Me llamo, soy, ¿y tú? Saying your name

Three ways to say your name

Me llamo Ana is what most people say: literally "I call myself Ana". Soy Ana – "I am Ana" – is shorter and just as common between people of the same age. Mi nombre es Ana – "my name is Ana" – sounds a little more formal, the kind of thing you say on the phone or when filling in a form. All three are correct; pick the one you find easiest to say.

To a friend or someone your age you ask ¿Cómo te llamas? – literally "how do you call yourself?". The natural answer is Me llamo…, and then you hand the question back with two words: ¿Y tú? – "and you?". About a third person you say se llama: Se llama Pedro – "his name is Pedro".

–¿Cómo te llamas? –Me llamo Lucía, ¿y tú? –Soy Pablo.–What is your name? –My name is Lucía, and you? –I am Pablo.

The pronouns yo, tú, él, ella

Look at the verb column: soy, eres, es already tell you who is speaking, so Spanish usually leaves the pronoun out. Soy Ana, not yo soy Ana. The pronoun comes back for contrast or emphasis – Yo soy Ana y él es Pedro – and in ¿y tú?, where there is no verb to carry the meaning. Notice the tildes on tú and él: without them, tu and el are different words.

Nice to meet you: mucho gusto, encantado, encantada

After the names come the pleasantries. Mucho gusto – "much pleasure" – is safe for everyone and especially common in Latin America. Encantado (said by a man) or encantada (said by a woman) is the everyday word in Spain. The ending agrees with the SPEAKER, not with the person you are meeting. To answer, repeat the phrase or say igualmente – "likewise".

–Mucho gusto, Marta. –Encantada, Pablo.–Nice to meet you, Marta. –Pleased to meet you, Pablo.