こんにちは、お名前は何ですか？
konnichiwa, onamae wa nan desu ka?
Hi, what's your name? In Japanese is こんにちは、お名前は何ですか？ (konnichiwa, onamae wa nan desu ka?)
The phrase こんにちは、お名前は何ですか？ is a polite greeting used to introduce oneself and ask for another person's name.
Which one should you use?
The form お名前は何ですか？ is a polite and formal way to ask for a name. If you remove the honorific お from お名前 to say 名前は何ですか？, the question becomes more direct and slightly less formal, though it remains polite. For much more casual situations, you can use the informal phrase お名前は何？
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For a casual 'Hi' or 'Hey', you can use the informal word やあ.
How do you pronounce it?
konnichiwa, onamae wa nan desu ka?
What mistakes should you avoid?
When asking for a name, English speakers often try to include the word あなた (you), but it is more natural in Japanese to omit the subject or use the person's name instead.
Did you know?
- The 'konnichiwa' in this phrase actually stems from a longer sentence meaning 'As for today…'. It originated as a way to start a conversation about the current day's events or weather.
- In many Japanese social settings, people will often respond to 'what is your name?' by giving you their surname only. Providing a given name during a first introduction can feel overly intimate or even unprofessional.
- In Japanese culture, once you learn someone's name, you should almost never use the word 'you' to address them again. Instead, you refer to them by their 'Name + San', as using 'you' can sound strangely distant or even confrontational.
Example conversation
Misaki meets Hinata at a community event.
- 美咲 Misakiこんにちは、お名前は何ですか？Konnichiwa, onamae wa nan desu ka?Hi, what's your name?
- 陽太 Yota陽太です。よろしくお願いします。Hinata desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.I'm Hinata. Nice to meet you.
- 美咲 Misaki美咲です。お会いできて嬉しいです。Misaki desu. Oaidekite ureshii desu.I'm Misaki. I'm happy to meet you.
- 陽太 Yotaこちらこそ、美咲さん。Kochira koso, Misaki-san.Likewise, Misaki.
