Se présenter (Introducing yourself)
Primary 5 · French
Se présenter (Introducing yourself)
Lesson 1 of 3
12 min
Let's begin
A visitor comes to your school in Kigali. She shakes your hand, smiles, and says something you do not understand: « Bonjour ! Comment tu t'appelles ? »
You can tell she is being friendly. You just do not know what to say back — yet.
By the end of this lesson you will answer her in French: your greeting, your name, your age, and where you live. Four short sentences. That is all it takes.
Keza arrives at school at eight in the morning. She sees her teacher at the gate:
Keza : « Bonjour, madame ! »
La maîtresse : « Bonjour, Keza ! »
Bonjour (say it bon-ZHOOR) means good day. You use it from the morning until the sun starts going down. It works for your teacher, for a shopkeeper at the market, for anybody.
Once the sun has gone down, the word changes to bonsoir (bon-SWAHR) — good evening. Gatete meets his neighbour at seven in the evening and says: « Bonsoir, monsieur ! »
Be careful with bonne nuit (bon NWEE). It means good night, and it is not a hello. You only say it to someone who is going to sleep.
| French | Say it like | English | When you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonjour | bon-ZHOOR | Good day / hello | Morning and afternoon, with anyone |
| Bonsoir | bon-SWAHR | Good evening | After the sun goes down |
| Salut | sa-LOO | Hi / bye | Friends only — never the head teacher |
| Au revoir | oh ruh-VWAHR | Goodbye | When you leave |
| À bientôt | ah byan-TOH | See you soon | When you will meet again soon |
| Bonne nuit | bon NWEE | Good night | Only at bedtime |
Uwase meets a new pupil. Watch what she asks:
Uwase : « Comment tu t'appelles ? » (ko-MON tü ta-PELL)
Ishimwe : « Je m'appelle Ishimwe. » (zhuh ma-PELL)
Je m'appelle really means I call myself. So « Je m'appelle Ishimwe » is I call myself Ishimwe — and that is exactly how French people say my name is.
After you learn someone's name, you say Enchanté (on-shon-TAY) — pleased to meet you. A boy writes enchanté; a girl writes enchantée, with two e's. Both are said in exactly the same way, so nobody can hear your spelling!
« Quel âge as-tu ? » (kel AHZH ah tü) means how old are you?
Mugisha is eleven. He answers: « J'ai onze ans. » (zhay onz ON)
Read that again slowly. In English you say I am eleven. In French you say I have eleven years. French people have their age; they are not their age. And you must never drop the word ans (years) — « J'ai onze » on its own means nothing at all.
« Où habites-tu ? » (oo a-BEET tü) means where do you live?
Umutoni lives in Kigali. She answers: « J'habite à Kigali. »
Two small things to notice here. First, je + habite becomes j'habite: French does not like two vowel sounds bumping into each other, so the e of je is pushed out and an apostrophe takes its place. Second, you need the little word à in front of the town: à Kigali, à Musanze, à Rubavu, à Huye.
For a country, à becomes au: « J'habite au Rwanda. »
Keza is going to introduce herself. Let us build it one piece at a time.
Now read the whole thing as one small speech:
« Bonjour ! Je m'appelle Keza. J'ai dix ans. J'habite à Kigali. Enchantée ! »
Five short sentences, and Keza has introduced herself completely. Not one long word anywhere. Say it out loud — then say it again with your name, your age and your town.
« Ça va ? » (sa VA) means how are you? The lovely part is that the answer uses the same two words: « Ça va bien, merci. » — I am fine, thank you.
Tip
The four-step handshake. Whenever you meet someone new, walk through these four steps in your head:
1. Bonjour → 2. Je m'appelle … → 3. J'ai … ans → 4. J'habite à …
Greeting, name, age, home. The same four, every single time. Practise them until they come out without thinking — as easily as your own name in Kinyarwanda.
Say each answer out loud before you look at it.
It is nine o'clock in the morning. You meet your teacher. Greet her in French.
Answer: « Bonjour, madame ! » The sun is still climbing, so bonjour is right. Bonsoir is only for after the sun goes down.
Someone asks you: « Comment tu t'appelles ? » Give your answer.
Answer: « Je m'appelle … » followed by your name. If you are Mutesi: « Je m'appelle Mutesi. »
Byiringiro is 11 years old. Write his answer to « Quel âge as-tu ? »
Answer: « J'ai onze ans. » He HAS eleven years — and the word ans must stay at the end.
Find the mistake: « J'habite Kigali. »
Answer: the little word à is missing. It should be « J'habite à Kigali. »
Introduce yourself completely, out loud, in four sentences.
Answer (for Gatete, aged 10, from Rubavu): « Bonjour ! Je m'appelle Gatete. J'ai dix ans. J'habite à Rubavu. » Now do it again with your own name, age and town.
What you learned today
Quick check
It is eight o'clock in the evening and you meet your neighbour on the road. What do you say?
