You have just met someone who speaks Japanese and you want to show them respect by doing the formalities in their mother tongue. It doesn't matter if you are dealing with a co-worker, an exchange student, a neighbor or a mutual friend, or if you speak Spanish or not, in this article we will give you some quick rules that should help you make a good first impression on that one. person.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Initial Greetings
Step 1. Say "Hajimemashite"
Its translation is "Nice to meet you" or something similar to "Let's start a friendship." Say this phrase (jayimemashte) which is usually the first step in introducing yourself in Japanese. "Hajimemashite" is a conjugation of "hajimeru" (jayimeru), a verb that means "to begin".
Step 2. Choose your greeting according to the weather
It is acceptable, although less common, to replace these greetings with a "Hajimemashite" (jayimemashte). In Japanese, there are three basic ways to greet: ohayou, konnichiwa, and konbanwa. Just like Spanish speakers say "Good morning," "Good afternoon," and "Good night," Japanese people use different greetings to distinguish the time of day.
- "Ohayou" (pronounced as "ojaioo") means "Good morning" and is used anytime before noon. To be more polite, say "ohayou gozaimasu" (ojaioo gozaimas).
- "Konnichiwa" (connichi ua) means "Good afternoon" and is a standard greeting. It can be used between noon and 5 p.m. m.
- "Konbanwa" (conban ua) means "Good night" and is used between 5 pm. m. and midnight. If you want to make a change, you can say the Japanese equivalent of "Greeting", which is "aisatsu" and is pronounced exactly as it is written.
Step 3. Introduce yourself
The most common and simple way to introduce yourself in Japanese is with the phrase "Watashi no namae wa ___ desu" (watashi no namae ua ___ des). This means "My name is ___". If you are going to say your full name, say your last name first.
- For example: "Watashi no namae wa Miyazaki Hayao desu" (watashi no namae ua Miyazaki Hayao des) means "My name is Hayao Miyazaki".
- Keep in mind that the Japanese hardly ever use "watashi" in conversation. When introducing yourself, you can skip saying "watashi wa" (watashi ua) if you feel comfortable trying to sound like a Japanese. Similarly, "anata" (anata), which means "you", is also often overlooked. Also, you can say "Mateo desu" (Mateo des) to indicate to someone that your name is Mateo.
Step 4. Say "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu" to finish your opening presentation
This phrase is pronounced "yoroshku onegai shimas" and translates to "I ask you to be kind to me." Saying this expression in Spanish may not be common, but it is a very important phrase to remember when introducing yourself to native Japanese speakers. Typically this is the last phrase the Japanese use when introducing themselves.
- In a casual way, you can just say "Yoroshiku" (yoroshku). However, in almost all cases, you should incur to be more formal and more courteous.
- If you are casually introducing yourself to a young person of a similar social position, you can omit most of the additional words. Just say "Mateo desu. Yoroshiku" (Mateo des. Yoroshku) to say "I'm Mateo. Enchanting."
Method 2 of 2: start a conversation
Step 1. Share more about yourself
You can use the sentence "Watashi wa ___ desu" (watashi ua ___ des) to share other qualities, such as your age, nationality or profession. "Watashi wa perujin desu" (watashi ua peruyin des) means "I am Peruvian." "Watashi wa juugosai desu" (watashi ua yiuu go sai des) means "I am fifteen years old."
Step 2. Start with a polite icebreaker
The Japanese equivalent of "How are you?" is "Ogenki desu ka?" (ogenki des ca). However, this phrase is a question about the health of the person you are talking to. If you prefer to avoid an answer, say "Otenki wa ii desu ne?" (otenki ua ii des ne), which means "The weather is nice, right?"
Step 3. Respond
If you say "Ogenki desu ka?" (ogenki des ca), be prepared to respond to the answer that the person you are talking to gives you. When you ask this question, it is very likely that he will answer you "Genki desu" (genki des) or "Maamaa desu" (maa maa des). The first sentence means "I'm fine" and the second, "I'm more or less." Either way, then he will ask you "Anata wa?" (anata ua), which means "And you?". When I tell you, you can reply "Genki desu, arigatou" (genki des, arigatoo), which means "I'm fine, thank you."
Similarly, you can replace "arigatou" (arigatoo) with "okagesama de" (okagesama de) which means basically the same thing
Step 4. Determine how to apologize
If there's a time when you don't know what to say (or don't know what that person has told you), don't be afraid to apologize. You can do it in Spanish if necessary and use body language of regret, but it wouldn't hurt to learn to say "I'm sorry" in Japanese. If necessary, say "gomen nasai" （ご め ん な さ い） (gomen nasai), which means "I'm sorry."
Advice
Don't worry if you make a mistake in pronunciation. Normally, the Japanese find it nice when foreigners confuse their language. Furthermore, they think of foreign languages in the same way that foreigners think of Japanese, believing it to be a cool, fascinating, and even mystical language. Do not be ashamed
Warnings
- If you ever have a choice between speaking polite or speaking casually, choose to speak polite, even in situations that appear to be casual.
- Never put an honorific (-san, -chan, -kun, etc.) after your own name, it already looks like a pretentious and rude act.