Watch the following video to learn various ways to say one’s own name and greetings when meeting someone for the first time.

1. …. です

In Japanese, the copula verb です (desu) is used to indicate that something exists or is in a certain state, and it is commonly used in sentences to express politeness or formality.

In Tanaka’s case, he introduces himself by saying “Tanaka desu.” which means “(I) am Tanaka.”

When introducing Tanaka san to other people, one would point at Tanaka san and say “Tanaka san desu.” The English translation would be “(He) is Mr. Tanaka.” That is, the meaning of “desu” changes depending on the person or subject one is referring to.

To learn more about ~です

2. 〜と申します

〜と申します (〜to moushimasu) can be literally translated as “(I) am humbly called so-and-so”. It also means “I am so-and-so” or “My name is so-and-so”.

“~to moushimasu”, a humble verb, is used for one to introduce themself for the first time to someone of a higher rank or for one to show more politeness in the speech.

3. Word order in a Japanese sentence

はじめまして (hajimemashite, nice to meet you) can be used either before or after one introduces their name. For example,