How to Talk About Your Nationality

Learn how to talk about your nationality

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do German by GermanPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your nationality in German.

For example, "I'm American." is

Ich bin Amerikanerin.

Two passengers, Aylin Ahrens and Marvin Maas , are seated next to each other as passengers on a plane to Germany.

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

Amerikanerin

"American"

Amerikanerin

Listen to the conversation.

Bist du Amerikanerin?

Ja, ich bin Amerikanerin.

Once more with the English translation.

Bist du Amerikanerin?

"Are you American?"

Ja, ich bin Amerikanerin.

"Yes, I'm American."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Marvin asks,

"Are you American?"

Bist du Amerikanerin?

First is bist du, "are you." Bist du.

Bist, "are." Bist. Bist.

Note, bist is from the verb sein, "to be." Sein.

Next is du, "you" in informal German. Du. Du.

Now, you might be more familiar with sind Sie, a formal way to ask "are you," as in Sind Sie Amerikanerin?, “Are you American?”

Together, bist du, “are you.”

After this is Amerikanerin, "American," as in the nationality. Amerikanerin. Amerikanerin.

Note: Amerikanerin is feminine, as the speaker is addressing Aylin Ahrens.

All together, Bist du Amerikanerin?, "Are you American?"

Bist du Amerikanerin?

Note, if Marvin was referring to a male, he would use the masculine noun, Amerikaner, to refer to him. Using the example from the conversation, Bist du Amerikaner? "Are you American?" Bist du Amerikaner?

Let's take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Aylin says,

"Yes, I'm American."

Ja, ich bin Amerikanerin.

This starts with the expression, ja meaning "yes." Ja. Ja.

It answers Marvin’ yes-or-no question, "Are you American?"

Bist du Amerikanerin?

Next is ich. "I." Ich. Ich.

After this is bin, "am." Bin. Bin.

Bin is from the verb sein, meaning "to be." Sein.

Last is Amerikanerin, "American." Amerikanerin.

All together, Ja, ich bin Amerikanerin.. "Yes, I'm American."

Ja, ich bin Amerikanerin.

The pattern is

Ich bin NATIONALITY.

"I'm NATIONALITY."

Ich bin NATIONALITY.

Simply replace the {NATIONALITY} placeholder with your nationality.

Note: This pattern requires a noun, and its gender will depend on the gender of the speaker.

Imagine you’re Marvin Maas, and you're German. The word for "German" when referring to a male is Deutscher. Deutscher. Deutscher.

Say

"I'm German."

Ready?

Ich bin Deutscher.

"I'm German."

Ich bin Deutscher.

In the conversation, the response to the yes-no question was "yes."

In case the answer was "no," the corresponding German response would be nein, meaning "no." Nein. Nein.

For example, if Aylin Ahrens was asked

Bist du Deutsche?

"Are you German?"

She could have answered

Nein, ich bin Amerikanerin.

"No, I'm American."

Remember this pattern. You’ll need it for the practice section.

Again, the key pattern is

Ich bin NATIONALITY.

"I'm NATIONALITY."

Ich bin NATIONALITY.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Ich bin Amerikanerin.

"I'm American."

Ich bin Amerikanerin.

Ich bin Deutscher.

"I'm German."

Ich bin Deutscher.

Ich bin Australierin.

"I'm Australian."

Ich bin Australierin.

Ich bin Engländer.

"I'm British."

Ich bin Engländer.

Ich bin keine Japanerin. Ich bin Chinesin.

"I'm not Japanese, I'm Chinese."

Ich bin keine Japanerin. Ich bin Chinesin.

Did you notice how the last speaker uses a different pattern?

Ich bin keine Japanerin. Ich bin Chinesin.

"I'm not Japanese. I'm Chinese."

Let's start with Japanerin. "Japanese." Japanerin. Japanerin.

Note: Japanerin ends in -in, so it can refer only to a female.

In German, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Japanerin is feminine and singular.

Moving to the beginning of the sentence, ich, "I." Ich.

Next is bin, "am." Bin.

Next is keine, "not." Keine. Keine.

Keine is a negation word for feminine nouns.

Here keine is feminine to agree with Japanerin.

All together, Ich bin keine Japanerin. "I'm not Japanese." Ich bin keine Japanerin.

Note, for masculine and neuter nouns, kein is the negation word.

Jing Liu then states her actual nationality. Ich bin Chinesin. "I'm Chinese." Ich bin Chinesin.

First, ich, "I." Ich

Next is bin, "am." Bin.

Next is Chinesin, "Chinese." Chinesin. Chinesin.

Note: Chinesin ends in -in, so it can only refer to a female.

Together, Ich bin Chinesin. "I'm Chinese." Ich bin Chinesin.

All together, Ich bin keine Japanerin, ich bin Chinesin. "I'm not Japanese. I'm Chinese."

Ich bin keine Japanerin, ich bin Chinesin.

The pattern is:

Ich bin kein/keine NATIONALITY, ich bin ACTUAL NATIONALITY.

"I'm not NATIONALITY. I'm ACTUAL NATIONALITY."

This can be shortened to

Nein, ich bin Chinesin. "No, I'm Chinese." Nein, ich bin Chinesin.

The pattern is:

Nein, ich bin ACTUAL NATIONALITY.

"No, I'm ACTUAL NATIONALITY."

Remember this shortened pattern. You’ll need it for the practice section.

Let’s review the key vocabulary.

In German, nouns of nationality change based on gender. We will provide the masculine word for the nationality followed by the feminine one.

"German."

Deutscher. Deutscher.

Deutsche. Deutsche.

"American."

Amerikaner. Amerikaner.

Amerikanerin. Amerikanerin.

"Australian."

Australier. Australier.

Australierin. Australierin.

"British."

Engländer. Engländer.

Engländerin. Engländerin.

Note, in German this word in a strict sense means "English," but it's widely used to mean "British."

Let's review.

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

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "yes?"

And the word for "American" woman?

Amerikanerin.

Do you remember how Aylin Ahrens says,

"Yes, I'm American."

Ja, ich bin Amerikanerin.

Do you remember how Marvin Maas asks,

"Are you American?"

Bist du Amerikanerin?

Do you remember the word for a "British" man?

Engländer.

And the word for an "Australian" woman?

Australierin.

And how to say "no?"

nein

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Anouk Ahrens , and you’re American, or Amerikanerin In German.

Respond to the question.

Ready?

Bist du Amerikanerin?

Ja, ich bin Amerikanerin.

Listen again and repeat.

Ja, ich bin Amerikanerin.

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Mia Martin , a student from Australia. “Australian” is Australierin in German.

Pay attention to the nationality in the question.

Ready?

Sind Sie Engländerin?

Nein, ich bin Australierin.

Listen again and repeat.

Nein, ich bin Australierin.

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Jack Jones , a student from England. “British” is Engländer in German.

Ready?

Bist du Engländer?

Ja, ich bin Engländer.

Listen again and repeat.

Ja, ich bin Engländer.

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your nationality in German. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of introducing yourself. Let’s review.

Do you remember how Aylin Ahrens says,

"My name is Aylin."

Ich heiße Aylin.

And do you remember how to say "where from?"

Woher.

Do you remember how Aylin says,

"I'm from Florida."

Ich komme aus Florida.

Do you remember how to say "you?"

du.

And do you remember how Marvin Maas asks,

"Where are you from?"

Woher kommst du?

Imagine you're Jack Jones , from London, and you're British.

Do you remember how to pronounce "Jack Jones" in German?

Jack Jones

Respond to Marvin Maas 's self-introduction and follow-up question…

Ready?

Ich bin Marvin. Und du?

Ich heiße Jack.

Listen again and repeat.

Ich heiße Jack.

Do you remember how to say "London" in German?

London

Now respond that you’re from London.

Woher kommst du?

Ich komme aus London.

Listen again and repeat.

Ich komme aus London.

And do you remember how to say "British" in German?

Engländer

Now respond that you’re British.

Bist du Engländer?

Ja, ich bin Engländer.

Listen again and repeat.

Ja, ich bin Engländer.

Well done! This is the end of the lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your nationality, an essential skill for introducing yourself.

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

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