Introductions

Telling someone your name is the easy part. The questions that follow it are where conventions diverge from English.

An introduction in Arabic is rarely a single sentence. It is a small choreography: a greeting, the names, a short formula of pleasure at meeting, and then a round of questions about origin, work, and family that an English speaker might consider too personal for a first encounter. None of those questions is rude in Arabic; treating them as if they were is the surer way to give offence. "Where are you from?" asked in the first minute is an invitation, not an interrogation.

The register depends on the setting. In a meeting or with someone older, MSA forms and the more formal pleasantries (tasharrafnaa, furSa saʿiida) are appropriate. With peers, the dialect is the right register. The phrases below are grouped by register, but the structure of an introduction — name, then origin, then profession, with at least one religious tag tucked in somewhere — is consistent across the Arab world.

Name

My name is…

اسمي… ismii…

MSA and used unchanged across dialects. The -ii ending is the possessive "my."

What's your name? (m. / f.)

ما اسمك؟ / ما اسمكِ؟ maa smuk / maa smuki

MSA, formal. In dialect, the colloquial forms below are far more common.

What's your name? (Egyptian)

إيه اسمك؟ / إيه اسمِك؟ eeh ismak? / eeh ismik?

What's your name? (Levantine)

شو اسمك؟ shuu ismak / ismik?

What's your name? (Gulf)

شو اسمك؟ / شاسمك؟ shu smak? / shasmak?

Pleased to meet you

Pleased to meet you (formal)

تشرّفنا tasharrafnaa

"We have been honoured." Used in formal introductions, in business, with elders. The reply is al-sharaf lii ("the honour is mine") or simply tasharrafnaa back.

Pleased to meet you (lighter)

فرصة سعيدة furSa saʿiida

"A happy occasion." Less formal than tasharrafnaa but still polite. Reply: anaa as-aʿad ("I am happier") or wa-anaa kadhaalik ("and I likewise").

Pleased to meet you (casual)

تشرّفت / تشرّفت بمعرفتك tasharraft / tasharraft bi-maʿrifatak

Where are you from?

The MSA form is min ayna anta? — full and grammatical, but rarely heard outside formal contexts. Each dialect has its own contraction, and the question word for "where" varies more than almost anything else in spoken Arabic.

Where are you from? (MSA)

من أين أنت؟ min ayna anta? / anti?

Where are you from? (Egyptian)

إنت منين؟ enta minayn? / enti minayn?

Where are you from? (Levantine)

من وين إنت؟ min wayn inta? / inti?

Where are you from? (Gulf)

من وين إنت؟ / إنت من وين؟ min wayn inta / inti?

Where are you from? (Maghrebi)

منين إنت؟ mnayn nta / nti?

I'm from…

أنا من… anaa min…

Country names: amriika, kanada, briiTaaniyaa, al-mamlaka l-muttaHida, usturaaliyaa, almaaniyaa, faransa.

Profession and work

What do you do? (work)

شو شغلك؟ / إيه شغلك؟ shuu shughlak? (Lev.) / eeh shughlak? (Eg.)

I work as…

أنا أشتغل… anaa ashtaghil…

I'm a teacher / engineer / doctor / student

أنا مدرّس / مهندس / طبيب / طالب anaa mudarris / muhandis / Tabiib / Taalib

Feminine forms add -a: mudarrisa, muhandisa, Tabiiba, Taaliba. Getting the gender right matters here.

I'm retired

أنا متقاعد / متقاعدة anaa mutaqaaʿid / mutaqaaʿida

Age and family

Asking age is normal in Arabic in a way it is not in English. So is asking whether you are married and whether you have children. These are not invasive questions in context — they are the standard scaffolding of a getting-to-know-you conversation, and a no-children answer rarely draws follow-up beyond a polite in shaa' Allaah.

How old are you?

كم عمرك؟ kam ʿumrak / ʿumrik?

I'm [thirty] years old

عمري [ثلاثين] سنة ʿumrii [thalaathiin] sana

For numbers and the agreement quirks that come with them, see numbers, days, and time.

Are you married? (m. / f.)

إنت متزوّج؟ / متزوّجة؟ inta mitzawwij? / inti mitzawwija?

Yes, I'm married

نعم، أنا متزوّج / متزوّجة naʿam, anaa mitzawwij / mitzawwija

No, I'm not married

لا، أنا أعزب / عزباء laa, anaa aʿzab / ʿazbaa'

A common follow-up is in shaa' Allaah qariib ("God willing, soon"). It is not pressure; it is the polite verbal pattern. A smile is a sufficient reply.

Do you have children?

عندك أولاد؟ ʿindak / ʿindik awlaad?

I have one son and a daughter

عندي ولد وبنت ʿindii walad wa-bint

Languages

Do you speak English?

بتحكي إنجليزي؟ btiHkii ingliizii? (Lev.) / bititkallim ingliizii? (Eg.)

I'm learning Arabic

أنا بتعلّم عربي anaa batʿallam ʿarabii

Almost guaranteed to be met with maa shaa' Allaah and a few minutes of patient encouragement. Use it as a get-out: it tells the listener to slow down.

I speak a little Arabic

بتكلّم عربي شويّة batkallam ʿarabii shwayya

I don't understand

ما فهمت / مش فاهم maa fhimt / mish faahim (m.) / faahma (f.)

Can you repeat that, please?

ممكن تعيد من فضلك؟ mumkin tʿiid min faDlak?

Common mistakes

Reading "where are you from" as a probe. It isn't. Answering briefly and bouncing the question back is the natural move; refusing to answer reads as cold.
Using a feminine profession for a man (or vice versa). anaa Tabiiba from a man is immediately wrong. The -a ending is small but always significant.
Skipping the religious tags. A first introduction usually contains at least one al-Hamdu lillaah or in shaa' Allaah, regardless of the speakers' beliefs. They are conversational lubricant, not theological claims.
Translating "I am American" as anaa amriikii when you mean it as a passing remark. The form is correct, but Arab speakers often locate themselves by city or region first ("I'm from Damascus") and only then by country. A city answer reads as more specific and personal.