How to Introduce Yourself in Samoan

The Samoan phrase for introducing yourself is: fa’ailoa atu a’u, which literally means to make myself known.

In this lesson you’ll learn to put together a simple introduction for yourself in the Samoan language and then we’ll talk about what it is that most Samoans really want to know when they first meet someone new.

A Simple Introduction in Samoan

A simple introduction in any culture might include essential information like:

• your name
• where you’re from
• who your parents are
• what you like to do

For example, you might introduce yourself in Samoan like this:

* Note: Samoans say aisa (ice) kurimi / kulimi (cream) to mean icecream, but in practice, it always sounds more like ‘asi‘ rather than aisa, so either spelling – aisakulimi or asikulimi – is generally acceptable. 

Let’s break that Samoan introduction down:

But what do Samoans really want to know about you?

We’ve talked (above) about giving a simple introduction that is standard in any culture, but when you’re meeting Samoans for the first time, what do they REALLY want to know about you?

Of course everybody is different but in general, Samoans – especially our more SAMOAN Samoans – want to know three things. And they’ll probably ask you straight.

And you know why these questions are so important to us?

Because when Samoans meet someone new, they’re always trying to find out if and how we are all connected to each other.

This next video will help you know how to answer these questions:

A Cultural Note on Meeting People

Culturally, we Samoans are not reeeally into talking about ourselves. In fact, it’s more appropriate – and more comfortable – for us to offer attention and even veneration to the person we are meeting for the first time.

It’s also a source of pride (and power) to know as much as possible about that other person. Imagine meeting a potential enemy for the first time, and you already know more about his or her family and village than that person knows about you.

Mhmmm… But that’s another story.

The point is that it’s very ‘Samoan’ to focus our attention and respect towards other people, and to deflect it from ourselves. The language we choose in these interactions should reflect that – we always use more respectful words to refer to the other person, and normal words for ourselves. 

For example, to tell you my name, I would say, ‘O lo’u igoa o…‘ – which are normal words. But if I want to know your name, I would ask, ‘O ai lou suafa?‘

Suafa is the respectful word for ‘name’. We would never use suafa to refer to our own names.

Your Turn

In the comments below, write a simple introduction for yourself in Samoan using the prompts above.

If you’d like to add other information about yourself in your introduction and you’re not sure how in Samoan, let us know what you’re trying to say and we’ll help you.