je m'appelle …
In French, 'my name is' can be expressed as je m'appelle … or mon nom est …
Meaning: a way to identify oneself (phrase)
Ways to say it
| French |
|---|
| je m'appelle … |
| mon nom est … |
The phrase je m'appelle … is the standard way to introduce yourself in social settings.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase je m'appelle literally translates to 'I call myself'.
Which one should you use?
Je m'appelle is the most common and natural way to introduce oneself in French. In contrast, mon nom est sounds unnatural or overly formal in most spoken contexts.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase je m'appelle uses a reflexive verb, meaning the pronoun m' (me) must be used to indicate that the subject is performing the action on themselves.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often say Je suis [Name]. While this is grammatically correct, it is less common for introducing oneself than using je m'appelle.
Did you know?
- In formal French administration, you may be asked for your nom and prénom, where nom refers specifically to the family name and prénom to the given name.
- While je m'appelle is the rule for introductions, French speakers often use the shorter moi, c'est [Name] in very casual settings, which literally means 'me, it is'.
- The word mon used in mon nom est was likely influenced by the ancient Gaulish word mon, which meant 'my'.
Examples in context
- Je m'appelle Sophie.My name is Sophie.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “my name is” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries est, je, mon, nom, CC BY-SA 4.0.
