How to Say Where You're From

Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can Do German by GermanPod101.com.

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

For example, "I'm from Florida." is

Ich komme aus Florida.

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

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

Woher.

"where from"

Woher.

du.

"you"

du.

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

Note: the speakers in this conversation use informal German.

Ready?

Woher kommst du?

Ich komme aus Florida.

Once more with the English translation.

Woher kommst du?

"Where are you from?"

Ich komme aus Florida.

"I am from Florida."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Marvin Maas asks,

"Where are you from?"

Woher kommst du?

First is woher, meaning "where from." Woher. Woher.

Next is kommst. "Come," as in "you come from." Kommst. Kommst.

Kommst is from the verb kommen, meaning "to come," as in "to come from" in this context. Kommen.

Last is du. "You." Du. Du.

Note, in German du is used when addressing someone in a casual conversation.

All together, Woher kommst du? literally, "Where from come you?" but it translates as "Where are you from?"

Woher kommst du?

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

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

Do you remember how Aylin Ahrens says,

"I am from Florida."

Ich komme aus Florida.

First is ich, "I." Ich. Ich.

Next is komme, "come," as in "I come from..." Komme. Komme.

Komme is from the verb, kommen, "to come." Kommen.

Next is aus, meaning "from" in this context. Aus. Aus.

Last is the location, Florida. "Florida." Florida. Florida.

All together, Ich komme aus Florida. This literally means, "I come from Florida," but it translates as "I'm from Florida."

Ich komme aus Florida.

The pattern is

Ich komme aus LOCATION.

"I am from LOCATION."

Ich komme aus LOCATION.

To use this pattern, simply replace the LOCATION placeholder with the name of your hometown.

Note: This pattern requires a proper noun, and works with the names of cities, villages, towns or countries.

Imagine you’re from Sydney. In German, Sydney. Sydney. Sydney.

Say

"I am from Sydney."

Ready?

Ich komme aus Sydney.

"I am from Sydney."

Ich komme aus Sydney.

Note on German language formality:

Aylin and Marvin are using informal language in this conversation. So Marvin asks,

Woher kommst du? "Where are you from?"

To make this question formal replace kommst du with the kommen Sie.

Therefore in a formal setting,

Woher kommen Sie? "Where are you from?" Woher kommen Sie?

Please be aware of this, as you will see it again later in the lesson.

Again, the key pattern is

Ich komme aus LOCATION.

"I am from LOCATION."

Ich komme aus LOCATION.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Ich komme aus Florida.

"I'm from Florida."

Ich komme aus Florida.

Ich komme aus Kiel. Und du?

"I'm from Kiel. And you?"

Ich komme aus Kiel. Und du?

Ich komme aus Seattle.

"I'm from Seattle."

Ich komme aus Seattle.

Ich komme aus London. Und Sie?

"I'm from London. And you?"

Ich komme aus London. Und Sie?

Ich komme aus Deutschland.

"I'm from Germany."

Ich komme aus Deutschland.

Ich bin Australierin.

"I'm Australian."

Ich bin Australierin.

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

Ich bin Australierin.

"I am Australian." Ich bin Australierin.

First is ich. "I." Ich.

Next is bin. "Am," as in "I am." Bin. Bin.

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

Together, it's Ich bin, "I am." Ich bin.

After this is Australierin, meaning "Australian." Australierin. Australierin.

Note, Australierin is feminine, as the speaker is female.

This pattern is

Ich bin NATIONALITY.

"I am NATIONALITY."

To use this pattern, 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.

Mia Martin uses a feminine noun, Australierin, to identify herself.

Ich bin Australierin.

A male speaker from Australia would use a masculine noun, Australier.

Ich bin Australier. "I am Australian." Ich bin Australier.

You can use this pattern to answer the question, Woher kommst du?

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

Ich komme aus LOCATION.

"I am from LOCATION."

Let's review the key vocabulary.

Kiel.

"Kiel"

Kiel.

Seattle.

"Seattle"

Seattle.

London.

"London"

London.

Deutschland.

"Germany"

Deutschland.

Australier.

"Male Australian citizen"

Australier.

Australierin.

"Female Australian citizen"

Australierin.

Und du?

"And you?" informal language.

Und du?

Und Sie?

"And you?" formal language.

Und Sie?

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

"Florida."

Florida

And how to say "from?"

Aus

Do you remember how to say "I?"

Ich

Do you remember how Aylin says,

"I am from Florida."

Literally, "I come from Florida."

Ich komme aus Florida.

Do you remember the informal way to say "you?"

Du.

And how to say "where from?"

Woher?

And do you remember how Marvin Maas asks,

"Where are you from?"

Woher kommst du?

Do you remember how to say "London?"

London

And how to say "Seattle?"

Seattle

Do you remember how to say "Germany?"

Deutschland

And the formal way to say "you?"

Sie

Do you remember the formal way to ask,

"Where are you from?"

Woher kommen Sie?

And the informal way to ask,

"And you?"

Und du?

Let's practice.

Imagine you’re Jack Jones from London, or London.

Respond to Marvin Maas ’s question.

Ready?

Woher kommst du?

Ich komme aus London.

Listen again and repeat.

Ich komme aus London.

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're Emma Eckert from Seattle, or Seattle.

Respond and add the informal, "And you?"

Ready?

Woher kommst du?

Ich komme aus Seattle. Und du?

Listen again and repeat.

Ich komme aus Seattle. Und du?

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Katrin Preusler from Germany, or Deutschland in German.

Ready?

Woher kommen Sie?

Ich komme aus Deutschland.

Listen again and repeat.

Ich komme aus Deutschland.

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

Do you remember how to say

"Nice to meet you."

Freut mich.

And the German pronunciation of Aylin’s name?

Aylin.

Do you remember how Aylin says,

“My name is Aylin.”

Ich heiße Aylin.

Imagine you're Jack Jones, from London.

Do you know 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.

Well done! This is the end of this lesson.

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

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

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