Je m'appelle John
To say my name is John in French, say Je m'appelle John.
This is the standard way to introduce yourself. You can start with a greeting, as in Bonjour, je m'appelle John, hello, my name is John or Enchanté(e), je m'appelle John, nice to meet you, my name is John.
What does it mean word for word?
Je m'appelle literally means I call myself. Je means I.
Which one should you use?
Je suis John, I am John, is a common, slightly more direct alternative.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb is used in its reflexive form, so the pronoun m' comes before appelle. In Je suis John, suis is the present tense form of the verb to be for I.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often say Mon nom est John. It sounds unnatural in French, so use Je m'appelle John.
Did you know?
- The word je descends from the Classical Latin egō̆, making it a distant linguistic relative of the English word 'ego'.
- French speakers often use the word Enchanté during introductions, which literally means 'enchanted' and describes the speaker's state of mind rather than just being a polite greeting.
- The use of Je suis to introduce yourself is the same grammatical structure used to state your job, such as Je suis professeur, without using an article like 'a' or 'an'.
Examples in context
- Je m'appelle John.My name is John.Je m'appelle John. is a complete introduction on its own.Tatoeba #373419 by Pharamp, translation #1098122 by cntrational
- Je m'appelle John, et vous ?My name is John, and you?
- Enchanté, je m'appelle John.Nice to meet you, my name is John.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas meet for the first time at a party.
- EmmaSalut ! Je m'appelle Emma.Hi! My name is Emma.
- LucasSalut Emma. Je m'appelle John.Hi Emma. My name is John.
- EmmaTu viens d'où, John ?Where are you from, John?
- LucasJe viens de New York.I come from New York.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries John, je, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
