Learn French: Bienvenue ! Comment vous appelez-vous ?

The French phrase for asking someone's name literally translates to 'How do you call yourself?'. The first vous is a reflexive pronoun meaning 'yourself'. The second vous is the subject 'you'. When asking a formal question in French, the subject and verb are often swapped and joined by a hyphen, which is why the second vous is at the very end!

Wait, doesn't comment mean 'how'?

Yes! In English we ask 'What is your name?', but in French you literally ask 'How do you call yourself?' (Comment vous appelez-vous ?). That is why the question word is comment (how) instead of quel or quoi (what).

Why does appelez only have one 'l' here, but m'appelle has two?

The verb s'appeler has a spelling quirk. For the pronouns je, tu, and il/elle/on, it is spelled with a double 'l' (like je m'appelle). But for nous and vous, it uses a single 'l' (vous appelez-vous).

When should I use this phrase instead of Comment tu t'appelles ?