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How to Say ‘Nice to meet you, I'm Emily Smith.’ in Japanese

はじめまして、 Emily Smith です。

hajime mashi te Emily Smith desu

[ha-JEE-meh mah-shee te dess]

🇯🇵 In Japan: はじめまして is only for a first meeting, and a small nod or bow usually goes with it. With a partner's friends, using your first name alone is fine if they introduced themselves that way.

Phrase Breakdown

はじめまして、

hajime mashi te

Nice to meet you,

A greeting used when you meet someone for the first time. Say ha-ji-me-ma-shi-te evenly, and pause briefly after it.

Example

はじめまして、よろしくお願いします。

Nice to meet you, I look forward to getting to know you.

Words in this phrase

はじめ

hajime

[ha-JEE-meh]

first time; beginning

Stem of hajimeru 'to begin'; used in the first-meeting greeting.

Example

はじめまして、山田です。

Nice to meet you, I'm Yamada.

まし

mashi

[mah-shee]

polite verb ending part

Part of polite verb forms used in formal speech.

Example

丁寧に話しました。

I spoke politely.

て

[te]

indicates a connection

Connecting particle used in various grammatical structures.

Example

駅に向かっている。

Heading towards the station.

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