bonjour, je m'appelle Leah
To say hi, my name is leah in French, use bonjour, je m'appelle Leah.
bonjour, je m'appelle Leah is the standard way to greet someone and introduce yourself and it works in almost any situation.
What does it mean word for word?
bonjour means hello. je m'appelle literally means I call myself and is used to say my name is.
Which one should you use?
Salut, je m'appelle Leah. is the informal version, closer to the casual tone of hi. Bonjour, je me présente, je m'appelle Leah. means hello, let me introduce myself, my name is Leah and is more formal still.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Using salut instead of bonjour makes the greeting informal, suitable for peers or casual settings. Coucou, moi c'est Leah! is colloquial and means hey, I'm Leah!
How does it change in a sentence?
English uses the verb to be to state a name, but French uses a reflexive verb meaning to call oneself. That is why the pronoun m' is used with je.
When do people say it?
After introductions, people often say Enchanté(e), meaning nice to meet you.
Did you know?
- The phrase enchanté used after introductions is a shortened version of je suis enchanté de faire votre connaissance, which literally means 'I am enchanted to make your acquaintance'.
- In very formal French introductions, it is common to omit the first name entirely and introduce oneself by their title and surname, as saying je m'appelle followed by a first name can sometimes feel too intimate.
- The word je shares a common ancestor with the Latin 'egō', which is the root of the English word 'ego'.
Examples in context
- Bonjour, je m'appelle Leah et je suis nouvelle ici.Hi, my name is Leah and I am new here.
- Bonjour, je m'appelle Leah, enchantée.Hi, my name is Leah, nice to meet you.
Example conversation
Two people meet for the first time at a party.
- HugoSalut ! Moi, c'est Hugo.Hi! I'm Hugo.
- EmmaBonjour, je m'appelle Leah.Hello, my name is Leah.
- HugoEnchanté, Leah. Tu habites ici ?Nice to meet you, Leah. Do you live here?
- EmmaOui, j'habite dans le quartier.Yes, I live in the neighborhood.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bonjour, je, CC BY-SA 4.0.
