Names and introductions in Portuguese

Level A1

Names and introductions in Portuguese

Two people meet and exchange names. You will ask a name, give your own and respond politely, using short expressions you can say straight away.

Start with a greeting

Oi! means ‘Hi!’, and Pode repetir? means ‘Can you repeat that?’ from Greetings and Politeness. Listen to both here: you can use the second one if you miss a name, even if you have not studied those lessons.

Ask, answer and meet

Como você se chama? asks ‘What's your name?’; use it as a whole question, without adding an English-style do. Meu nome é… (‘My name is…’) and Eu me chamo… (‘My name is…’, literally ‘I call myself…’) both give your name. Here meu means ‘my’, nome means ‘name’, é means ‘is’, eu means ‘I’ and você addresses the other person. Learn me chamo and se chama as parts of these expressions, without a verb table. Prazer means ‘Nice to meet you’: Prazer, Ana. addresses Ana by name, and Muito prazer. is a fuller version with muito, ‘much’. These naming expressions suit an ordinary friendly introduction; you do not need a separate masculine or feminine version of prazer.

Keep the expression, change the name

Ana and Leo are fictional names. In Meu nome é Ana., replace Ana with Leo to get Meu nome é Leo.; the expression Meu nome é stays the same. You can do the same with Eu me chamo Ana. and Eu me chamo Leo. Both constructions answer the same question, so choose either one. Say each example after the audio, then substitute a name of your choice.

Meu nome é / Eu me chamo Ana / Leo

Leo and Ana meet

Speaker A is Leo; speaker B is Ana. Leo greets Ana, asks her name and then gives his own; Prazer, Ana. is his response to meeting her. Ana replies Muito prazer. Read and listen once for who is speaking, then take one role. A question like Como você se chama? needs no extra word corresponding to English do.

Your turn: exchange names

Imagine you are Leo meeting Ana: before reading the examples, ask her name, introduce yourself with Eu me chamo…, answer as Ana with Meu nome é…, and say you are pleased to meet Ana. Check the four model answers below in that order, then listen and try with different names. To recap: Como você se chama? asks the name, Meu nome é… or Eu me chamo… gives it, and Prazer, Ana. welcomes the introduction. If you miss the name, use Pode repetir?, then listen again.

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