Prepare three useful lines, not a life story

A first introduction does not need your age, job title, family history, and a perfect accent. Start with a greeting, your name, and one detail you are comfortable sharing. Then leave space for the other person to respond.

This guide uses polite everyday Korean, suitable as a starting point when meeting an adult you do not know well. A job interview or formal presentation may call for a more formal style. A close friend may use casual speech, but someone being younger does not automatically make casual speech the right choice.

The names and conversations below are invented practice examples. Replace the details with your own rather than memorising a biography that is not yours.

Your first three-line introduction

저 is the humble first-person word “I.” In 저는, 는 marks it as the topic: you are starting to talk about yourself. You do not need to explain the particle in conversation; learn 저는 as a useful opening chunk for now.

리나 is followed by 예요 because its Korean spelling ends in a vowel. With a final consonant, the everyday pattern uses 이에요: 저는 벤이에요, “I’m Ben.” The decision follows the Korean spelling, not whether the English name ends in a written vowel.

For the examples, a temporary reading aid is jeoneun Rina-yeyo and jeoneun Ben-ieyo. Hyphens show the learning pieces here. They are not a rule for writing the Korean sentence. Read and listen to the Hangul as soon as you can.

Say your name clearly and naturally

You can also say 제 이름은 리나예요: “My name is Rina.” 제 means “my” in this polite style, and 이름 means “name.” This is useful when the conversation is specifically about names. In a quick introduction, 저는 리나예요 is shorter.

You do not need to create a Korean name to study Korean. If you are unsure how to write your existing name in Hangul, check with a knowledgeable speaker instead of assuming every name has one exact transliteration. At a hotel or when a spelling matters, showing the written name can be more useful than repeating it faster.

Do not add 씨 or 님 to your own name as a way of sounding polite. Those are forms of address used for other people in particular relationships. The polite sentence ending already does the work in this introduction.

Choose one detail to add

Place + 에서 왔어요 literally describes having come from a place; in an introduction it is a common way to say where you are from. It does not by itself give a complete account of nationality, citizenship, or family background. Choose the detail that actually answers the conversation.

You can leave 저는 out of later sentences when it is already clear you are talking about yourself. That does not mean Korean never uses subjects. It means repeating “I” in every short sentence is often unnecessary in a clear context.

Give the other person a turn

저도 means “me too” or “I also,” with the rest supplied by context. Here it makes a simple response to the greeting. The example is a learning conversation, so it keeps the turns short. Real conversations may skip a line, include a question, or change the order.

If you miss a reply, try 다시 말해 주세요, “Please say it again,” or 천천히 말해 주세요, “Please speak slowly.” It is more helpful to ask for a slower turn than to pretend you understood. These phrases request an action; they are different from simply adding an English-style “please” to every sentence.

Make an introduction that belongs to you

Say your introduction once while reading, once while looking only at three English prompts, and once from memory. Record it privately if that helps you notice a missing word. This website does not upload or assess your recording. For the next step, read how the sentence pieces fit together.

A small listening check

Reference and listening

The examples and practice tasks in this guide were written for Korean With a Local. For reference and further study:

• KoreanClass101: introducing yourself — Explanation of different introduction endings; some materials require an account.
• National Institute of Korean Language: 이에요 and 예요 — Spelling guidance in Korean; this lesson explains the beginner pattern in English.

Reviewed September 3, 2026. Found a mistake? Send a correction.