はじめまして

(Hajimemashite)

ブラウン・ジェシカ と もうします。

(Buraun Jeshika (Brown Jessica) to moushimasu.)

ジェス と よんで ください。

(Jesu to yonde kudasai.)

どうぞ よろしく おねがいします。

(douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.)

This would be your polite self introduction.

It's very polite. It is anytime you meet somebody for the first time you are going to use this self introduction. The self introduction is broken down into four parts.

So we have:

はじめまして (Hajimemashite) which literally means, I meet you for the first time. This is done with a bow in the beginning. So you would say: はじめまして (Hajimemashite) and bow. Now when you bow you are NOT looking into the eyes of the person, you are looking down, straight forwards. So you look straight ahead of you and just let your eyes go down as you bow. Also, when you are speaking to somebody who is a higher status than you, say your boss or someone older than you, you usually bow lower than them. The higher the status, the least people bow. The less people bow. I would say, just bow as much as you can to show that you are a very polite person.

So the first word is はじめまして (Hajimemashite) with a bow. Then you are going to introduce yourself. Now the first part will be your surname, followed by your first name. This is because in Japan, when you introduce yourself, it is always surname first. So I would say:

ブラウン・ジェシカ と もうします。(Buraun Jeshika (Brown Jessica)

ブラウン・ジェシカ と もうします。(Buraun Jeshika (Brown Jessica) to moushimasu.) Which is kind of saying, I'm called. It is a polite way of saying; "My name is...".

So, ブラウン・ジェシカ と もうします。(Buraun Jeshika (Brown Jessica) to moushimasu.) You will see that I am using the pronunciation of Jeshika in the Japanese way rather than my original name because in the past, I used to say Brown Jessica and they would often repeat it back to me because they were not quite sure how to say it , so now I say my name with the Japanese pronunciation. So, ブラウン・ジェシカ と もうします。(Buraun Jeshika (Brown Jessica) to moushimasu.) 

と もうします。(to moushimasu.) That is the introduction part of "My name is.." , "this is what I'm called".

ブラウン・ジェシカ と もうします。(Buraun Jeshika (Brown Jessica) to moushimasu.) 

Now the next part is: ジェス と よんで ください。(Jesu to yonde kudasai.) and it is "Please call me". "Jess, please call me". So, if you have a nickname or you have a name that you would like them to call you instead, then you can use it for that. However, it is also very good to identify for them what is actually the name that you would prefer them to call you. I would prefer people to call me by my first name, rather than my surname, so therefore I  identify to them ジェス と よんで ください。(Jesu to yonde kudasai.) I could also say: ジェシカ と よんで ください。(Jeshika to yonde kudasai.) "Please call me Jessica." For them, they may not necessarily know, what is your first name and what is your surname. For all they know, you might be saying your first name first, rather than your surname first. So, to help them out, please identify what name you would like them to call you. For me, that is:ジェス と よんで ください。(Jesu to yonde kudasai.) 

We finish off the self-introduction by saying: 

どうぞ よろしく おねがいします。(douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.) It is kind of like saying, "Please be kind to me", "I look forward to working with you", "It's nice to get to know you / I look forward to getting to know you". 

よろしく おねがいします。(yoroshiku onegaishimasu.) is used a lot in a business environment when you are asking somebody to do something for you. In the first instance this is "Please be kind to me", "I look forward to working with you". どうぞ よろしく おねがいします。(douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.)

So that is your official and polite self introduction.

Let me know how you get on with it!

Lesson Activity

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