How to Say ‘Nice to meet you.’ in Japanese
はじめまして。
hajime mashi te
[ha-JEE-meh mah-shee te]
🇯🇵 In Japan: On Japanese dating apps, opening with はじめまして and polite です/ます speech is the safe norm; jumping straight into casual speech can come across as too forward.
Phrase Breakdown
はじめ
hajime
[ha-JEE-meh]
first time; beginning
Stem of hajimeru 'to begin'; used in the first-meeting greeting.
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.
丁寧に話しまし た。
I spoke politely.
て
te
[te]
indicates a connection
Connecting particle used in various grammatical structures.
駅に向かっている。
Heading towards the station.
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