Grammar points in this block
Start with two words for people and their matching verb forms. The examples show how to use them to give your name and ask someone theirs.
I and you
ich means “I”; du means “you” when speaking to one person informally. Say ich heiße for “my name is” and du heißt for “your name is”.
Asking someone’s name
Ask Wie heißt du? (“What’s your name?”). Put heißt right after Wie.
Saying hello and asking back
Start with Hallo! (“Hello!”). After giving your name, add Und du? (“And you?”) to ask for the other person’s name.
Understand why the forms change
Read the short explanation, compare the examples, and check the common mistakes. Open the extra detail if you want to understand more.
Saying your name
Quick summary
Use ich heiße to say “my name is” and du heißt to say “your name is”. Add the person’s name to finish the sentence.
Why it matters
Once you know these two forms, you can introduce yourself or talk about someone else’s name. You only need to change the name at the end.
Build the pattern
ich refers to the speaker. Choose heiße, then add a name.
du addresses one person informally. The matching verb form is heißt.
How it works
Ich means “I”. Du means “you” when speaking informally to one person, such as a friend. These words are pronouns: they tell us who we are talking about.
Heißen means “to be called”. Its form changes with the person: use heiße with ich, and heißt with du. For example, Ich heiße Mila means “My name is Mila.” You do not need an extra word for “am”.
To introduce someone with a different name, keep the same pattern: Ich heiße Noah. Add Hallo! (“Hello!”) if you want to greet the person first.
Examples
Common mistakes
Ich heißt Mila.Ich heiße Mila.Choose the verb form for ich, even when the name at the end changes.
Ich bin heiße Mila.Ich heiße Mila.Ich heiße Mila. already means “My name is Mila”. Leave out bin; this sentence only needs one verb.
Limits & exceptions
- You only need these two verb forms for now. You will learn forms for other people later.
- Ich bin Mila. and Mein Name ist Mila. are also correct introductions. If an exercise asks for heißen, use that verb in your answer.
A little deeper
German has other ways to introduce yourself. Ich bin Mila means “I’m Mila”, and Mein Name ist Mila means “My name is Mila”. All three are valid. In this block, exercises ask you to use heißen so you can practise its two forms.
Asking someone’s name
Quick summary
Ask Wie heißt du? to say “What’s your name?” After giving your own name, you can ask Und du? (“And you?”).
Why it matters
You can now start a short conversation: ask for a name, give yours, and ask the same question back.
Build the pattern
Start with Wie, put heißt next, and finish with du.
Use this after giving your name to ask the other person for theirs.
How it works
In Wie heißt du?, the question word Wie comes first, followed by the verb heißt and then du. Learn the whole question as “What’s your name?” rather than translating each English word separately.
Write heißt with no extra s before the t. The base of the verb already ends in an “s” sound, written ß. That is why this form ends in -t rather than the usual -st.
Use du with one person you speak to informally. In a formal conversation, you may hear Wie heißen Sie? instead. You will learn when and how to use Sie in a later block.
After someone asks your name, you can give it and add Und du? For example: Ich heiße Noah. Und du? The other person knows you are asking for their name too.
Examples
Common mistakes
Wie du heißt?Wie heißt du?Put the verb heißt before du when asking this question.
Wie heißst du?Wie heißt du?The stem ends in an s sound, written ß here, so do not add another s before t.
Limits & exceptions
- This word order works for the statements and name question in this block. Other sentence types can use a different order.
- Du addresses one person informally. The formal form Sie uses different verb forms.
- Use Und du? when the other person already knows which question you are asking back. To start the conversation, ask the full name question.
A little deeper
Compare Ich heiße Mila. with Wie heißt du? In both, the verb comes after the first part of the sentence. You may hear this called “verb-second word order”. A sentence part can contain more than one word, so the verb is not always the second written word. Other kinds of questions and longer sentences can use a different order; you will meet those later.
Apply the pattern: a first introduction
Now use the forms in a short exchange. Notice the pronouns, the different forms of heißen, and the position of the verb in the question. The learning app also offers AI-generated recordings. Those recordings are still awaiting pronunciation review.
Hallo! Wie heißt du?
Hello! What's your name?Ich heiße Noah. Und du?
My name is Noah. And you?Ich heiße Mila.
My name is Mila.Practise the grammar with these words
- Choose the verb form that goes with ich, then give your name.
- Change the person to du. Which form of heißen goes with it?
- Make the direct name question with wie. Place the verb immediately after the question word.
- Look away, recall the forms, and check them against the explanation. Return after a break.
A correct guess in a multiple-choice question does not yet mean you can produce a form unaided. The guided block gives you both kinds of practice, followed by a review queue.
Practise this grammar blockFree local pilot. Attempts and review progress stay in this browser.
Sources and review status
This original, AI-assisted lesson draft draws on the language references below. It has not yet been reviewed by a human German-language teacher. Corrections and pronunciation review are part of the publication process.
- Deutsch Online A1: Overview of phrases and grammar, chapter 1 Goethe-Institut
- Verbstellung Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, grammis
- Amtliches Regelwerk: Besonderheiten bei [s] Rat für deutsche Rechtschreibung, hosted by IDS grammis
- May I Say Du to You? Goethe-Institut
- Deutsch Online A1: English glossary, chapters 1–18 Goethe-Institut
- Pronomen Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, grammis
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