How to Introduce Yourself in Hebrew (With Audio Examples)

A reader once told me the first Hebrew conversation she ever had at a café in Jerusalem lasted about seven seconds. "I said shalom. The person said shalom. I panicked. I walked away." We've all been there. Introducing yourself in a new language is one of those small skills that feels huge when you don't have it. Here's the clean, short version of how to introduce yourself in Hebrew, with real phrases you can practice out loud tonight.

Start with shalom

Every Hebrew introduction starts with shalom (שָׁלוֹם), hello. It's the universal greeting, and it works at any time of day and with anyone. You could also say boker tov (בֹּקֶר טוֹב), good morning, in the morning or erev tov (עֶרֶב טוֹב), good evening, in the evening, but shalom covers you in any situation.

Israelis are casual. Don't overthink the greeting.

Say your name

There are two ways to say "my name is" in Hebrew, and both are common:

• Ha-shem sheli [your name] (הַשֵּׁם שֶׁלִּי), my name is. Literally "the name of me is".
• Ani [your name] (אֲנִי), I am. Literally just "I [name]".

In casual conversation, Israelis often just say ani Dani or ani Sarah. Short, direct, and warm. You don't need to use the longer version unless you're in a formal setting.

Ask their name back

After you say your name, the polite thing to do is ask for theirs. Hebrew has gendered forms here, so you'll pick one based on who you're talking to:

• Eich korim lecha? (אֵיךְ קוֹרְאִים לְךָ?), what's your name? (masculine). Literally "how do they call you?"
• Eich korim lach? (אֵיךְ קוֹרְאִים לָךְ?), what's your name? (feminine).

You can also just say ve-ata? (and you? masc) or ve-at? (and you? fem) after introducing yourself, and let the rising tone ask the question. Israelis will understand.

Where are you from?

This is the follow-up question in nine out of ten Israeli introductions. They'll ask you, and you'll want to ask them back.

• Me'ayin ata? (מֵאַיִן אַתָּה?), where are you from? (masc).
• Me'ayin at? (מֵאַיִן אַתְּ?), where are you from? (fem).
• Ani me-[country] (אֲנִי מ-), I'm from [country].

Example: Ani me-Chicago, I'm from Chicago. Ani me-Tzarfat, I'm from France. Ani me-Angliya, I'm from England. Most country names in Hebrew are very close to their English versions, so you can often guess.

Talk about what you do

If the conversation keeps going (and in Israel, it usually does), the next question is often "what do you do?" Here are the patterns:

• Ma ata oseh? (מָה אַתָּה עוֹשֶׂה?), what do you do? (masc, literally "what do you make?")
• Ma at osah? (מָה אַתְּ עוֹשָׂה?), what do you do? (fem).
• Ani more / mora, I'm a teacher (masc / fem).
• Ani student / studentit, I'm a student (masc / fem).
• Ani ovedet ba-hi-tech, I work in tech (fem). Swap "ovedet" for "oved" if you're masculine.

Remember: Hebrew drops "am" and "is", so "I am a teacher" is literally just "I teacher" (ani more).

A sample conversation you can memorize

Here's a complete introduction conversation from start to finish. Practice this out loud until you can do it without looking:

You: shalom! ani [your name].
Them: shalom! ani Dani. naim me'od (nice to meet you).
You: naim me'od. me'ayin ata?
Them: ani mi-Tel Aviv. ve-ata?
You: ani mi-New York. ma ata oseh?
Them: ani more. ve-ata?
You: ani student.

That's a full, natural introduction in about eight short lines. You'll use almost every sentence here on your first day in Israel, and probably every day after.

The one phrase I promise you'll hear

Naim me'od (נָעִים מְאוֹד), nice to meet you. Literally "very pleasant". Israelis say this after names are exchanged, and it's one of the warmest little phrases in Hebrew. Learn it. Use it.

Practice tip: record yourself

Open your phone's voice memo app and record yourself going through the sample conversation above, both sides. Play it back. Notice where you hesitated, where your pronunciation wobbled, where you forgot a word. Do it again tomorrow. Within a week, the whole conversation will flow out of your mouth without you thinking about it.

For audio of these phrases with a native voice, our phrases section includes introductions and common conversation starters with playback. And our topics pages have more vocabulary you can fold into your introductions (jobs, countries, hobbies, family).

Memorize the eight lines above and you're ready for your next Israeli café encounter. You won't freeze after "shalom". You'll actually introduce yourself.