Introducing Yourself: Name, Origin, and Studies

Greetings. In our last lesson, you mastered the German numbers from 0 to 100 and learned how to apply them in practical situations like stating prices and phone numbers. This numerical fluency is a vital first step, especially for your future studies in finance and economics.

Today, we move from numbers to names and personal details. The goal is to build your first complete, personal introduction. You will learn how to state your name, where you come from, and, most importantly, how to talk about your specific field of study. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to construct a short, confident self-introduction—a fundamental skill for making connections in Germany, both personally and academically.

Stating Your Name: Three Common Ways

Let's begin with the most basic piece of any introduction: your name. In German, there are three primary ways to say "My name is...". They are all used frequently, so it's good to know them all.

Ich heiße... (I am called...)
Ich bin... (I am...)
Mein Name ist... (My name is...)

To hear the correct pronunciation and see these phrases in context, watch the beginning of this video from the "Learn German" channel. The presenter clearly demonstrates each one.

Learn German | Introducing yourself | sich vorstellen | German for beginners | A1 - Lesson 6

Watch the section where the presenter introduces three ways to state your name.

Please watch from the beginning up to the summary of all three phrases. Pay attention to the pronunciation of heiße, which includes the ß (Eszett) you've seen before.

For a quick written reference and to understand the context of formal vs. informal introductions, the article "How to introduce yourself in German" from INNES Institute Vienna is helpful.

Bite 1: How to introduce yourself in German - INNES Institute Vienna

This guide provides clear examples of formal and informal introductions. We will use it for several parts of our lesson today.

For now, focus on Step 1. Read the two bullet points under the heading that show the difference between a formal ("Guten Tag, mein Name ist...") and informal ("Hallo, ich heiße...") introduction.

Stating Your Origin: Where You Come From

After sharing your name, a common next step is to say where you are from. The phrase for this is straightforward and very useful.

Ich komme aus... (I come from...)

You simply add the name of your country after the preposition aus. Since your native languages are Marathi and Hindi, you would say:

Ich komme aus Indien. (I come from India.)

The INNES Institute article also covers this phrase.

Bite 1: How to introduce yourself in German - INNES Institute Vienna

Let's return to the INNES Institute guide.

Find Step 2: Where You Come From. Read the examples provided, such as this one. You can see how the structure remains consistent.

Stating Your Field of Study: Your Academic Goal

This is a crucial part of your introduction, as it directly relates to your goal of pursuing a Master's degree in Germany. The basic structure is simple:

Ich studiere... (I study...)

To this, you add your field of study. Given your interest in finance and economics, here are the most important terms for you:

die Finanzen (plural) - Finance
die Wirtschaftswissenschaften (plural) - Economics (literally "economic sciences")
die Betriebswirtschaftslehre - Business Administration (often abbreviated to BWL in Germany)

So, to say you study finance, you would say:
Ich studiere Finanzen.

A key grammar point, as noted in the INNES Institute article, is that you do not use an article (like "a" or "an") when stating your profession or field of study in this way. It's "Ich studiere Finanzen," not "Ich studiere ein Finanzen."

The following video is an excellent resource for you. It not only teaches the question "What do you study?" (Was studierst du?) but also provides the pronunciation for a wide range of academic subjects, including the ones most relevant to you.

Learn German Vocabulary | Subjects in German | Was studierst du? | Studienfächer | A1-A2

This video from "Learn German" is dedicated to vocabulary for academic subjects.

First, listen for the terms relevant to your field. You will hear Wirtschaftswissenschaften and Betriebswirtschaftslehre. Don't worry about memorizing all the other subjects; just focus on hearing these key terms. Then, watch the section that explains how to ask and answer the question about your studies, from "how to ask" to the end of the example sentence.

Putting It All Together

Now you have all the components to build your first German self-introduction. Let's combine them into a single, coherent statement.

Greeting + Name: Hallo, mein Name ist [Your Name].
Origin: Ich komme aus Indien.
Field of Study: Und ich studiere Finanzen.

All together:

Hallo, mein Name ist [Your Name]. Ich komme aus Indien und ich studiere Finanzen.

This short paragraph is powerful. It's grammatically correct, communicates the most important information about you, and is tailored to an academic or professional context.

To see a complete introduction performed by a native speaker, let's go back to the first "Learn German" video.

Learn German | Introducing yourself | sich vorstellen | German for beginners | A1 - Lesson 6

Watch the final summary where the presenter gives a full self-introduction.

In this final segment, the presenter puts all the pieces together. Watch the example from the beginning of the summary. Notice how the phrases flow naturally from one to the next.

Self-Check

Let's practice. Take a moment and construct your own introduction in German, using your own name.

Say hello and state your name.
State that you come from India.
State that you study Economics (Wirtschaftswissenschaften).

Pause and formulate your sentences before checking the solution below.

Solution:
A correct introduction would be:
"Hallo, ich heiße [Your Name]. Ich komme aus Indien und ich studiere Wirtschaftswissenschaften."
(You could also use Mein Name ist... or Ich bin...)

Key Takeaways

You can introduce yourself using Ich heiße..., Ich bin..., or Mein Name ist....
The phrase to state your origin is Ich komme aus [country]. For you, this is Ich komme aus Indien.
To state your field of study, you use Ich studiere [subject], for example, Ich studiere Finanzen or Ich studiere Wirtschaftswissenschaften.
Remember that German does not use an article like "a/an" when stating a profession or field of study in this context.

You have now learned the essential phrases to introduce yourself in a way that is directly relevant to your academic and professional goals. This is a significant milestone in your journey.

In the next lesson, we will continue to build your conversational toolkit by learning how to name the days of the week, months, and seasons, allowing you to start talking about schedules and time.