How to Say ‘Nice to meet you.’ in Japanese
はじめまして。
hajime mashi te
[hah-jee-meh mah-shee teh]
💬 Usage Tip: [はじめまして] literally means “for the first time.” It’s often followed by [よろしくお願いします].
🇯🇵 In Japan: In self-introductions, people typically say [はじめまして] → name → [よろしくお願いします] with a light bow.
Phrase Breakdown
はじめ
hajime
[hah-jee-meh]
for the first time; nice to meet you (beginning part)
From はじめる (to begin). In greetings, it refers to meeting someone for the first time (as in はじめまして).
はじめまして、田中です。
Nice to meet you, I’m Tanaka.
まし
mashi
[mah-shee]
polite stem used in set phrases
Part of the polite expression 〜まして. In はじめまして it helps form a set, polite greeting.
はじめまして、よろしくお願いします。
Nice to meet you. Please be kind to me.
て
te
[teh]
-te form ending (in set phrase)
The て here is part of the fixed greeting はじめまして; it’s not used alone in this meaning.
はじめまして、山田と申します。
Nice to meet you, my name is Yamada.
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