Introducing Yourself
Introducing Yourself
Introducing yourself combines heißen (to be called), sein (to be), and kommen aus (to come from) into the handful of sentences you'll use in almost every first conversation.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
heißen: 'to be called', not a literal translation of 'my name is'
Ich heiße Anna. (literally: I am called Anna / My name is Anna.)
My name is Anna.
English typically introduces a name with the possessive construction "my name is," which doesn't translate word-for-word into idiomatic German. German instead uses the verb heißen ("to be called"): Ich heiße Anna. You can also say Mein Name ist Anna (a closer literal match to English), but Ich heiße... is far more common in everyday speech — lead with this pattern rather than translating "my name is" directly.
kommen aus + country/city (dative)
Ich komme aus Deutschland. (I come from Germany.)
I come from Germany.
This maps neatly onto English "I come from..." — aus ("from") always takes the dative case, though most country and city names don't visibly change in the dative, so in practice you rarely need to think about it here.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ich heiße... | ikh HY-seh | My name is... |
| Wie heißt du? | vee hyst doo | What's your name? (informal) |
| Ich komme aus... | ikh KOM-meh ows | I come from... |
| Ich bin ... Jahre alt. | ikh bin ... YAH-reh ahlt | I am ... years old. |
| Ich wohne in... | ikh VOH-neh in | I live in... |
| Ich spreche... | ikh SHPREKH-eh | I speak... |
| Freut mich! | froyt mikh | Nice to meet you! |
| Und du? / Und Sie? | oont doo / oont zee | And you? (informal / formal) |