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Stating ones name

espen180

先輩
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When stating my name, is it neccesary to add "desu" at the end? For example:

Watashi no nawa Espen
or
Watashi no nawa Espen desu
 
Yes, it's one of the most fundemental things to know when starting Japanese, its 'to be', so you could just say "Espen desu" for "I'm Espen" although a direct translation is "Is Espen". Oh and its "namae" not "nawa".
 
So far as im aware 'na ha' is used as well.
 
I understand.

By the way, how important is it to learn hiragana signs when learning Japanese? Is it possible to learn Japanese through romanji first, then learn hiragana and kana?
 
Entirely. Also, hiragana is a syllabary, they are not pictograms. And romanised Japanese is written as romaji as opposed to romanji.
 
Another question if I may:

When I checked the dictionary, I saw three ways of saying "I,me":

Wa
Ore wa
Watashi

Are all of these synonymous?
 
When stating my name, is it neccesary to add "desu" at the end? For example:
Watashi no nawa Espen
or
Watashi no nawa Espen desu
Like Jericho Desu said, there are more and less polite ways, but "Espen desu" is absolutely perfect for standard introductions or when asked your name.

Unfortunately, "[Namae] na ha/wa" is not grammatical.
 
Like Jericho Desu said, there are more and less polite ways, but "Espen desu" is absolutely perfect for standard introductions or when asked your name.

Unfortunately, "[Namae] na ha/wa" is not grammatical.

I agree with Jericho desu and Elizabeth, you can simply say
"(Watashi wa) Espen desu" to introduce yourself.
(If you want to say it very politely, then "Esen to moushi masu".)

As Derfel mentioned, "Watashi no na wa Espen (desu)" (my name is Espen) is grammatically perfect, too, but these days people tend to use "namae" not "na" for "name".
Note that "na" means "name", "wa" is a particle, it is not one word "nawa".

Oh, and it's "romaji", not "romanji"!!!
 
Oh, apologies all around. It shows how carefully I was reading. I was thinking of this as the answer to Espen's question re: desu ending. "Na wa" instead of desu. :sorry:
 
Instead of just comming out and saying your name, how about you introduce yourself a little.
I would prefer to say,
"hajimemashite, watashi no namae ha(wa) Espen to iimasu."
Pleased to meet you, my name is Espen.

But that is just me.
 
Another question if I may:

When I checked the dictionary, I saw three ways of saying "I,me":

Wa
Ore wa
Watashi

Are all of these synonymous?

I think that some women use, some men use. Boko is used by men, (W)atashi is used by women. Not sure about the rest.
 
I think that some women use, some men use. Boko is used by men, (W)atashi is used by women. Not sure about the rest.

Boku is the word used by men, and it's appropriate for most occasions. Watashi can be used by either sex, as can watakushi. Atashi is indeed normally used by women.

@espen

"Ore" alone is the word for I. Wa is a subject indicator particle.

edit: forgot to mention that ore is for males only and is considered very casual.
 
Last edited:
Boku is the word used by men, and it's appropriate for most occasions. Watashi can be used by either sex, as can watakushi. Atashi is indeed normally used by women.
@espen
"Ore" alone is the word for I. Wa is a subject indicator particle.
You can also use,
wae or washi if you like... That is if you are a man.
 
first you want to completely avoid romaji. It's poison.

second, you don't want to translate directly in many occasions. say "i am called epsen" instead of "my name is epsen"
 
It would be very rare for someone to use na in a normal conversation. In most cases you can simply state your name and then desu. Adding watashi ha before is perfectly fine, but not necessary in personal encounters. Since you re introducing yourself for the first time it is best to stay away from the more casual forms of boku and ore in most cases.

To be more polite you can also use "name" to moushimasu.
 
the trouble with using moushimasu is that it's considered to be "kenjougo", or the language you use when you want to defer to someone. in which case, you will have to keep on using "kenjougo", not an easy task for a beginner

you can use "name to iimasu".
 
There isn't such a nerve wracking gap between "to moushimasu" and "to iimasu" in Japanese, though. Use set expressions like "to moushimasu" if that is your style, when the intro is up, forget about kenjougo with equal ranking acquaintances, let's all talk -desu, -masu normally again. It's probably close to the significance in English of "I am called" (to iimasu) vs. "They call me" (to moushimasu), odd as both of are as direct translations.
 
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