J'me appelle

Je m’appelle means my name is in French. It is a standard way to introduce yourself. The usual written form is je m’appelle, with the apostrophe after m, rather than j’me appelle.

Meaning and context

The phrase comes from s’appeler, which is used when saying what someone is called. Before the vowel at the start of appelle, me becomes m’. Je stays separate in the standard spelling. Knowing that structure helps explain where the apostrophe belongs.

Examples and usage

Je m’appelle Nora introduces someone named Nora. To ask a familiar person’s name, comment tu t’appelles is a common question. Comment vous appelez-vous is a more formal way to ask. Choose the form for the relationship and situation.

What to check

A phonetic spelling copied from speech is not always suitable for a written introduction. For a form, write your name in its name fields; a full conversational introduction is usually unnecessary. Keep the phrase distinct from a literal word-by-word English rendering.

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