Learn to talk about nationality
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| M: Hello and welcome to German Survival Phrases brought to you by germanpod101.com, this course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Germany. You will be surprised at how far a little German will go. Now before we jump in, remember to stop by germanpod101.com and there you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
| F: German Survival Phrases. Lesson 59, Say Where You’re From in German. |
| M: In today’s lesson, we will cover a phrase you will be able to use in all of those moments you are introducing yourself but even your friends and you are talking about your own country and the place you come from. First of all, let’s review how to introduce ourselves. In German, my name is Frank is [Ich heiße Frank] So here we have [Ich heiße] my name is literally meaning I call myself and then the name Frank [Ich heiße Frank] Now let’s go and cover how to say where you are from. In German, I am American is [Ich bin Amerikaner] The first words [Ich bin] mean I am. This is followed by [Amerikaner] which in English is American. To recap here, we have just three words. The personal pronoun [Ich], the verb [bin] and the nationality [Amerikaner]. Altogether we have [Ich bin Amerikaner] I am American. Be careful because in many cases, the adjective for nationality can change according to the gender. So if the person who speaks is a girl, I am American will be [Ich bin Amerikanerin] In most cases, we just add the suffix [in] at the end. Let’s try with another nationality. In German, I am Spanish is [Ich bin Spanier] this is the masculine version or [Ich bin Spanierin] female. Now let’s hear it once again. First the masculine version [Ich bin Spanier] and now the feminine version [Ich bin Spanierin] So as you can see, pronoun and verb don’t change. You always have [Ich bin] I am and then the only thing that changes is the nationality. So you have [Spanier, Spanierin] in place of [Amerikaner, Amerikanerin] This phrase is the way you answer to the question [Wo kommen Sie her] which in English is, where do you come from? Let’s break this phrase down by syllable and hear it once again. [Wo kommen Sie her] The first word [Wo] means where [Wo] Then you have [kommen] which in English is come. Now let’s take a look at the next word [Sie] which means you in the formal way of speech [Sie] Finally we have [her] which means from. Altogether we have [Wo kommen Sie her] which literally means where come you from but it has to be translated as, where do you come from. If you are introducing a friend, the verb changes. So he’s American in German is [Er ist Amerikaner] So the noun, the nationality doesn’t change but the personal pronoun and the verb do. You have [Er] which means he in place of [Ich] I and [ist] is, third singular person form of the verb [sein] to be. Let’s break it down by syllable and hear it one more time [ist]. So altogether we have [Er ist Amerikaner] while she is American would be [Sie ist Amerikanerin] Finally let’s see what Germans will be called in their own language. He is German in German is [Er ist Deutscher] and she is German is [Sie ist Deutsche] Here we have an exception. Instead of the suffix [in] at the end of the noun, we have the suffix [e] |
| Okay to close our today’s lesson, we would like you to practice what you’ve just learned. I will provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you are responsible for shouting it out aloud. You have a few seconds before I give you the answer. So [Viel Glück] which means good luck in German. |
| My name is Frank [Mein Name ist Frank] I am American, masculine version [Ich bin Amerikaner] I am American, female version [Ich bin Amerikanerin] I am Spanish, masculine [Ich bin Spanier] I am Spanish, feminine [Ich bin Spanierin] where do you come from [Wo kommen Sie her] he is American [Er ist Amerikaner] She is American [Sie ist Amerikanerin] he is German [Er ist Deutscher] She is German [Sie ist Deutsche] |
| That’s going to do it for today. |
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