Greetings and Introducing Yourself in English
The first phrases you need — how to greet people, introduce yourself, and answer simple questions politely.
Almost every English conversation starts the same way. Learn these few patterns and you can begin talking to people from day one.
Greetings
| Situation | Say |
|---|---|
| Any time, polite | Hello. |
| Friendly, informal | Hi. |
| Morning (before 12) | Good morning. |
| Afternoon (12–18) | Good afternoon. |
| Evening (after 18) | Good evening. |
Use Hello or Good morning with people you don't know — a teacher, a shop assistant, a colleague. Use Hi with friends.
Careful: Good night is not a greeting. It means goodbye when you leave in the evening.
Introducing yourself
- My name is Anna.
- I'm Anna. (more natural in speech)
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you too.
The full exchange sounds like this:
A: Hello, I'm Anna. B: Hi Anna, I'm Pavel. Nice to meet you. A: Nice to meet you too.
Asking simple questions back
Conversations work when you ask something back.
- What's your name?
- Where are you from? — I'm from Poland.
- How are you? — I'm fine, thanks. And you?
How are you? is a greeting, not a real question about your health. The normal answer is short and positive: fine, thanks or good, thanks.
Being polite
Two words do most of the work in English politeness:
- Please — when you ask for something. A coffee, please.
- Thank you / Thanks — when you receive something. Reply: You're welcome.
Adding please turns an order into a request. Without it, Give me a coffee sounds rude.
Saying goodbye
- Goodbye. / Bye. (friendly)
- See you tomorrow. / See you later.
- Have a good day.
Try it yourself
The quiz below puts you in real situations — choose what a polite English speaker would actually say.