Introduce yourself in Hindi

A Hindi self-introduction is built from a handful of short, reusable sentences. The most important is मेरा नाम … है (mera naam … hai): मेरा = my, नाम = name, है = is. Notice that the verb comes last. Hindi is a subject–object–verb language, so “I Delhi in live” — मैं दिल्ली में रहता हूँ — is the normal order. The Hindi grammar basics page explains this pattern in full.

A shorter, more casual alternative is मैं … हूँ (main … hoon), “I am …”: मैं राहुल हूँ. Both are correct; मेरा नाम … है sounds a little more complete and is what you would use in class, at work, or in an interview.

Your name

मेरा नाम … है never changes, whoever is speaking: नाम is a masculine noun, so “my” is always मेरा. Indian names are usually written in Devanagari by sound — Sarah becomes सारा, David डेविड, Emma एमा. Our translator will transliterate yours.

Where you’re from and where you live

Use से (se, from) for origin and में (mein, in) for where you live now: मैं अमेरिका से हूँ, पर अभी मुंबई में रहती हूँ। (main America se hoon, par abhi Mumbai mein rehti hoon) — “I’m from America, but I live in Mumbai now” (woman speaking).

Your age

The neatest form is मेरी उम्र … साल है (meri umr … saal hai), “my age is … years”. उम्र is feminine, so it is always मेरी, for men and women alike. The alternative मैं … साल का हूँ (man) / मैं … साल की हूँ (woman) is equally common. You will need the numbers in Hindi — note that numbers from 1 to 99 are irregular and worth learning as words.

Your job

Most job titles are used in English in everyday speech — मैं इंजीनियर / डॉक्टर / टीचर हूँ. Pure Hindi titles exist and often have masculine and feminine forms: अध्यापक / अध्यापिका (teacher), लेखक / लेखिका (writer). For a long list, see professions in Hindi. To describe your work instead of naming it, use मैं … में काम करता / करती हूँ, “I work in …”.

A handy trick: मुझे … आती है (“… comes to me”) and मुझे … पसंद है (“… is pleasing to me”) agree with the thing, not with you, so they are identical for every speaker. मुझे हिंदी आती है (I know Hindi), मुझे क्रिकेट पसंद है (I like cricket).

Family and hobbies

• मेरे परिवार में चार लोग हैं। — mere parivaar mein chaar log hain — There are four people in my family.
• मेरा एक भाई और एक बहन है। — mera ek bhai aur ek behan hai — I have a brother and a sister.
• मेरी शादी हो चुकी है। मेरे दो बच्चे हैं। — meri shaadi ho chuki hai. mere do bachche hain — I’m married. I have two children.
• मुझे संगीत सुनना पसंद है। — mujhe sangeet sunna pasand hai — I like listening to music.
• मेरा शौक़ फ़ोटोग्राफ़ी है। — mera shauk photography hai — My hobby is photography.
• ख़ाली समय में मैं किताबें पढ़ता / पढ़ती हूँ। — khaali samay mein main kitaaben padhta / padhti hoon — In my free time I read books.

Hindi has separate words for maternal and paternal relatives — the family relations page lists them all.

In these questions the verb agrees with the person you are asking: रहते / करते for a man, रहती / करती for a woman. With someone you have just met, always use आप; switch to तुम only with peers and younger people once things are friendly, and keep तू (tu) for very close friends. For more question patterns, see question words in Hindi.

Sample self-introduction

Here is a complete introduction by a woman named Sarah. Read the Hindi aloud, then check the romanization and translation.

नमस्ते! मेरा नाम सारा है। मैं कनाडा से हूँ, लेकिन पिछले दो साल से पुणे में रहती हूँ। मेरी उम्र तीस साल है। मैं एक सॉफ़्टवेयर कंपनी में इंजीनियर हूँ। मेरे परिवार में मेरे पति और एक बेटी हैं। ख़ाली समय में मुझे खाना बनाना और पहाड़ों में घूमना पसंद है। मैं हिंदी सीख रही हूँ, इसलिए अभी थोड़ी-थोड़ी ही बोल पाती हूँ। आपसे मिलकर बहुत अच्छा लगा!

Namaste! Mera naam Sara hai. Main Canada se hoon, lekin pichhle do saal se Pune mein rehti hoon. Meri umr tees saal hai. Main ek software company mein engineer hoon. Mere parivaar mein mere pati aur ek beti hain. Khaali samay mein mujhe khaana banaana aur pahaadon mein ghoomna pasand hai. Main Hindi seekh rahi hoon, isliye abhi thodi-thodi hi bol paati hoon. Aapse milkar bahut achchha laga!

“Hello! My name is Sarah. I’m from Canada, but I’ve been living in Pune for the last two years. I’m thirty. I’m an engineer at a software company. My family is my husband and one daughter. In my free time I like cooking and walking in the mountains. I’m learning Hindi, so for now I can only speak a little. It was really nice to meet you!”

If a man were speaking, only a few words change: रहती → रहता, सीख रही → सीख रहा, बोल पाती → बोल पाता — and of course पति (husband) → पत्नी (wife).

Formal vs casual introductions

In an interview or meeting

An interviewer will often open with अपना परिचय दीजिए (apna parichay deejiye, “please introduce yourself”) or अपने बारे में बताइए (apne baare mein bataiye, “tell us about yourself”). Keep to full sentences, use आप, and lead with education and experience:

जी, मेरा नाम अमित शर्मा है। मैंने दिल्ली विश्वविद्यालय से बी.कॉम किया है और पिछले तीन साल से एक बैंक में काम कर रहा हूँ। (jee, mera naam Amit Sharma hai. maine Dilli Vishvavidyalay se B.Com kiya hai aur pichhle teen saal se ek bank mein kaam kar raha hoon.) — “My name is Amit Sharma. I did a B.Com at Delhi University and have been working at a bank for the past three years.”

A polite opener for any formal setting is मैं अपने बारे में कुछ बताना चाहूँगा / चाहूँगी (main apne baare mein kuchh bataana chaahoonga / chaahoongi), “I’d like to tell you a little about myself.” The business phrases page has more workplace language.

Among friends

Casual introductions drop words freely: हाय, मैं रोहन। दिल्ली से हूँ। (hi, main Rohan. Dilli se hoon.) — “Hi, I’m Rohan. From Delhi.” The reply might be अच्छा! मैं प्रिया, मुंबई से। (achchha! main Priya, Mumbai se.). English words mix in easily here — this is everyday Hinglish.