8 - How to Ask "What’s Your Name?" in French
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Intro: Welcome to the French Made Easy podcast, where I give you all the basics you need to speak French clearly and confidently. I'm your host, Mathilde, and I'm a French teacher, mumpreneur, and bread and cheese lover. Join me as I dive into all things French for beginners, and deliver to you bite-sized and easy-to-follow lessons every Tuesday. Let's get started, "on commence"!
Salut à tous! Hi everyone! Welcome to another episode of French Made Easy! Thanks for joining me today. It's episode number 8, numéro 8, and today I'll teach you how to ask, "what's your name?" in French, and we’ll see you how you can reply to this question!
As always, make sure you download your episode cheat sheet so you can listen to the words and see how they are written at the same time!
Ready? On y va. Let's go.
So! To ask someone what their name is, here are the most common phrases:
If you need to be formal, you can say:
Comment vous appelez-vous ? It means "what's your name"
A quick note, this question can also be used if you are addressing a group of people.
If you don't need to be formal, let’s say for example you’re talking to a child, you can say:
Comment tu t'appelles ? It also means "what's your name?" repeat after me: comment tu t'appelles?
Bien joué. Great job. Now, let's talk about saying your name.
When you want to say your name in French, you can say:
Je m'appelle… (my name is) + your name. So for me, it would be “je m'appelle Mathilde.” Let's now try with your own name. Repeat after me: Je m'appelle... + your name.
You can also simply say:
Je suis… (I am) + your name. For me, it would be “je suis Mathilde.” Now try with your own name. Repeat after me: Je suis...+ your name.
Both of these phrases can be used in formal or informal situations.
If you want to be a little bit more casual you could say:
Moi c'est… (also meaning I am) + your name. For me, it would be “moi c'est Mathilde.” Let’s try with your own name. Repeat after me: Moi c'est... + your name.
This sentence is used just quite commonly by native French speakers but bear in mind that it is very casual.
Ok guys well done. That was easy, right? 😬 Now let's repeat all those sentences.
To ask someone what their name is you can say:
Comment vous appelez-vous ? (“What's your name?” formal)
Comment tu t'appelles ? (Also “what's your name?” but informal)
To tell someone you name you can say:
Je m'appelle… (My name is…) Je m’appelle Mathilde
Je suis… (I am...) Je suis Mathilde.
Moi c'est… (Also I am… but more casual) Moi c’est Mathilde
Parfait. So now, when we are all out of isolation and you meet that cute French woman, or man: ask for the name. 😊
That's it for this episode guys, thank you so much for listening. Don’t forget to download your lesson’s exercises by clicking the link in the episode’s notes and make sure you hit subscribe so you don't miss out on any new episodes. And if you are enjoying this podcast, I'd really appreciate a quick rating and review.
Merci beaucoup et à bientôt. 👋