What's your name?
Spanish asks for a name with the reflexive verb llamarse — literally to call oneself. The reflexive pronoun changes with the person, exactly like levantarse.
| What's your name? | ¿Cómo te llamas? |
| My name is Carmen. | Me llamo Carmen. |
| person | llamarse |
|---|---|
| yo | me llamo |
| tú | te llamas |
| él, ella | se llama |
| nosotros | nos llamamos |
| vosotros | os llamáis |
| ellos, ellas | se llaman |
| My brother's name is Pablo. | Mi hermano se llama Pablo. |
| What is your dog called? | ¿Cómo se llama tu perro? |
Pleased to meet you
When you meet someone, say encantado if you are a man and encantada if you are a woman. It agrees with the speaker, not with the other person.
| Pleased to meet you, my name is Luis. | Encantado, me llamo Luis. |
| Pleased to meet you, I'm the new teacher. | Encantada, soy la profesora nueva. |
Surname and country
El apellido is the surname. In Spain everyone has two: the first surname of the father and the first surname of the mother.
| What is your surname? | ¿Cuál es tu apellido? |
To ask where someone is from, use ¿de dónde? (where … from?) with ser, or ask about el país (the country).
| Where are you from? | ¿De dónde eres? |
| What country are you from? | ¿De qué país eres? |
| What is your nationality? | ¿Cuál es tu nacionalidad? |
Nationalities
Nationality adjectives agree like any adjective. When the masculine ends in a consonant, add -a for a woman. The written accent disappears as soon as an ending is added, because the stress stays on the same syllable.
| man | woman | men | women |
|---|---|---|---|
| español | española | españoles | españolas |
| inglés | inglesa | ingleses | inglesas |
| alemán | alemana | alemanes | alemanas |
| japonés | japonesa | japoneses | japonesas |
| He is German, but he lives in Spain. | Él es alemán, pero vive en España. |
| My neighbours are Japanese. | Mis vecinos son japoneses. |
Nationalities and languages are written with a small letter in Spanish: español, alemán. The same word names the language:
| How do you say the word in Japanese? | ¿Cómo se dice la palabra en japonés? |
