A Japanese self-introduction follows a fixed running order: greeting, name, where you are from, what you do, one personal detail, closing. Say those six things in that order and you sound like you know what you are doing, even with a tiny vocabulary.
Coloured text marks the part that matters: usually the word to swap for your own, sometimes the small word doing the work.
1. Opening
はじめまして is only for a genuine first meeting. Use it once per person, ever.
はじめまして。
Hajimemashite.
Nice to meet you. (lit. "for the first time")
はじめまして、失礼します。
Hajimemashite, shitsurei shimasu.
Nice to meet you, pardon the intrusion.formal
Entering someone’s office or home for the first time.
2. Your name
マイケルです。
Maikeru desu.
I am Michael.
The default. Short is correct, not lazy.
マイケルと申します。
Maikeru to moushimasu.
My name is Michael. (humble)formal
Business, or meeting someone clearly senior to you.
マイクと呼んでください。
Maiku to yonde kudasai.
Please call me Mike.
Useful if your full name is hard to pronounce in Japanese.
3. Where you are from
フランスから来ました。
Furansu kara kimashita.
I came from France.
The most natural way to say where you are from.
フランス人です。
Furansu-jin desu.
I am French.
パリの出身です。
Pari no shusshin desu.
I am originally from Paris.
出身 is about where you are from originally, not where you live now.
4. What you do
エンジニアをしています。
Enjinia o shite imasu.
I work as an engineer.
Job + をしています is the all-purpose frame.
大学生です。
Daigakusei desu.
I am a university student.
日本語を勉強しています。
Nihongo o benkyou shite imasu.
I am studying Japanese.
5. One personal detail
This is the line that gives the other person something to ask about. Do not skip it.
趣味は写真です。
Shumi wa shashin desu.
My hobby is photography.
アニメが好きで、日本語を始めました。
Anime ga suki de, nihongo o hajimemashita.
I like anime, so I started learning Japanese.
Explaining why you study Japanese is the single most reliable conversation starter.
日本に来て三ヶ月です。
Nihon ni kite san-kagetsu desu.
I have been in Japan for three months.
6. Closing
This is not optional. An introduction without it feels unfinished to a Japanese listener.
よろしくお願いします。
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Pleased to meet you. / I look forward to working with you.
No real English equivalent. It closes the introduction and asks for goodwill.
どうぞよろしくお願いします。
Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Pleased to meet you. (more formal)formal
よろしく。
Yoroshiku.
Nice to meet you. (casual)casual
Friends and people your own age only.
Worth knowing
Skip 私の名前は〜です
It is grammatically perfect and nobody says it. It lands like reading from a textbook. Just say your name plus です.
と申します is not always better
It is humble language. Right for a job interview or a client, faintly odd among students at a bar, where です is warmer.
Keep it short
A first self-introduction is 15 to 20 seconds. Six short lines. Save the detail for when they ask.
One-line rule: Greeting, name, origin, occupation, one detail, よろしくお願いします. Learn that order and you can introduce yourself before you can hold a conversation.