The French sentence "Comment vous appelez-vous"

Get ready to learn all the things you ever wanted to know about the basic phrase “Comment vous appelez-vous”.

Are included a full definition of what it is and how you can use it in everyday life with an audio example. Not to mention the cool informations we added like dialogue example, slow pronunciation audio and more!

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English translation

Pronunciation example

Slow pronunciation

Normal pronunciation

What does it mean exactly?

Definition

“Comment vous appelez-vous ?” is a formal way to ask “What’s your name?” in French.

How to use it

In French, there are many ways to say “What’s your name“. So, if someone asks you one of these:

Then you can answer :

  • Jean Dupont → Jean Dupont
  • Je m’appelle Jean Dupont → My name is Jean Dupont
  • Mon nom est Jean Dupont → My name is Jean Dupont
  • Je suis Jean Dupont → I am Jean Dupont

And if instead of “Nom” (Name) we asked you specifically for your “Prénom” (First name):

  • Jean → Jean
  • Je m’appelle Jean→ My (first) name is Jean
  • Mon prénom est Jean→ My first name is Jean
  • Je suis Jean → I am Jean

Finally, if we asked you specifically for your “Nom de famille” (Last name / Surname):

  • Dupont → Dupont
  • Je m’appelle Dupont→ My (last) name is Dupont
  • Mon nom de famille est Dupont→ My last name is Dupont

Example in a story with translation

Now, let’s see a complete example of this idiom in a story with slow French audio and the English translation below.
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Réserver une chambre d'hôtel
To book a hotel room
___
Receptionist:   Hôtel du Palais à Biarritz, bonjour. Comment puis-je vous aider ?
Hôtel du Palais in Biarritz, hello. How can I help you?
Rémi:   Bonjour ! J’aimerais faire une réservation pour ce week-end. Du 21 au 23 juillet.
Hello! I would like to make a reservation for this weekend. From July 21 to 23.
Receptionist:   Bien sûr, laissez-moi vérifier si nous avons des chambres disponibles pour cette période.
Sure, let me check if we have rooms available for this period.
Rémi:   D’accord.
All right.
Receptionist:   Avez-vous besoin d’une chambre avec un ou deux lits ?
Do you need a room with one or two beds?
Rémi:   Je vais venir avec ma femme, alors un lit pour deux suffirait.
I’ll be coming with my wife, so a double bed would be enough.
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