How to ask about identity in Spanish
What do you call yourself?
When students learn English we normally teach them "What is your name? My name is John" on the first lesson.
In Spanish this would be "¿cómo te llamas? Me llamo John"
The trouble is that the grammar of this sentence in Spanish is complicated for a beginner because we are asking "What do you call yourself? I call myself John
When I first learnt Spanish I misunderstood this and it lead me to say ridiculous things such as ¿qué es tu llama? (this actually means What is your flame?)
To properly understand the grammar of "¿como te llamas?" you need to look at this page on reflexive verbs.
See below for examples of the verb "llamarse" (to be called)
| Question | Answer | pregunta. | Respuesta |
| What is my name? | My name is John | ¿cómo me llamo? | Me llamo John |
| What is your name? | My name is John. | ¿cómo te llamas? | Me llamo John |
| What is her name? | Her name is Jane. | ¿cómo se llama? | Se llama Jane |
| What is his name? | His name is Trevor | ¿cómo se llama? | Se llama Trevor |
| What is its name? | Its name is Rover | ¿cómo se llama? | Se llama Rover |
| What are our names? | Our names are Brian and Susan | ¿cómo nos llamamos? | Nos llamamos Brian y Susan |
| What is your name? | Our name is Microsoft | ¿cómo os llamais? | Nos llamamos Microsoft |
| What are their names? | Their names are Frank and Tony | ¿cómo se llaman? | se llaman Frank y Tony |
Some examples using "llamarse" (to be called) |
|
| English | Spanish |
| Do you know why Google is called Google? |
¿Sabes por qué Google se llama Google? |
| From the comet to the meteorite, what are space rocks called. | Del cometa al meteorito, ¿cómo se llaman las rocas espaciales? |
| I don't know what it is called |
no sé cómo se llama |
| she is called the same as her mother | se llama igual que su madre |
| What do you call sentences that read the same way either forwards or backwards? They are called palindromes. |
¿como se llaman las frases que se leen igual hacia adelante que hacia atrás?
Se llaman palíndromos |
| What name will I give my baby? I am am undecided, my daughter will be called Gala or Martina and my son Erik, Unai or Jon |
¿Qué nombre le pongo a mi bebé?
Estoy indecisa, mi hija se llamará Gala o Martina y mi hijo Erik, Unai o Jon |