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How to Say ‘I am Tom.’ in Japanese

私はトムです。

watashi wa tomu desu

[wah-tah-shee wah TOH-moo dess]

💬 Usage Tip: は here is said (wa). Swap in any name or noun: 私は学生です "I am a student."

Phrase Breakdown

私は

watashi wa

I (as for me)

私 (watashi) means 'I'. The particle は marks the topic and is read 'wa', not 'ha'.

Example

私は学生です。

I am a student.

Words in this phrase

私

watashi

[wah-tah-shee]

I; me

Common first-person pronoun “I/me.” Neutral/polite in many situations (more formal than 俺).

Example

私は日本に住んでいます。

I live in Japan.

は

[wah]

topic marker

は marks the topic of the sentence.

Example

空席はありますか。

Are there any seats available?

トムです。

tomu desu

am Tom

Your name plus です (desu), meaning 'am/is'. Say 'desu' like 'des'.

Example

こちらはトムです。

This is Tom.

Words in this phrase

トム

tomu

[TOH-moo]

Tom

The English name Tom written in katakana, the script used for foreign names and words.

Example

トムさんはアメリカ人です。

Tom is American.

です

desu

[dess]

is; polite copula

A polite sentence ending used in formal conversation.

Example

少し伺いたいです。

I would like to ask a little.

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