Pascal says: You've learned to say hello, and you've mastered être. Now, let's put it all together to introduce yourself. This is one of the first full conversations you'll have in French!

🎯 Today's Mission

Learn to say your name with the verb s'appeler.
Ask someone for their name (formally and informally).
Say "pleased to meet you" correctly.
Combine être and s'appeler into a full self-introduction.
Avoid the common mix-ups between "je suis" and "je m'appelle."

Document Déclencheur

Message WhatsApp, groupe "Cours de français": Salut ! Je m'appelle Julien. Je suis étudiant à Lyon. Et toi, comment tu t'appelles ? — Bonjour Julien ! Moi, je m'appelle Aïcha. Enchantée !

Qu'est-ce que tu remarques ?

Julien utilise deux phrases différentes pour se présenter — lesquelles, et quelle est la différence ? → "Je m'appelle" (le nom) et "Je suis étudiant" (une info sur lui)
Aïcha répond "Enchantée" — pourquoi pas "Enchanté" ? → parce que l'adjectif s'accorde avec le genre de la personne qui parle (ici, une femme)
"Et toi ?" à la fin — à quoi ça sert ? → à renvoyer la question, poliment, sans tout répéter

Section 1: My Name Is... (Je m'appelle...)

To say your name, you use the verb s'appeler, which literally means "to call oneself." It's a special kind of verb called a reflexive verb — the little word before the verb (me/m', te/t', se/s', nous, vous, se) always matches the subject.

Here are the key forms for now:

Je m'appelle... - My name is...
Tu t'appelles... - Your name is... (informal)
Il/Elle s'appelle... - His/Her name is...
Nous nous appelons... - Our names are... (less common, but good to recognize)
Vous vous appelez... - Your name is... (formal or plural)

Example:

Je m'appelle Pascal. (My name is Pascal.)

Pascal's Tip: You could also say Je suis Pascal (I am Pascal) — both are correct! But Je m'appelle is the more natural, standard way to introduce your name specifically, while Je suis is more general (works for identity, profession, etc. too, as you learned on Day 4).

How do you say 'My name is Marie' in French?

Complete the sentence: 'Il ___ Paul.'

Section 2: Asking "What's your name?"

Just like with "please", you have to choose between formal and informal.

To a friend (informal): Comment tu t'appelles?
To a stranger (formal): Comment vous vous appelez?

Pascal's Tip: The word-for-word translation is "How do you call yourself?". It sounds a bit funny in English, but it's perfectly natural in French!

Here's a full mini-conversation putting it all together:

Pascal: Bonjour! Comment vous vous appelez? Vous: Je m'appelle Alex. Et vous, comment vous appelez-vous? Pascal: Je m'appelle Pascal. Enchanté! Vous: Enchanté(e)!

Pascal's Tip: Notice in the dialogue above, you can also invert the question to "comment vous appelez-vous?" — this is a more formal, slightly old-fashioned question structure you'll hear often in writing and polite speech.

You want to ask a new classmate their name. Which question is best?

You are speaking to a police officer. How do you ask for their name respectfully?

Section 3: Pleased to Meet You

After you learn someone's name, it's polite to say "Pleased to meet you."

If you are male, you say: Enchanté [ohn-shawn-TAY]
If you are female, you say: Enchantée [ohn-shawn-TAY]

Pascal's Tip: The pronunciation is exactly the same for both! The only difference is the extra '-e' in the spelling for females. This is very common for French adjectives — you saw the same pattern with désolé/désolée on Day 3.

Common Mistakes

Wrong: Saying "Je suis m'appelle Marie" — mixing the two verbs together. Correct: Use one or the other: Je suis Marie OR Je m'appelle Marie. Why: Suis (from être) and m'appelle (from s'appeler) are two separate, complete verbs — you can't combine them into one sentence.
Wrong: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun, saying "Je appelle Marie" instead of "Je m'appelle Marie." Correct: Always keep the reflexive pronoun: je m'appelle, tu t'appelles, il s'appelle. Why: S'appeler is reflexive — the action "calls" reflects back onto the subject, so the little pronoun is a required part of the verb, not optional.
Wrong: Using "Comment tu t'appelles?" with someone clearly older or in a professional setting. Correct: Use "Comment vous vous appelez?" to stay respectful. Why: As with all tu/vous choices, defaulting to formal is always the safer move with people you don't know well.

A man named Paul is introducing himself. He says 'Je m'appelle Paul. _______!'

A woman named Marie is introducing herself. After someone tells her their name, she says:

Which sentence correctly keeps the reflexive pronoun?

Recap

Use je m'appelle to give your name; it's the natural, standard way.
Never combine "être" and "s'appeler" in one clause — pick one.
Ask casually with comment tu t'appelles? or formally with comment vous vous appelez?
Say Enchanté (male) or Enchantée (female) after learning someone's name.
The reflexive pronoun (me/te/se/nous/vous/se) always matches the subject and can never be dropped.

✨ Coming Up Next...

Pascal: Let's ask how someone is doing! Tomorrow, we'll learn the most common phrase in French: Ça va? À demain!