How to Say Where You're From

Dialogue

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do French by FrenchPod101.com

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

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

Je viens de Miami.

Two passengers, Constance Collin and Hugues Henry , are seated next to each other on a plane to Paris.

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

d’où

"from where"

d’où

viens

"come"

viens

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

Note: the speakers in this conversation use formal French.

Ready?

D’où venez-vous ?

Je viens de Miami.

Once more with the English translation.

D’où venez-vous ?

"Where are you from?"

Je viens de Miami.

"I'm from Miami."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Hugues Henry asks,

"Where are you from?"

D’où venez-vous ?

First is d’où. "From where." D’où.

This starts with de, which translates as "from" in this context. De. De.

Next is où, meaning "where." Où. Où.

De is contracted with où to form d’où.

Next is venez. "Come," as in "you come." Venez. Venez.

Venez is from the verb, venir, meaning "to come." Venir.

After this is vous, which is literally the plural form of "you," as in "you all." But it's also the formal way to address a single person, as is the case here. Vous.Vous.

Together, venez-vous translates as "you come." Venez-vous.

All together, D’où venez-vous ? literally means "From where come you?" But it translates as "Where are you from?"

D’où venez-vous ?

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 Constance Collin says,

"I'm from Miami."

Je viens de Miami.

First is je. "I." Je. Je.

Next is viens, meaning "come," as in "I come." Viens. Viens.

Viens is from the verb, venir, meaning "to come." Venir.

After this is de, which means "from" in this context. De.

Last is the city, Miami. "Miami." Miami. Miami.

All together, it’s Je viens de Miami. This literally means "I come from Miami," but can translate as "I’m from Miami."

Je viens de Miami.

The pattern is

Je viens de CITY NAME.

"I’m from CITY NAME."

Je viens de CITY NAME.

To use this pattern, simply replace the {CITY NAME} placeholder with the name of your hometown.

Imagine you’re from Sydney. Sydney. Sydney. Sydney.

Say

"I'm from Sydney."

Ready?

Je viens de Sydney.

"I'm from Sydney."

Je viens de Sydney.

When talking about where you’re from, de is used before feminine nouns. All cities are feminine in French, so when talking about your hometown or home city, use de.

You can also use this pattern with countries. However, countries can be either masculine or feminine. If you use this pattern with a country name that’s masculine, use du instead of de.

For example,

Je viens de France. France, "France," is feminine.

Je viens du Japon. Japon, Japan, is masculine.

Again, the key pattern is

Je viens de CITY NAME.

"I’m from CITY NAME."

Je viens de CITY NAME.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Je viens de Miami.

"I'm from Miami."

Je viens de Miami.

Je viens de Nantes.

"I'm from Nantes."

Je viens de Nantes.

Je viens de Seattle.

"I'm from Seattle."

Je viens de Seattle.

Je viens de Londres.

"I'm from London."

Je viens de Londres.

Je viens de Paris.

"I'm from Paris."

Je viens de Paris.

Je suis australienne.

"I'm Australian."

Je suis australienne.

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

She says,

Je suis australienne.

"I'm Australian."

Je suis australienne.

First is Je. "I" Je. Je.

Next is suis. "Am," as in "I am." Suis. Suis.

Suis is from the verb être, meaning "to be." Être.

Together, it’s Je suis, meaning "I am." Je suis.

After this is australienne, meaning "Australian." Australienne. Australienne.

Note, australienne is feminine.

This pattern is

Je suis NATIONALITY.

"I'm NATIONALITY."

Mia Martin uses a feminine adjective, australienne, to describe herself.

Je suis australienne.

In the case of a male speaker from Australia, he would use a masculine adjective, australien, to describe himself.

Je suis australien. "I’m Australian." Je suis australien.

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

Je viens de CITY NAME.

"I’m from CITY NAME."

Let’s review the key vocabulary.

Nantes

"Nantes"

Nantes

Nantes.

Seattle

"Seattle"

Seattle

Seattle.

Londres

"London"

Londres

Londres.

Paris

"Paris"

Paris

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

"Miami."

Miami.

And how to say

"from Miami."

De Miami.

Do you remember how to say "I?"

Je.

Do you remember how Constance Collin says,

"I’m from Miami."

Je viens de Miami.

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

Vous.

And how to say "from where?"

D’où.

Do you remember how Hugues Henry asks,

"Where are you from?"

D’où venez-vous ?

Do you remember how to say "London?"

Londres.

Do you remember how to say "Seattle?"

Seattle.

Do you remember how to say "Paris?"

Paris.

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Jack Jones from London.

Respond to Hugues Henry’s question.

Ready?

D’où venez-vous ?

Je viens de Londres.

Listen again and repeat.

Je viens de Londres.

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're Emma Auge from Seattle.

Ready?

D’où venez-vous ?

Je viens de Seattle.

Listen again and repeat.

Je viens de Seattle.

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Lya from Paris.

Ready?

D’où venez-vous ?

Je viens de Paris.

Listen again and repeat.

Je viens de Paris.

In this lesson, you learned how to say where you're from in French. 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."

Enchantée.

And the French pronunciation of Constance’s name?

Constance

Do you remember how Constance says,

“My name is Constance.”

Je m'appelle Constance.

All together, do you remember how Constance Collin introduces herself?

Je m'appelle Constance. Enchantée !

Imagine you're Jack Jones , from London.

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

Jack Jones

Respond to Hugues Henry 's self-introduction and follow-up question…

Ready?

Bonjour ! Je m'appelle Hugues. Enchanté.

Je m'appelle Jack. Enchanté.

Listen again, and repeat.

Je m'appelle Jack. Enchanté.

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

Londres

Now respond that you’re from London.

D'où venez-vous ?

Je viens de Londres.

Listen again and repeat.

Je viens de Londres.

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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