bonjour, je m'appelle Jack
In French, "hello, my name is jack" is said as bonjour, je m'appelle Jack.
This phrase is a greeting used when introducing oneself to another person. The component bonjour serves as a standard greeting meaning "Hello" or "Good day", while je m'appelle is the standard way to say "my name is" when providing your name.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase je m'appelle literally translates to "I call myself".
Which one should you use?
You may also use bonjour, je suis Jack to say "hello, I am Jack", which is a common alternative to the standard "my name is" construction.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For a more informal tone, you can replace bonjour with the friendly greeting salut to say salut, je m'appelle Jack. In very casual settings, one might even say Yo, c'est Jack to mean "Yo, this is Jack".
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb in the phrase je m'appelle is reflexive, which is why it utilizes the reflexive pronoun m' (me).
When do people say it?
When meeting someone for the first time in a formal context, it is common to follow your introduction with Enchanté(e), which means "Nice to meet you".
Did you know?
- When using Enchanté after your introduction, the word is actually a past participle meaning 'enchanted'. You are not just saying 'nice to meet you' but stating that you have been put under a spell by the meeting.
- The pronoun je shares the same ancient Latin root, 'egō', as the English word 'ego'.
- If you use the informal salut instead of bonjour, you are using a word that can also mean 'bye', making it a dual-purpose greeting.
Examples in context
- Bonjour, je m'appelle Jack, enchanté.Hello, my name is Jack, nice to meet you.
- Bonjour, je m'appelle Jack et je suis nouveau.Hello, my name is Jack and I am new.
Example conversation
Jack and Chloé meet for the first time at a party.
- ChloéBonjour, je m'appelle Jack.Hello, my name is Jack.
- NathanEnchantée Jack, je suis Chloé.Nice to meet you Jack, I am Chloé.
- ChloéTu habites ici, Chloé ?Do you live here, Chloé?
- NathanOui, j'habite dans ce quartier.Yes, I live in this neighborhood.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bonjour, je, CC BY-SA 4.0.
