Informing name in Japanese Language
A way to inform you name or someone else’s name in Japanese Language can be described below :
Pattern : Subject + は+Name
Formal / Polite Pattern : Subject + は+ Name + です
For an example :
| 1． | わたしはジャクソン。
Watashi wa Jackson. I am Jackson. |
| わたしはジャクソンです。
Watashi wa Jackson desu. I am Jackson (polite). |
|
| 2． | かれはシュミット。
Kare wa Smith. He is Smith. |
| かれはシュミットです。
Kare wa Smith desu. He is Smith (polite). |
|
| 3． | かのじょはカリン。
Kanojyo wa Karin. She is Karin. |
| かのじょはカリンです。
Kanojyo wa Karin desu. She is Karin (polite). |
We can also use it in a conversation when we want to introduce ourselves like the following example :
Kanji
A : はじめまして。
山本 明です。
「よろしく。」
「どうぞよろしく。」
「よろしくおねがいします。」
「どうぞよろしくおねがいします。」
Hiragana
A : はじめまして。
やまもと あきらです。
「よろしく。」
「どうぞよろしく。」
「よろしくおねがいします。」
「どうぞよろしくおねがいします。」
Romaji
A : Hajimemashite.
Yamamoto Akira desu.
「Yoroshiku. 」
「Douzo Yoroshiku. 」
「Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu. 」
「Douzo Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu.」
Meaning
A : Hajimemashite.
Yamamoto Akira desu.
「Yoroshiku. 」
「Douzo Yoroshiku. 」
「Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu. 」
「Douzo Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu.」
To introduce yourself by giving your name as an information in an conversation there are certain things which is need to be considered. One of those things are the person whom we talk to. Depend on the social status we also need to choose or to pick the suitable words based on the social status or the level that the person whom we talk to has. Based on the above conversation, there are four types of variation which can be used to end the introduction part.
Yoroshiku（よろしく）
It is used when we introduce ourselves to a person who has a lower status in the society whether it is at school, work, organizations, etc. But it is generally used to speak to a person younger than us.
Douzo Yoroshiku（どうぞ よろしく）
It is used when we want to introduce ourselves to a person who has similar or same social status in a society. There are a lot of society circle in our lives for an example in a certain work environment such as company, business or organizations. We can use it to speak with peers, colleagues, person who has the same position or level. It also generally can be used to speak with someone who has the same age with us.
Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu （よろしく おねがいします）
When we want to introduce ourselves to a person in a higher social status in a society. Examples of society circles in the education environment are school, university and other education institution. We can use it when we speak with teachers, seniors. And it is generally can be used to speak with someone older than us.
Douzo Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu （どうぞ よろしく おねがします）
It is a formal expression used to someone who has a higher social status or level. Usually in a working environment or in a formal occasion such as meetings, company gatherings or any kind of other formal occasion, usually we use this expression like the above conversation pattern to introduce ourselves.
Douzo Yoroshiku Onegai Itashimasu（どうぞ よろしく おねがい いたします）
When we want to escalate it a bit further, especially when we highly regards someone whom involved in the conversation, we can alter ‘shimasu’ into ‘itashimasu’ which is actually derived from ‘suru’ and then changed it into ‘itasu’. The expression later become douzo yoroshiku onegai itashimasu. The verb ‘itasu’ is a humble form of ‘suru’ and it is used to lower yourself when you speak with someone who have a higher social status. It is different with the normal formal expression, this one aside from its formal impression it also indicate a humble meaning when we use ‘itasu’.
For an additional note, we don’t use –san following our names when we want to introduce ourselves. We can use –san when we want to introduce our people by adding it as a suffixes after the name.