Introducing a Friend

Introducing yourself and another person

When you meet someone for the first time, you may want to introduce yourself and introduce a friend who is with you. In Japanese, there are several simple expressions you can use to do this politely. In this lesson, you will learn how to say your name, introduce a friend, and ask for someone’s name.

1. Introducing Yourself

Let’s begin with a simple introduction.

私はホキルです。

Watashi wa Hokiru desu.

I am Hokiru.

You can replace ホキル (Hokiru) with your own name.

私はジャネットです。

Watashi wa Janetto desu.

I am Janet.

A simple pattern

私は + Name + です。

Watashi wa + Name + desu.

I am + Name.

For example:

私はボブです。

Watashi wa Bobu desu.

I am Bob.

2. Introducing a Friend

Now imagine that you are with a friend and you want to introduce your friend to someone.

こちらは私の友達です。

Kochira wa watashi no tomodachi desu.

This is my friend.

This is a useful expression to remember because you can use the same pattern to introduce someone politely.

Key words

こちら
Kochira
This person / this one

私
Watashi
I / me

の
No
Of / my

友達
Tomodachi
Friend

です
Desu
Is / am / are

3. Essential Word List

4. How to Use the Word List

Instead of memorizing every word separately, try putting the words together.

私 + の + 友達

私の友達

Watashi no tomodachi.

My friend.

Now add です.

私の友達です。

Watashi no tomodachi desu.

This is my friend.

Now add こちらは.

こちらは私の友達です。

Kochira wa watashi no tomodachi desu.

This is my friend.

You have now built a complete sentence from a few simple words.

5. Conversation Between Friends

Let’s see how these expressions can be used in a simple conversation.

Hokiru, Janet and Bob

ホキル：こんにちは。

Konnichiwa.

Hokiru: Hello.

ボブ：こんにちは。

Konnichiwa.

Bob: Hello.

ホキル：私はホキルです。

Watashi wa Hokiru desu.

Hokiru: I am Hokiru.

ボブ：私はボブです。

Watashi wa Bobu desu.

Bob: I am Bob.

ホキル：こちらは私の友達、ジャネットです。

Kochira wa watashi no tomodachi, Janetto desu.

Hokiru: This is my friend, Janet.

ジャネット：はじめまして。

Hajimemashite.

Janet: Nice to meet you.

ボブ：はじめまして。

Hajimemashite.

Bob: Nice to meet you.

6. A Simple Phrase to Remember

こちらは私の友達です。

Kochira wa watashi no tomodachi desu.

This is my friend.

You can use this phrase when introducing your friend to another person.

You can also change 友達 to another person.

こちらは私の先生です。

Kochira wa watashi no sensei desu.

This is my teacher.

こちらは私の友達、ジャネットです。

Kochira wa watashi no tomodachi, Janetto desu.

This is my friend, Janet.

7. Understanding the Sentence Structure

Let’s look at the sentence one more time:

こちらは私の友達です。

Kochira wa watashi no tomodachi desu.

This is my friend.

The sentence can be understood in small parts:

The basic pattern

こちらは + 私の + 友達 + です。

Kochira wa + watashi no + tomodachi + desu.

This is + my + friend.

Japanese sentence structure does not always follow the same order as English. For now, don’t worry about translating every word individually. Learn the expression as a complete pattern and gradually become familiar with how the parts work together.

8. Another Useful Pattern

You can also introduce yourself using:

私は + Name + です。

Watashi wa + Name + desu.

I am + Name.

For example:

私はホキルです。

Watashi wa Hokiru desu.

I am Hokiru.

私はジャネットです。

Watashi wa Janetto desu.

I am Janet.

私はボブです。

Watashi wa Bobu desu.

I am Bob.

This simple pattern will become very useful throughout your Japanese learning journey.

9. Quick Practice

Practice 1 — Complete the sentence

Fill in the missing word.

こちらは私の ______ です。

Kochira wa watashi no ______ desu.

This is my friend.

Answer: 友達 (tomodachi)

Practice 2 — Introduce Yourself

Replace the name with your own name.

私は ______ です。

Watashi wa ______ desu.

I am ______.

Say the sentence aloud several times.

Practice 3 — Introduce Your Friend

Imagine that your friend’s name is Janet.

こちらは私の友達、ジャネットです。

Kochira wa watashi no tomodachi, Janetto desu.

This is my friend, Janet.

Now replace ジャネット with your friend’s name.

Practice 4 — Speak Without Looking

Try saying these sentences without looking at the English translation.

私はホキルです。

Watashi wa Hokiru desu.

I am Hokiru.

こちらは私の友達です。

Kochira wa watashi no tomodachi desu.

This is my friend.

はじめまして。

Hajimemashite.

Nice to meet you.

10. Mini Challenge

Imagine you are meeting a new person with your friend.

Try to say these three things in Japanese:

1. Introduce yourself.

2. Introduce your friend.

3. Say “Nice to meet you.”

Your Challenge

私は __________ です。

Watashi wa __________ desu.

I am __________.

こちらは私の友達、__________です。

Kochira wa watashi no tomodachi, __________ desu.

This is my friend, __________.

はじめまして。

Hajimemashite.

Nice to meet you.

Don’t worry if you cannot remember everything yet. The goal of this lesson is simply to become comfortable seeing, reading, hearing, and using a few useful Japanese expressions.

Learn a little. Say it aloud. Use it again.

That is how your Japanese journey begins.