badge How to say
How to say “my name is” in Fon: Nyikɔ ce ɖɔ…
Giving your name is the second thing you do in Benin, right after greeting. Here’s the phrase, the question that goes with it, and what to know before answering.
schedule 5 min
signal_cellular_alt Beginner
1
The phrase
Saying your name
The construction is direct: the name, the possessive, then the verb. Nyikɔ means “name”, and ce marks possession — literally “name-mine”.
Nyikɔ ce nɔ nyi Pierre
My name is Pierre
Nyikɔ ce nɔ nyi …my name is…
Nyikɔ ce nɔ nyi Pierremy name is Pierre
2
The question
Asking someone’s name
The question is built with towe (your, yours) and etɛ́ (what): “your name says what?”. That’s the form you’ll hear, and it’s better to recognize it by ear than to guess it.
Nyikɔ towe nɔ nyi ?
What’s your name?
3
Usage
Greet before giving your name
Introducing yourself without greeting first comes across as abrupt. The expected order is: greeting, news, then name. Three extra seconds that completely change how you’re received.
A fɔn ganjigood morning
Nɛ a ɖe gbɔn ?how are you?
KwabɔWelcome — said by the host to someone arriving
4
Going further
Introducing yourself fully
After the name come your place of origin, your job, where you live — and how to introduce someone else, which follows its own rules. The Parlons Fongbe Academy devotes several lessons of the first chapter to it, with a native speaker from Cotonou: introducing yourself fully, introducing one person, then two, and asking questions about someone.
Chapter 1 is online
14 video lessons on greetings and introductions. The first one is free when you sign up.
The name comes after the greeting
A short phrase, a question to recognize, and the order to follow: that’s all you need to introduce yourself properly.
à ≠ ǎ
One tone, and everything changes
Parlons Fongbe Academy
The full course
Reading these words isn’t enough. You have to hear them.
In Fon, the pitch of your voice changes the meaning: à asks a question, ǎ says no. The Academy explains 818 forms, one by one, carried by a native voice — never a word without its meaning.
79 video lessons Native speaker from Cotonou Lifetime access, one payment
Access the course
Site offer · 80 000 instead of50,000 FCFA
One free trial lesson when you sign up.
Go further
- Fon vocabulary: 102 essential words — by theme, checked against the course
- The Fon video course: see the program — 79 lessons with a native speaker from Cotonou, taught in French
- What is your Fon level? — the free 15-question test