How to Introduce Yourself in Spanish (Beyond Me Llamo)
How to introduce yourself in Spanish: hola, me llamo…, encantado — with audio, tú or usted, the two cheek kisses, and one question to keep it going.
Linguino · Sep 23, 2026 · 9 min read
To introduce yourself in Spanish, say “Hola, me llamo Alex. Encantado.” — “Hi, my name is Alex. Nice to meet you.” If you are a woman, say encantada. These three short lines work at a dinner party, in a class, at work, or with a friend of a friend, anywhere in the Spanish-speaking world.
The other person will usually answer with the same shape: their name and encantado or encantada. Then one of you asks ¿De dónde eres?, “Where are you from?”, and the conversation has started. The rest of this guide explains each part, how formal to be, what to do with your hands and face, and how to keep going for the next two minutes.
How to introduce yourself in Spanish: the key lines
| Spanish | Sounds like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Hola, ¿qué tal? | OH-lah, keh TAHL | Hi, how are you? |
| Me llamo Alex. | meh YAH-moh AH-leks | My name is Alex. |
| Encantado. / Encantada. | en-kan-TAH-doh / en-kan-TAH-dah | Nice to meet you. |
| ¿Y tú de dónde eres? | ee too deh DON-deh EH-res | And where are you from? |
You can say just Hola or Hola, ¿qué tal?; both work.
Together:
Hola, me llamo Alex. Encantado.
Say it in three small beats with a short pause after each one. In most of Spain and Latin America the ll in llamo sounds close to the “y” in “yes” (in Argentina and Uruguay it sounds more like “sh”); the pronunciation guides above are approximations, so use the play buttons to hear the real sound.
What does “me llamo” mean?
Me llamo literally means “I call myself.” It is the standard way to give your name, and it is followed directly by the name: me llamo Alex. A common beginner mistake is to mix it with “is” and say me llamo es Alex. Leave the es out.
Two other ways are also correct:
- Soy Alex. “I'm Alex.” Short and very common in Spain, especially in relaxed settings.
- Mi nombre es Alex. “My name is Alex.” Correct, but it sounds a little stiff in conversation. You will hear it more on the phone or at a reception desk.
Pick one and use it every time. Me llamo is a safe default.
You do not need to say yo (“I”). Spanish verbs already show who is speaking, so yo me llamo Alex sounds like you are contrasting yourself with someone else. In the Linguino scene, María might answer “Encantada, yo soy María”, putting her name next to yours: “and I'm María.”
Encantado or encantada: which one do you say?
Encantado means “delighted.” It describes the person speaking, so the ending matches you, not the other person. A man says encantado; a woman says encantada. If María, a woman, meets Alex, a man, she says encantada and he says encantado.
If you want a slightly longer version, add de conocerte: Encantado de conocerte , “Delighted to meet you.”
You will also hear mucho gusto, “a pleasure.” It does not change with gender. It is common across Latin America and also used in Spain, where encantado is more frequent in everyday introductions. Both are correct and polite. If you plan to spend time in Mexico or Colombia, keep mucho gusto ready as well.
Should you use tú or usted?
Spanish has two ways to say “you” to one person: tú (informal) and usted (formal). The verb changes with it: ¿de dónde eres? with tú, ¿de dónde es usted? with usted.
In Spain, tú is the normal choice with most people you meet socially, including strangers of a similar age. The Real Academia Española's Diccionario panhispánico de dudas describes usted as the form of respect used for a more formal or distant relationship. Here is a practical guide to three settings.
A dinner party, class, or friend of a friend
Use tú. At a friend's dinner in Barcelona or Madrid, usted would sound strangely distant. Hola, me llamo Alex. Encantado and ¿Y tú de dónde eres? fit perfectly.
A new colleague or professional contact
In most Spanish offices, colleagues use tú with each other from the first day, often including managers. If you are unsure, listen to how the other person speaks to you and follow their choice. Many people will say tutéame or puedes tutearme (“you can call me tú”) if you start with usted.
An older person or a clearly formal setting
With someone much older, a client in a formal meeting, or an official, start with usted. The formal version of the introduction is Encantado de conocerle (“Delighted to meet you”; a woman says encantada). You will also hear conocerlo or conocerla, especially in Latin America; all are correct.
Starting with usted and being invited to switch is rarely rude. Starting with tú with a stranger in their seventies might be.
What changes in Latin America?
In many Latin American countries usted is used more widely, including with strangers and in shops. In Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and much of Central America, vos replaces tú (¿de dónde sos?). For plural “you,” Spain uses vosotros among friends, while Latin America uses ustedes for everyone. As a beginner, you only need to recognize these forms when you hear them.
Do you kiss, shake hands, or hug?
In Spain, a social introduction often comes with dos besos, two kisses. They are really a light cheek-to-cheek touch, one on each side, with a small kissing sound; your lips do not need to touch the other person's face. Most people start by leaning to their left, so the right cheeks meet first. If you are not sure, let the other person lead and follow their movement.
Two kisses are common between women and between a man and a woman. Two men who are meeting for the first time usually shake hands instead. In a work setting, a handshake is the safer default for everyone, and some people prefer it in social settings too. If someone offers a hand, shake it. If they lean in, follow.
Keep eye contact while you say your name, and smile. People in Spain often stand a little closer than many English speakers expect; that is friendliness, not pressure.
In much of Latin America the custom is one kiss on the right cheek, not two. In Argentina, male friends often greet each other with a kiss as well. Follow the person in front of you.
Keep the conversation going with one question
After names, you need one question that is easy to ask and easy to answer. At a party in Spain, the classic choice is:
¿Y tú de dónde eres?
“And where are you from?”
The answer usually arrives in a simple form, often with the question returned to you: Soy de Valencia, ¿y tú? (“I'm from Valencia, and you?”). Answer with Soy de plus your city or country: Soy de Londres. If you live in Spain, add pero vivo aquí (“but I live here”).
At a friend's dinner, a second natural question is how the other person knows the host:
¿De qué conoces a Marta?
“How do you know Marta?”
This question is very common in Spain and gives the other person a story to tell. A likely answer is Somos compañeras de trabajo (“We're colleagues”; María and Marta are both women, so it ends in -as; with a man involved it is compañeros) or Del colegio (“From school”).
If you missed the other person's name, ask for it right away rather than hoping to catch it later:
Perdona, ¿cómo te llamas?
“Sorry, what's your name?”
This is normal and polite. Use the name once soon afterwards, and it will be easier to remember.
What not to worry about yet
- You do not need vosotros, vos, or the subjunctive to introduce yourself.
- You do not need perfect gender agreement everywhere. Get encantado or encantada right; the rest can wait.
- You do not need to explain your job or your whole story in the first minute.
- You do not need a native accent. Clear and steady is enough.
- In Barcelona, you may hear people switch into Catalan with each other. Speaking Spanish is completely fine; they will usually switch back for you.
What you do need is to recognize the reply: a name, encantada or encantado, and often ¿y tú? handing the turn back to you. If replies go past too quickly, the guide to understanding spoken Spanish shows how to listen for that handoff. If you understand the reply but cannot find your answer in time, read I understand Spanish but can't speak it.
Rehearse one real introduction
Use your own name and city, not “Alex” and “London,” and say this sequence out loud:
- Say Hola, me llamo… and your name.
- Add encantado or encantada.
- Listen to the other person's name and reply.
- Ask ¿Y tú de dónde eres?
- Answer Soy de… when the question comes back to you.
- React to what you hear, even if it is only ¡Ah, qué bien! (“Oh, nice!”).
Here is the whole first meeting, with María playing the person you have just met. Play it once with the English visible, then again with it hidden:
Meeting someone at a dinner in Barcelona
Hola, me llamo Alex. Encantado.
Hi, my name is Alex. Nice to meet you.
Encantada, yo soy María.
Nice to meet you, I'm María.
¿Y tú de dónde eres?
And where are you from?
Soy de Valencia, ¿y tú?
I'm from Valencia, and you?
Soy de Londres, pero vivo en Barcelona.
I'm from London, but I live in Barcelona.
¡Ah, qué bien! ¿Y de qué conoces a Marta?
Oh, nice! And how do you know Marta?
Trabajamos juntos.
We work together.
If you forget the words even though you know the lines, the three-minute speaking fix will help you lower the pressure. To see where this conversation sits on the scale teachers use, read CEFR levels explained in plain English.
Linguino's “Meet someone new” scene puts you at a friend's dinner party in Barcelona, next to someone who does not speak English. Your AI teacher plays that person, answers what you actually say, and shows a phrase card for lines like Hola, me llamo Alex. Encantado. and ¿Y tú de dónde eres? when it wants you to say them. You can replay and translate each of the teacher's lines. Afterwards you get a short quiz, scored speaking cards, and coach feedback, and the phrases you practiced are saved to your Phrasebook.
You are ready when you can give your name, say encantado or encantada, and ask one real question. That is enough to start the first five minutes.