Hello! I’m Lena.
Hallo! Ich bin Lena.
Learn to greet someone, introduce yourself, and ask a person’s name informally or politely.
Use Hallo! as a general hello and Guten Morgen! in the morning. Say Ich heiße … to give your name. Ask Wie heißt du? in informal situations and Wie heißen Sie? when speaking politely; notice that Sie has a capital letter.
Guten Morgen!
Good morning!
Ich heiße Lena.
My name is Lena.
Wie heißt du?
What’s your name? (informal)
Wie heißen Sie?
What’s your name? (polite)
Freut mich.
Nice to meet you.
Choose a greeting for the situation, then use a complete phrase. With informal du, ask Wie heißt du? With polite Sie, ask Wie heißen Sie? The pronoun and verb form change together.
These phrases work when meeting a classmate, colleague, shop worker, doctor, or another new person. Use du only when informal address is appropriate.
Do not mix the two patterns, such as Wie heißen du? Keep heißt with du and heißen with polite Sie.
Learn the phrases as complete chunks: Hallo! · Guten Morgen! · Ich heiße … · Wie heißt du? · Wie heißen Sie?
Greet someone, say your name, and ask their name. Choose either du or Sie and use the matching verb form.