introduction in french
Answers
The simplest greeting is Bonjour, which means Hello or Good Morning. Introduce yourself. The two most common ways to introduce yourself are to say Je m'appelle Name (My name is Name) or Je suis Name (I'm Name). Since you are meeting the person for the first time, you should use the formal form of you.
Explanation:
When you meet French speakers, you need to know how to introduce yourself and what to say when you are introduced. French can be a bit tricky when introducing yourself or others depending on whether you know the person to whom you are making the introduction(s) or even if you have had any contact with the person. In French, those circumstances all require different introductions.
Basic Introductions
French uses the verb se présenter, not introduire, meaning to introduce something into something else, which translates into English as "to insert." The most basic introduction in French, then, would be:
Je me présente. = Let me introduce myself.
Using s’appeler is the common way of introducing yourself in French. Don’t think of it as “to name oneself” because it will only confuse you. Think of it in the context of introducing your name to someone, and link the French words to that context instead of applying a literal translation, as in:
Je m'appelle... = My name is...
Use je suis with people who already know your name, such as those you have already talked to on the phone or by mail but never met in person, as in:
Je suis... = I am...
If you don't know the person or have never spoken to him on the phone or contacted him by email or mail, use je m’appelle, as noted previously.