How To Introduce Yourself in Spanish (Presentarse) With Confidence

Introducing yourself in Spanish is more than just Hola, me llamo… and hoping for the best. A good presentación personal /pɾe.sen.taˈθjon peɾ.soˈnal, pɾe.sen.taˈsjon peɾ.soˈnal/ — personal introduction — lets you say who you are, where you’re from, what you do, and even what you like, without your brain freezing halfway through.

By the end of this guide, you’ll be able to:

Start a conversation politely
Say your name, origin, age, job, hobbies, and languages
Adjust for formal vs informal situations
Ask the other person about themselves (so you’re not giving a weird solo speech)

All in simple, copy-paste-ready chunks you can actually remember.

Quick Primer: Core Building Blocks

Here are the essential phrases you’ll use in almost every self-introduction.

Two key “you” forms:

tú /tu/ — informal “you”
usted /usˈteð/ — formal “you”

Your whole intro will bend around which one you choose.

First Contact: Greetings + Name

The simplest, most universal pattern:

Hola, me llamo… /ˈo.la me ˈʝa.mo/ — Hi, my name is…
Hola, soy… /ˈo.la soj/ — Hi, I’m…

To keep it friendly, add a “nice to meet you”:

Example mini-intro:

Hola, me llamo Laura. Mucho gusto.
/ˈo.la me ˈʝa.mo ˈlau.ɾa ˈmu.tʃo ˈɡus.to/
Hi, my name is Laura. Nice to meet you.

Sharing Basic Info: Where You’re From, Age, and Residence

After your name, Spanish intros usually go straight into origin, age, and where you live.

Origin: Where You’re From

Pattern:

Soy de + país/ciudad /soj de/ — I’m from + country/city

Where You Live Now

Pattern:

Vivo en + ciudad/país /ˈbi.βo en/ — I live in …

You can combine:

Soy de Chile, pero vivo en Canadá.
/soj de ˈtʃi.le ˈpe.ɾo ˈbi.βo en kanaˈða/
I’m from Chile, but I live in Canada.

Age: How Old You Are

Age uses tener /teˈneɾ/ — to have:

Pattern:

Tengo + número + años /ˈten.ɡo … ˈa.ɲos/

Tiny reminder: never use soy 20 años. Spanish ears will scream internally.

Putting It Together

Hola, me llamo Diego. Soy de Colombia, vivo en Barcelona y tengo 27 años.
/ˈo.la me ˈʝa.mo ˈdje.ɣo soj de koˈlom.bja ˈbi.βo en baɾθeˈlo.na, baɾseˈlo.na i ˈten.ɡo be.in.te ˈsjete ˈa.ɲos/
Hi, my name is Diego. I’m from Colombia, I live in Barcelona, and I’m 27 years old.

Talking About Your Job, Studies, and What You Do

Next layer: what you do with your life (no pressure).

Profession or Studies

Patterns:

Soy + profesión /soj/ — I am a …
Trabajo como + profesión /tɾaˈβa.xo ˈko.mo/ — I work as …

You can also mention your field:

Estudio medicina. /esˈtu.ðjo me.ðiˈsi.na/ — I study medicine.
Trabajo en marketing. /tɾaˈβa.xo en ˈmaɾ.ke.tin/ — I work in marketing.

Adding a Bit of Personality: Interests and Hobbies

Pattern:

Me gusta… /me ˈɣus.ta/ — I like…
Me encanta… /me enˈkan.ta/ — I love…

Talking About Languages

Example fuller intro:

Hola, soy Marta. Soy de Perú, vivo en Lima y tengo 30 años. Soy arquitecta y en mi tiempo libre me gusta viajar y leer. Hablo español e inglés.
/ˈo.la soj ˈmaɾ.ta soj de peˈɾu ˈbi.βo en ˈli.ma i ˈten.ɡo ˈtɾen.ta ˈa.ɲos soj aɾ.kiˈtek.ta i en mi ˈtjem.po ˈli.βɾe me ˈɣus.ta bjaˈxaɾ i leˈeɾ ˈa.βlo es.paˈɲol e iŋˈgles/

Asking About The Other Person

You don’t want to give a TED Talk about yourself; you want a conversation. These are the key questions.

Nice little follow-ups:

¿Y tú? /i ˈtu/ — And you? (informal)
¿Y usted? /i usˈteð/ — And you? (formal)

Example:

Soy de México. ¿Y tú?
/soj de ˈme.xi.ko i ˈtu/
I’m from Mexico. And you?

Formal vs Informal Self-Introductions

Informal (Friends, Classmates, Parties)

Questions to use:

¿Cómo te llamas? /ˈko.mo te ˈʝa.mas/
¿De dónde eres? /de ˈðon.de ˈe.ɾes/

Formal (Job Interviews, Emails, Professional Events)

Spanish | IPA | English
Buenas tardes, me llamo Carlos Pérez. | /ˈbwe.nas ˈtaɾ.ðes me ˈʝa.mo ˈkaɾ.los ˈpe.ɾes/ | Good afternoon, my name is Carlos Pérez.
Soy ingeniero de software y trabajo en una empresa internacional. | /soj iŋ.xeˈnje.ɾo ðe ˈsof.tweɾ i tɾaˈβa.xo en ˈu.na emˈpɾe.sa inteɾ.na.sjoˈnal/ | I’m a software engineer and I work at an international company.
Soy de Chile, pero actualmente vivo en Barcelona. | /soj de ˈtʃi.le ˈpe.ɾo ak.tu.alˈmen.te ˈbi.βo en baɾseˈlo.na/ | I’m from Chile, but I currently live in Barcelona.

If you need extra formal:

Mucho gusto en conocerle. /ˈmu.tʃo ˈɡus.to en ko.noˈseɾ.le/ — It’s a pleasure to meet you.
Encantado de conocerla. /en.kanˈta.ðo ðe ko.noˈseɾ.la/ — Pleased to meet you. (to a woman)

Region Notes

Latin America:

Usted is common in formal situations and, in some countries, even with older relatives or strangers in everyday life.
You’ll hear a lot of Mucho gusto and Encantado/Encantada on first meeting.

Spain:

Among young people, tú is common even in relatively neutral contexts.
In more formal settings (job interviews, older people, customer service), usted is still used, but less than in many Latin American countries.

Good rule: if in doubt, start formal (usted) and switch to tú if the other person does or invites you to.

Mini Dialogues

Dialogue 1: Informal First Meeting

¡Hola!
/ˈo.la/
Hi!

Hola, ¿cómo te llamas?
/ˈo.la ˈko.mo te ˈʝa.mas/
Hi, what’s your name?

Me llamo Tom. ¿Y tú?
/me ˈʝa.mo tom i ˈtu/
My name is Tom. And you?

Yo soy Lucía. Mucho gusto.
/ʝo soj luˈsi.a ˈmu.tʃo ˈɡus.to/
I’m Lucía. Nice to meet you.

Dialogue 2: Adding Age and Origin

¿De dónde eres, Tom?
/de ˈðon.de ˈe.ɾes tom/
Where are you from, Tom?

Soy de Estados Unidos, pero vivo en México. Tengo 25 años.
/soj de esˈta.ðos uˈni.ðos ˈpe.ɾo ˈbi.βo en ˈme.xi.ko ˈten.ɡo be.in.tiˈsin.ko ˈa.ɲos/
I’m from the United States, but I live in Mexico. I’m 25 years old.

¡Qué bien! Yo soy de Guadalajara.
/ke ˈbjen ʝo soj ðe ɣwaða.laˈxa.ɾa/
That’s great! I’m from Guadalajara.

Dialogue 3: More Formal Setting

Buenas tardes, me llamo Laura Gómez.
/ˈbwe.nas ˈtaɾ.ðes me ˈʝa.mo ˈlau.ɾa ˈɣo.mes/
Good afternoon, my name is Laura Gómez.

Mucho gusto, soy el doctor Ramírez. ¿De dónde es usted?
/ˈmu.tʃo ˈɡus.to soj el ðokˈtoɾ raˈmi.ɾes de ˈðon.de es usˈteð/
Nice to meet you, I’m Dr. Ramírez. Where are you from?

Soy de Argentina, pero vivo en Madrid desde hace dos años.
/soj de aɾ.xenˈti.na ˈpe.ɾo ˈbi.βo en maˈðɾið ˈdes.de ˈa.se dos ˈa.ɲos/
I’m from Argentina, but I’ve been living in Madrid for two years.

Encantado de conocerla.
/en.kanˈta.ðo ðe ko.noˈseɾ.la/
Pleased to meet you.

Quick Reference: Self-Introduction Phrases

Five-Minute Practice Plan

Write your script.
In Spanish, write a 4–6 sentence self-introduction: name, origin, residence, age, job/studies, one hobby.
Record a 20-second intro.
Read your script aloud and record yourself. Listen back and check: are you saying tengo … años (not soy … años)?
Create two versions.
One informal (with tú questions) and one formal (with usted). Practice switching the pronouns and verb forms.
Question swap.
Write three questions you would ask someone you just met: name, origin, job. Practice them with ¿y tú? / ¿y usted? at the end.
Shadow a dialogue.
Choose one mini dialogue above and “shadow” it: listen to yourself reading it and try to match rhythm and intonation.
Speed challenge.
Say your whole intro in under 15 seconds, then again more slowly but clearly. You want both speed and clarity in your toolkit.

Yak-Style Closing Spark

Once you can introduce yourself smoothly in Spanish, you stop being “the silent person at the table” and start being a real human with a name, a story, and opinions about tacos vs. empanadas. Keep tweaking your introduction as your Spanish grows—new hobbies, new cities, new jobs—and soon presenting yourself will feel as natural as saying hola.