One of the most basic conversations to master when you first learn Spanish is how to introduce yourself.  After you have greeted a new acquaintance for the first time, it is common that they will ask you for your name.  In an interaction with a stranger, it is usually acceptable to use the usted (Ud.) form, but you may feel comfortable using tu if you are speaking with someone who seems to be your age or younger.  Sometimes you will be able to pick up cues from the person you are talking with.  If you start the conversation using usted and they use tu it will probably be appropriate for you to use tu as well.

Depending on the formality of the situation where you are doing your meeting and greeting, your new acquaintance will either ask you:

¿Cómo se llama? (formal)

¿Cúal es tu nombre?- What?s your name? (informal)

¿Cómo te llamas? (informal)

¿Cúal es su nombre?- What?s your name? (formal)

Your response could be one of these options:

Me llamo Bob- My name is Bob.

Mi nombre es Bob- My name is Bob.

¿Y Ud.?- And yours? (formal)

¿Y tú? And yours? (informal)

Your new conversation partner will respond in kind with his or her name and either a handshake or a kiss on the cheek depending on which country you are in, gender and the situation.  In many Spanish-speaking countries, women kiss each other on the cheek and men shake hands when they meet.  Interactions between the genders are usually kisses on the cheek as well.  To be polite, you can then say:

Mucho gusto- Nice to meet you

Es un gusto conocerte- It?s a pleasure to meet you.

They might say ?igualmente? here, which means ?equally?.  This is the same as saying ?same here? or ?the pleasure is all mine? in English.

If the conversation is still moving along, you can always ask them where they are from by saying:

¿De dónde eres?- Where are you from? (informal)

¿De dónde es Usted?- Where are you from? (formal)

Books will teach you that they answer to this question is:

Yo soy de Costa Rica.- I am from Costa Rica.

However, real life conversations are usually much less formal and your conversation partner will probably just respond by saying the name of the place they are from, or by saying ?De Costa Rica?.  Most people won’t bother with the ?yo soy? part because it is already understood that they are talking about themselves.

You can practice the following informal Spanish conversation with a partner:

A. Hola. Me llamo Rita.  ¿Cómo te llamas?

B. Mi nombre es Marcel.  Mucho gusto.

A. Igualmente.  ¿De dónde eres?

B. Chile. ¿Y tú?

A. De Costa Rica.

If you are learning Spanish for business or you are anticipating more formal conversations with people you meet, the more formal version of this interaction is:

A. ¿Cómo se llama Usted?

B. Me llamo Marcel. ¿Y tú?

A. Rita

B. Encantado.

A. Igualmente.

B. ¿De dónde es Usted?

A. De Chile.  ¿Y Usted?

B. Costa Rica.

The differences between tu and usted can seem very tricky at first.  You might slip up a few times and use the wrong form when you are first learning Spanish.  This is ok.  Most native Spanish speakers are very gracious and they will realize that you are a beginner.  In many occasions it is not terribly important which form you use and you should not offend someone beyond repair if you choose the wrong one.  The most important situation to remember to use usted is when you are speaking Spanish for business.  You want to show respect to your colleagues and business partners so play it safe and use the usted form unless they ask you to use tu.

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