Introducing Yourself and Your Friends in German (Deutsch)

This post is about Introducing Yourself and Your Friends in German (Deutsch). As in Meeting and greeting often requires introductions. Your friends may want you to meet someone they know, or you may have to introduce your significant other to your colleague at a formal occasion. This section gives you the lowdown.

Introducing your friends

Commonplace, everyday introductions are easy to make. You start with Das ist . . . (dâs ist . . .) (This is . . .) Then you simply add the name of the person. Or if you’re introducing a friend, begin with Das ist meine Freundin (female)/mein Freund (male) . . . (dâs ist mayn-e froyn-din/mayn froynt . . .) (This is my friend . . .)

If you’re introduced to someone, you may want to indicate that you’re pleased to meet that person. In German, the casual, informal way of saying this is simply Hallo (hâ-loh) (hello) or Guten Tag (gooh-ten tahk) (hello).

Read Also: Saying Hello, Goodbye, and How Are You? in German (Deutsch)

If the introductions have been more formal, you express Nice to meet you by saying Freut mich. (froyt miH) (Nice to meet you.)

The person you have been introduced to may then reply Mich auch. (miH ouH) (Pleased to meet you, too.)

Introductions for special occasions

You may find yourself in a situation that calls for a very high level of formality. Here are some phrases you’d use then:

• Darf ich Ihnen . . . vorstellen? (dârf iH een-en . . . fohr-shtêl-len?) (May I introduce you to. . . ?)
• Freut mich, Sie kennenzulernen. (froyt miH, zee kên-en-tsoo-lêrn-en.) (I’m pleased to meet you.)
• Meinerseits. (mayn-er-zayts.)/Ganz meinerseits. (gânts mayn-er-zayts.)(The pleasure is all mine. Literally, mine or all mine.)

Introducing yourself

You can’t always rely on someone else to introduce you. In those situations, you simply introduce yourself, which is easy. Often, you can introduce yourself simply by stating your name, even in a more formal setting.

Simply say

• Mein Name ist. . . . (mayn nah-me ist. . . .) (My name is. . . .)
• Or use the verb that expresses the same idea, heißen (hay-sen) (to be called): Ich heiße. . . . (iH hay-se. . . .) (My name is. . . .)
• Ich bin… (iH ben…) (I am…)

Read Also: The German (Deutsch) Alphabet Pronunciation in English and Hindi

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