Learn the most natural ways to ask and answer “Where are you from?” in Chinese. We’ll cover nationality, hometown, and current city using 哪儿/哪里, 从/来/在, and high-frequency question patterns. Perfect for HSK 1–3 and travel/small talk intros.
where are you from in Chinese, 你来自哪里, 你从哪儿来, 你是哪国人, 你是哪儿人, nationality in Chinese, hometown in Chinese, Chinese self introduction, Mandarin small talk, HSK 1, HSK 2, learn Chinese, Chinese for travel, 在 vs 来, 哪里 vs 哪儿, Chinese conversation basics
Hello and welcome back to lesson 4, 你怎么样?
Again, let's recap on the previous lessons.
How do you say this in Chinese? 这
And this is? 这是
And how do you say my? 我的
And how do you say this is my dad? 这是我的爸爸
And how would you say this is my mum? 这是我的妈妈
And this is my older brother? 这是我的哥哥
And how do you say who in Chinese? 谁
And how do you say who is this? 这是谁
Lastly, how would you say nice to meet you? 认识你很高兴
So in today's lesson, we're going to strengthen what we already know and build new knowledge.
As usual, let's write down the key words for today's lesson.
So our first word is 哪. 哪 means which. 哪
国 means country or kingdom. 国
Next we have 人. 人 means person. 人
Putting that together, 你是哪国人? means where are you from?
Literally, you is which country person? 你是哪国人?
英国 means the UK. 英国
The 英 here means hero and 国 means country. So the UK is known as the hero country. 英国
中国 means China. 中国
The 中 means middle. So China is literally the middle country. 中国
美国
The 美 here means pretty or beautiful. So America is the pretty country. 美国
So all together we have 英国, the UK, 中国, China and 美国, America. 美国
你呢? means and you. 你呢?
Let's listen to this conversation. Let's listen to it first slowly. 你好,你是哪国人?
你好,我是英国人,我是中国人,认识你很高兴。
So, let's break down that conversation. 你好,你是哪国人? means hello, where are you from? 你好,我是英国人。
你呢? means hello, I am British, and you? 我是中国人 means I am Chinese.
认识你很高兴, as you already know means nice to meet you. Let's listen to that again. 你好,你是哪国人?
你好,我是英国人,你呢? 我是中国人,认识你很高兴。
Now, play the part of B. Say, hello, I am British, and you? Say, nice to meet you. Now, play the part of A. Say, hello, where are you from? I am Chinese.
OK, let's listen to that one last time at normal speed. 你好,你是哪国人?
你好,我是英国人,你呢? 我是中国人,认识你很高兴。
Excellent job! Before we wrap up, let's make some of our own sentences.
How would you say, my dad is British? That's right.
我的爸爸是英国人。
How would you say, my older brother is Chinese?
我的哥哥是中国人。
And how would you say, my mum is American?
我的妈妈是美国人。
How would you say, he is Chinese?
他是中国人。
And how would you say, she is British?
她是英国人。
OK, that's all for today. Stay tuned for the next lesson, where we'll be making questions that you'll be able to ask Chinese speakers.
Again, make sure to complete the worksheets provided. 再见!
