Introduce Yourself in Japanese like a Native Speaker

The very first step for Japanese learners would be to introduce themselves in Japanese. Here are sentences that native Japanese speakers say and you can modify the sentences for your information.

Name

In Japanese, first-person singular can be removed frequently. So if you just say your name, Japanese people would understand you are talking about your name.

• ジョンです。(I am James.)
• ロバート・スミスです。(I am Robert Smith.)
• メアリーです。(I am Mary.)
• パトリシア・ジョーンズです。(I am Patricia Jones.)
• ブラウンです。(I am Brown.)

You can say this phrase with your first name or your surname or both. In Japan, it is more common to call their surnames in business, so many Japanese people do not mention their first names. And it is extremely rare that a Japanese person has a middle name or 2 given names, but if you want to say yours, you can say it.

Also, in Japan, people normally mention their names with the order of “surname + first name”, but when they mention foreign names, they usually follow the custom of the foreigner’s origins. Therefore, if you come from western culture, Japanese people would find it more natural when you say your first name and then surname after.

However, on business occasions, native speakers tell their names more formally as follows;

Nationality and hometown

• アメリカ出身です。(I am from the US.)
• イギリス出身です。(I am from the UK.)
• インド出身です。(I am from India.)
• アメリカのニューヨーク出身です。(I am from New York, the US.)
• テキサス出身です。(I am from Texas.)

Occupation

The most simple saying would be the following;

If you want to mention your job, you can also say;

“〜として働いています” sounds a little formal and not that conversational, but it is a good expression for writing.

I have met a lot of male foreigners living in Japan who speak like women. I assume they have Japanese wives or girlfriends and they are the source that foreign men have absorbed the Japanese language from.

Hobby

• 趣味（しゅみ）は読書（どくしょ）です。(My hobby is reading.)
• 趣味（しゅみ）は映画（えいが）を見（み）ることです。(My hobby is watching movies.)
• 趣味（しゅみ）は筋（きん）トレ¹です。(My hobby is workout.)
• 趣味（しゅみ）は旅行（りょこう）です。(My hobby is travelling.)

You can also say as follows;

• 料理（りょうり）が好（す）きです。(I like cooking.)
• ゲームが好（す）きです。(I like gaming.)
• スポーツを見（み）るのが好（す）きです。(I like watching sports.)

1. “筋トレ” stands for “筋力きんりょくトレーニング”, which is long and people never say it in conversations.