How to Say Where You're From

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Chinese by ChineseClass101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to say where you're from in Chinese.

For example, "I'm an American." is

我是美国人。(Wǒ shì Měiguó rén.)

Two passengers, Anna Xu and Zheng Zhu , are seated next to each other on a plane to China.

Before you hear their conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

人 (rén)

"person"

人

哪里 (nǎlǐ)

"where"

哪里

Listen to the conversation, and focus on Anna’s response.

Ready?

你是哪里人？(Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?)

我是美国人。(Wǒ shì Měiguó rén.)

Once more with the English translation.

你是哪里人？(Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?)

“Where are you from?”

我是美国人。(Wǒ shì Měiguó rén.)

“I'm an American.”

Let’s break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Zheng Zhu asks,

"Where are you from?"

你是哪里人？(Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?)

First is 你 (nǐ), "you." 你 . 你.

Next is 是 (shì). Here, it’s like the “are” in "you are." 是 . 是.

Together, 你是 (nǐ shì). "You are." 你是.

Next is 哪里 (nǎlǐ), "where." 哪里 . 哪里.

Pronunciation note: when there are two third tones in a row, the first one changes to the second tone. Listen to the pronunciation again. 哪里 (nǎlǐ). 哪里 (nǎlǐ).

The pronunciation differs from the pinyin, where you will still see two third tones.

After this, 人 (rén). "Person." 人 . 人.

Together, 哪里人 (nǎlǐ rén) literally means "where person." 哪里人.

All together, it's 你是哪里人？ (Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?) Literally "You are where person?" But it translates as "Where are you from?"

你是哪里人？(Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?)

Remember this question. You'll hear it again later in the lesson.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Anna Xu says,

"I'm an American."

我是美国人。(Wǒ shì Měiguó rén.)

First is 我, "I." 我 (Wǒ) . 我.

Next is 是 (shì). Here, it’s like the "am" in "I am." 是.

Together, 我是 (Wǒ shì). "I am." 我是.

Next is 美国 (Měiguó), which literally means "beautiful country," but it translates as "the United States of America." 美国 . 美国.

Last is 人 (rén), "person." 人 . 人.

Together, 美国人 (Měiguó rén) literally means "United States of America person" or "an American." 美国人.

Note: 美国人 (Měiguó rén) is a noun, not an adjective.

All together, 我是美国人。 (Wǒ shì Měiguó rén), “I’m an American."

我是美国人。(Wǒ shì Měiguó rén.)

The key pattern is

我是 (Wǒ shì) {home country} 人 (rén).

I’m a {home country} person.

我是 (Wǒ shì) {home country} 人 (rén).

To use this pattern, simply replace the {home country} placeholder with the name of your country.

Imagine you’re from Australia. In Chinese, 澳大利亚 (Aòdàlìyà). 澳大利亚 . 澳大利亚.

Say

"I’m Australian."

Ready?

我是澳大利亚人。 (Wǒ shì Aòdàlìyà rén.)

"I’m Australian."

我是澳大利亚人。

Again, the key pattern is

我是 (Wǒ shì) {home country} 人 (rén).

I’m a {home country} person.

我是 (Wǒ shì) {home country} 人 (rén).

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speaker.

我是美国人。 (Wǒ shì Měiguó rén.)

“I'm American.”

我是美国人。

我是中国人。 (Wǒ shì Zhōngguó rén.)

“I'm Chinese.”

我是中国人。

我是澳大利亚人。 (Wǒ shì Aòdàlìyà rén.)

“I'm Australian.”

我是澳大利亚人。

我是加拿大人。 (Wǒ shì Jiānádà rén.)

“I'm Canadian.”

我是加拿大人。

我是英国人。 (Wǒ shì Yīngguó rén.)

“I'm British.”

我是英国人.。

我是武汉人。(Wǒ shì Wǔhàn rén.)

“I’m a Wuhan person”

我是武汉人。

Did you notice how the last speaker used a city name in place of a country name?

我是武汉人。(Wǒ shì Wǔhàn rén.) “I’m a Wuhan person.” 我是武汉人。

The last speaker used a city name, 武汉 (Wǔhàn), "Wuhan," in place of a country name, 中国 (Zhōngguó). "China."

武汉. “Wuhan.” 武汉 (Wǔhàn). 武汉.

You can use this response to answer the question, 你是哪里人？(Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?)

The key word in the question is 哪里 (nǎlǐ), "where." In addition to countries, it can refer to any place, including cities and towns.

This pattern is

我是 {hometown} 人。

"I'm a {hometown} person."

我是 {hometown} 人。

You should be aware of this pattern, but for this lesson, we’ll use the pattern

我是 (Wǒ shì) {home country} 人 (rén).

I’m a {home country} person.

我是 (Wǒ shì) {home country} 人 (rén).

Let's review the key vocabulary.

中国人. (Zhōngguó rén).

"Chinese person."

中国人 .

中国人.

英国人. (Yīngguó rén.)

"British person."

英国人 .

英国人.

加拿大人. (Jiānádà rén.)

“Canadian person.”

加拿大人 .

加拿大人.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "United States of America"?

美国 (Měiguó)

And how to say "person"?

人 (rén)

Do you remember how to say "an American"?

美国人 (Měiguó rén)

And how to say "I"?

我 (Wǒ)

Do you remember how Anna says,

"I'm an American."

我是美国人。(Wǒ shì Měiguó rén.)

Do you remember how to say "you"?

你 (nǐ)

And how to say "where"?

哪里 (nǎlǐ)

Do you remember how Zheng Zhu asks,

"Where are you from?"

你是哪里人？(Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?)

Do you remember how to say "British person?"

英国人 (Yīngguó rén.)

And how to say “Chinese person”?

中国人 (Zhōngguó rén)

Let's practice.

Imagine you’re Jack Jones from the United Kingdom, or 英国 (Yīngguó) in Chinese.

Respond to Zheng Zhu ’s question.

Ready?

你是哪里人？(Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?)

我是英国人。(Wǒ shì Yīngguó rén.)

Listen again and repeat.

我是英国人。

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're Mia Martin from Australia, or 澳大利亚 (Aòdàlìyà) in Chinese.

Ready?

你是哪里人？(Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?)

我是澳大利亚人。(Wǒ shì Aòdàlìyà rén.)

Listen again and repeat.

我是澳大利亚人。

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Yinru Li from China, 中国 (Zhōngguó).

Ready?

你是哪里人？(Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?)

我是中国人。(Wǒ shì Zhōngguó rén.)

Listen again and repeat.

我是中国人。

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about where you’re from in Chinese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of introducing yourself. Let’s review.

Do you remember how Anna Xu says,

"I'm Anna Xu."

我叫许安娜。(Wǒ jiào Xǔ Ānnà.)

And do you remember how Anna Xu says

"Hello. My name is Anna Xu. Pleased to meet you."

你好。我叫许安娜。很高兴认识你。(Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Xǔ Ānnà. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

Do you remember how to say "person"?

人 (rén)

And do you remember how Anna Xu says,

"I’m American."

我是美国人。(Wǒ shì Měiguó rén.)

Do you remember how to say "where"?

哪里 (nǎlǐ)

Do you remember how Zheng Zhu asks,

"Where are you from?"

你是哪里人？(Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?)

Imagine you're Jack Jones , from London, and your home country is England.

Do you know how to pronounce "Jack Jones" in Chinese?

杰克琼斯 (Jiékè Qióngsī)

Respond to Zheng Zhu 's self-introduction and follow-up questions.

Ready?

你好。我叫朱正。很高兴认识你。 (Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Zhū Zhèng. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

你好。我叫杰克琼斯。很高兴认识你。 (Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Jiékè Qióngsī. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

Listen again, and repeat.

你好。我叫杰克琼斯。很高兴认识你。 (Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Jiékè Qióngsī. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

And do you remember how to say "England" in Chinese?

英国 (Yīngguó)

Now respond that you’re English.

你是哪里人？ (Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?)

我是英国人。 (Wǒ shì Yīngguó rén.)

Listen again and repeat.

我是英国人。

Well done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to say where you're from in Chinese, an essential skill for introducing yourself.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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