductions but also for learning vocabulary in everyday situations.

Common expressions with s'appeler

Several useful patterns are built around the basic meaning of s'appeler:

• Je m'appelle… — My name is…
• Comment tu t'appelles ? — What's your name?
• Comment vous appelez-vous ? — What's your name?
• Comment s'appelle… ? — What's … called? / What's …'s name?
• Comment ça s'appelle ? — What's that called?
• Ça s'appelle… — It's called…
• s'appeler autrement — to have a different name / be called something else

Common mistakes with s'appeler

Don't omit the reflexive pronoun

To say your name, use s'appeler, not ordinary appeler:

Leaving out the reflexive pronoun changes the meaning.

Change the reflexive pronoun with the subject

The pronoun must agree with the subject:

Don't add a preposition before the name

The name follows s'appeler directly.

Watch the double l

Several common forms have ll:

Forms with nous and vous keep a single l:

S'appeler vs être

French can sometimes identify a person or thing with être, but s'appeler specifically tells you its name:

Both sentences can identify the speaker, but they do not have exactly the same function. S'appeler explicitly answers the question of what someone is called.

Similarly, C'est Le Petit Jardin can identify a restaurant, while Le restaurant s'appelle Le Petit Jardin specifically gives its name.

S'appeler vs se nommer

Se nommer can also mean to be called or to be named:

In ordinary introductions and everyday questions about names, s'appeler is the much more useful construction:

Se nommer is more likely to appear in formal, written, or stylistically marked contexts.

Related verbs

The most important distinction is between appeler and s'appeler:

The reflexive pronoun completely changes the relationship expressed by the verb.

From learning to practice

Introductions are the obvious moment: be ready to answer Comment tu t'appelles ? and to ask it back. In a shop, when you point at something and do not know the French word, Comment ça s'appelle ? often gets you the name you need faster than describing the item from scratch.