Guten Tag! Welcome to your fourth lesson.
In our last lesson, we learned how to start and end a conversation by using formal (Sie) and informal (du) greetings and farewells. You can now confidently say Guten Tag and Auf Wiedersehen in a formal setting, or Hallo and Tschüss with friends.
Today, we'll take the next logical step. After you greet someone, you'll often introduce yourself. This lesson will teach you how to share three key pieces of personal information:
- Your name (Name)
- Your origin (Herkunft)
- Your residence (Wohnort)
By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to put together a simple, complete self-introduction. We will continue to practice the important distinction between the informal du and the formal Sie.
1. What's Your Name? (Wie heißen Sie? / Wie heißt du?)
Once you've said hello, the first thing you'll likely do is share your name. There are a few common ways to do this in German.
To see and hear these phrases in action, let's watch a video.
Learn How to Introduce Yourself in GERMAN - A1 [with Jenny]
The video 'Learn How to Introduce Yourself in GERMAN' from lingoni GERMAN clearly demonstrates how to state your name and ask for someone else's. Pay close attention to the pronunciation of 'heiße'.
Please watch from 02:04 to 04:13. This segment covers the most common ways to give your name and ask for someone's name, highlighting the formal and informal versions.
As you saw in the video, here are the key phrases:
Asking for someone's name:
- Informal: Wie heißt du? (What's your name?)
- Formal: Wie heißen Sie? (What's your name?)
Notice how the verb heißen (to be called) changes its ending for du and Sie. We will cover verb conjugation in more detail soon.
Stating your name:
There are three main ways to state your name, from most common to slightly more formal:
- Ich bin... (I am...)
- Ich bin Paul.
- Ich heiße... (I am called...)
- Ich heiße Maria. (Remember the letter ß, the Eszett, sounds like a sharp "ss".)
- Mein Name ist... (My name is...)
- Mein Name ist Schmidt. (This is often used in more formal or business contexts).
For a quick written reference of these phrases, you can review the following guide.
Introducing yourself - KS3 German - BBC Bitesize
The article 'Introducing yourself in German' from BBC Bitesize provides a simple, clear summary of these key phrases.
Read the short section titled 'Saying your name'. It reinforces the phrases we just learned.
2. Where Are You From? (Woher kommen Sie? / Woher kommst du?)
The next common question is about your origin. The verb used here is kommen (to come).
Let's return to our video guide to see how this works in conversation.
Learn How to Introduce Yourself in GERMAN - A1 [with Jenny]
The same video from lingoni GERMAN will now teach you how to talk about your origin.
Watch the next part of the video, from 04:13 to 05:58. Listen for the question word 'Woher' (Where from) and the answer using 'aus'.
Here is a breakdown of the phrases for discussing your origin:
Asking where someone is from:
- Informal: Woher kommst du? (Where do you come from?)
- Formal: Woher kommen Sie? (Where do you come from?)
Stating where you are from:
- Ich komme aus... (I come from...)
- Ich komme aus Frankreich. (I come from France.)
- Ich komme aus Marokko. (I come from Morocco.)
You simply add the name of your country or city after the word aus (from/out of).
Note: For most countries, this structure works perfectly. A few countries require an article (e.g., Ich komme aus der Schweiz for Switzerland), but you don't need to worry about memorizing these exceptions right now. The Ich komme aus... pattern will be understood everywhere.
Test your understanding!
You are at a university event and meet another student who looks about your age. How would you ask them where they are from?
Show answer
You would use the informal version: Woher kommst du?
3. Where Do You Live? (Wo wohnen Sie? / Wo wohnst du?)
Your origin might be different from where you currently live. To talk about your residence, you use the verb wohnen (to live/reside).
Let's watch the final segment of the video.
Learn How to Introduce Yourself in GERMAN - A1 [with Jenny]
This last clip from the lingoni GERMAN video covers the final piece of our introduction: your current residence.
Watch from 05:58 to 06:38. Focus on the question word 'Wo' (Where) and the preposition 'in' used in the answer.
Here are the phrases for discussing your residence:
Asking where someone lives:
- Informal: Wo wohnst du? (Where do you live?)
- Formal: Wo wohnen Sie? (Where do you live?)
Stating where you live:
- Ich wohne in... (I live in...)
- Ich wohne in Paris. (I live in Paris.)
- Ich wohne in Berlin. (I live in Berlin.)
Notice the difference between Woher (Where from?) for origin and Wo (Where?) for location.
4. Putting It All Together
Now you have all the pieces to build a complete self-introduction. You can combine them into a few simple sentences.
The article "How to Introduce Yourself in German" provides a great example of how this looks.
How to Introduce Yourself in German: A1 Conversation Skills
This article shows you the structure of a full introduction and gives a clear example.
Read section '2. Basic Structure of an Introduction in German' and section '3. Example Introduction in German'. This will show you how to connect the phrases you've learned into a short, logical paragraph.
Here's an example combining the phrases:
Guten Tag. (Good day.)
Ich heiße [Your Name]. (My name is [Your Name].)
Ich komme aus [Your Country]. (I come from [Your Country].)
Ich wohne in [Your City]. (I live in [Your City].)
Practice Time!
Let's make this personal. The best way to learn is by doing. Look at the image below. It provides a template for a self-introduction. Try to fill in the blanks with your own information for the first three lines.
Say the full sentences out loud to yourself. This is excellent practice for both memory and pronunciation. For example:
- Ich heiße [Your Name].
- Ich komme aus [Your Country].
- Ich wohne in [Your City].
This is a fantastic foundation for your first conversations in German!
Conclusion
Well done! You have now learned how to handle the first part of any conversation after the initial greeting. You can confidently introduce yourself by stating your name, origin, and residence.
Here are the key takeaways from today's lesson:
- To state your name: Ich heiße..., Ich bin..., or Mein Name ist...
- To state your origin: Ich komme aus...
- To state your residence: Ich wohne in...
- Always remember to choose the correct form of the question based on who you are talking to: informal (
du) for friends and peers, and formal (Sie) for strangers, officials, or in business contexts.
In our next lesson, we will round out our basic conversational skills by learning some essential courtesy phrases, such as how to say "please," "thank you," and "excuse me."
Tschüss!