How to Say ‘What is your name?’ in Japanese
おなまえは、なんですか。
o namae wa nan desu ka
[oh nah-mah-eh wah nahn dess kah]
💬 Usage Tip: Japanese often puts the topic first: [おなまえは] + [なんですか]. You can reuse that pattern with other topics, like [おしごとは、なんですか。]
🇯🇵 In Japan: This is polite and fine in many first-meeting situations, but in casual conversation people may ask more simply with [おなまえは？] or offer their own name first. With strangers, the more polite form is safer.
Phrase Breakdown
おなまえは
o namae wa
as for (your) name...
お is honorific + なまえ (name) + は (topic marker). A polite way to ask someone’s name.
おなまえは何ですか。
What is your name?
Words in this phrase
お
o
[oh]
honorific prefix (polite)
お makes the phrase polite when asking someone’s name. Very common in first meetings.
はじめまして。おなまえは、なんですか。
Nice to meet you. What is your name?
なまえ
namae
[nah-mah-eh]
name
なまえ means “name.” Together with お and は, it sets the topic: “As for your name…”
おなまえは、なんですか。
What is your name?
は
wa
[wah]
topic marker “as for …”
は marks the topic; pronounced “wa” as a particle. おなまえは… = “As for your name…”
おなまえは、なんですか。
What is your name?
なんですか
nan desu ka
what is it? (polite question)
なん (what) + です (polite copula) + か (question marker). Used to ask “what is ...?” politely.
これはなんですか。
What is this?
Words in this phrase
なん
nan
[nahn]
what
なん = “what.” In polite questions, it’s often followed by ですか.
それはなんですか。
What is that?
です
desu
[dess]
to be (polite); is/am/are
です keeps the question polite. おなまえは、なんですか is a natural polite question.
おなまえは、なんですか。
What is your name?
か
ka
[kah]
question particle “?”
か makes it a question. In polite speech, ですか is extremely common.
おなまえは、なんですか。
What is your name?
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