Asking someone “Where are you from?” is one of the simplest ways to start a conversation. It can help you learn about a person’s hometown, country, culture, or background and is useful when traveling, meeting international friends, or learning a new language.

If you want to know how to say “Where are you from?” in different languages, the table below gives you 70 commonly used translations, along with easy English pronunciations and practical examples.

These “where are you from” translations cover languages from Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and other parts of the world.

The following table shows how to ask “Where are you from?” in all languages included in this guide. Pronunciations are simplified for English speakers, so they are intended as a practical starting point rather than a substitute for native pronunciation.

Language Native phrase Easy English pronunciation Real-life example English meaning

1 English Where are you from? Wair ar yoo frum? Where are you from? Asking about someone’s origin.
2 Spanish ¿De dónde eres? Day DON-day AIR-es? ¿De dónde eres? Soy de Madrid. Where are you from? I’m from Madrid.
3 French D’où viens-tu ? Doo vee-AN-too? D’où viens-tu ? Je viens de Paris. Where are you from? I’m from Paris.
4 German Woher kommst du? Vo-hair komst doo? Woher kommst du? Ich komme aus Berlin. Where are you from? I’m from Berlin.
5 Italian Di dove sei? Dee DOH-vay say? Di dove sei? Sono di Roma. Where are you from? I’m from Rome.
6 Portuguese De onde você é? Jee ON-jee vo-SAY eh? De onde você é? Sou do Brasil. Where are you from? I’m from Brazil.
7 Dutch Waar kom je vandaan? Vahr kom yuh fun-DAHN? Waar kom je vandaan? Ik kom uit Amsterdam. Where are you from? I’m from Amsterdam.
8 Swedish Var kommer du ifrån? Var KOM-mer doo ee-FRON? Var kommer du ifrån? Jag kommer från Malmö. Where are you from? I’m from Malmö.
9 Norwegian Hvor kommer du fra? Voor KOM-mer doo frah? Hvor kommer du fra? Jeg kommer fra Oslo. Where are you from? I’m from Oslo.
10 Danish Hvor kommer du fra? Vor KOM-mer doo frah? Hvor kommer du fra? Jeg kommer fra Aarhus. Where are you from? I’m from Aarhus.
11 Finnish Mistä olet kotoisin? MIS-tah OH-let KOH-toy-sin? Mistä olet kotoisin? Olen Helsingistä. Where are you from? I’m from Helsinki.
12 Icelandic Hvaðan ert þú? KVAH-than ert thoo? Hvaðan ert þú? Ég er frá Reykjavík. Where are you from? I’m from Reykjavík.
13 Irish Cá as tú? Kaw us too? Cá as tú? Is as Corcaigh mé. Where are you from? I’m from Cork.
14 Welsh O ble wyt ti? Oh blay wit tee? O ble wyt ti? Dw i o Gaerdydd. Where are you from? I’m from Cardiff.
15 Scottish Gaelic Cò às a tha thu? Koh ahs uh ha hoo? Cò às a tha thu? Tha mi à Glaschu. Where are you from? I’m from Glasgow.
16 Polish Skąd jesteś? Skond YES-tesh? Skąd jesteś? Jestem z Warszawy. Where are you from? I’m from Warsaw.
17 Czech Odkud jsi? OT-kood yee? Odkud jsi? Jsem z Prahy. Where are you from? I’m from Prague.
18 Slovak Odkiaľ si? OT-kyal see? Odkiaľ si? Som z Bratislavy. Where are you from? I’m from Bratislava.
19 Slovenian Od kod si? Ot kot see? Od kod si? Sem iz Ljubljane. Where are you from? I’m from Ljubljana.
20 Croatian Odakle si? Oh-DAHK-leh see? Odakle si? Ja sam iz Zagreba. Where are you from? I’m from Zagreb.
21 Serbian Odakle si? Oh-DAHK-leh see? Odakle si? Ja sam iz Beograda. Where are you from? I’m from Belgrade.
22 Bosnian Odakle si? Oh-DAHK-leh see? Odakle si? Ja sam iz Sarajeva. Where are you from? I’m from Sarajevo.
23 Bulgarian Откъде си? Ot-kuh-DEH see? Откъде си? От София съм. Where are you from? I’m from Sofia.
24 Macedonian Од каде си? Ot KAH-deh see? Од каде си? Од Скопје сум. Where are you from? I’m from Skopje.
25 Russian Откуда ты? Ot-KOO-dah ty? Откуда ты? Я из Москвы. Where are you from? I’m from Moscow.
26 Ukrainian Звідки ти? ZVEED-ky tee? Звідки ти? Я зі Львова. Where are you from? I’m from Lviv.
27 Belarusian Адкуль ты? Ad-KOOL ty? Адкуль ты? Я з Мінска. Where are you from? I’m from Minsk.
28 Lithuanian Iš kur tu? Ish koor too? Iš kur tu? Aš iš Vilniaus. Where are you from? I’m from Vilnius.
29 Latvian No kurienes tu esi? No koo-ree-EN-es too EH-see? No kurienes tu esi? Esmu iš Rygos. Where are you from? I’m from Riga.
30 Estonian Kust sa pärit oled? Koost sah PAIR-it OH-led? Kust sa pärit oled? Olen Tartust. Where are you from? I’m from Tartu.
31 Romanian De unde ești? Deh OON-deh yesht? De unde ești? Sunt din București. Where are you from? I’m from Bucharest.
32 Hungarian Honnan jöttél? HON-nan YOT-tale? Honnan jöttél? Budapestről jöttem. Where are you from? I’m from Budapest.
33 Greek Από πού είσαι; A-POO EE-seh? Από πού είσαι; Είμαι από την Αθήνα. Where are you from? I’m from Athens.
34 Albanian Nga je? Nga yeh? Nga je? Jam nga Tirana. Where are you from? I’m from Tirana.
35 Armenian Որտեղացի՞ ես։ Vor-teh-gha-TSEE es? Որտեղացի՞ ես։ Երևանից եմ։ Where are you from? I’m from Yerevan.
36 Georgian საიდან ხარ? Sai-DAN khar? საიდან ხარ? თბილისიდან ვარ. Where are you from? I’m from Tbilisi.
37 Turkish Nerelisin? Neh-reh-lee-SIN? Nerelisin? İstanbul’luyum. Where are you from? I’m from Istanbul.
38 Azerbaijani Haralısan? Ha-ra-luh-SAN? Haralısan? Bakıdanam. Where are you from? I’m from Baku.
39 Persian اهل کجایی؟ Ah-leh ko-jai-ee? اهل کجایی؟ من اهل تهرانم. Where are you from? I’m from Tehran.
40 Arabic من أين أنت؟ Min AYN anta? من أين أنت؟ أنا من القاهرة. Where are you from? I’m from Cairo.
41 Hebrew מאיפה אתה? / מאיפה את? May-EY-fo ah-TAH? / ah? מאיפה אתה? אני מתל אביב. Where are you from? I’m from Tel Aviv.
42 Hindi आप कहाँ से हैं? Aap kahaan se hain? आप कहाँ से हैं? मैं दिल्ली से हूँ। Where are you from? I’m from Delhi.
43 Urdu آپ کہاں سے ہیں؟ Aap kahaan se hain? آپ کہاں سے ہیں؟ میں لاہور سے ہوں۔ Where are you from? I’m from Lahore.
44 Bengali আপনি কোথা থেকে এসেছেন? Apni kotha theke eshechen? আপনি কোথা থেকে এসেছেন? আমি ঢাকা থেকে এসেছি। Where are you from? I’m from Dhaka.
45 Punjabi ਤੁਸੀਂ ਕਿੱਥੋਂ ਹੋ? Tusi kithon ho? ਤੁਸੀਂ ਕਿੱਥੋਂ ਹੋ? ਮੈਂ ਲਾਹੌਰ ਤੋਂ ਹਾਂ। Where are you from? I’m from Lahore.
46 Gujarati તમે ક્યાંથી છો? Tame kyaanthī chho? તમે ક્યાંથી છો? હું અમદાવાદથી છું. Where are you from? I’m from Ahmedabad.
47 Marathi तुम्ही कुठून आहात? Tumhi kuthun aahat? तुम्ही कुठून आहात? मी पुण्याचा आहे. Where are you from? I’m from Pune.
48 Nepali तपाईं कहाँबाट हुनुहुन्छ? Tapai kahaanbaata hunuhunchha? तपाईं कहाँबाट हुनुहुन्छ? म काठमाडौंको हुँ। Where are you from? I’m from Kathmandu.
49 Sinhala ඔබ කොහෙන්ද? Oba kohenda? ඔබ කොහෙන්ද? මම කොළඹින්. Where are you from? I’m from Colombo.
50 Tamil நீங்கள் எங்கிருந்து வருகிறீர்கள்? Neengal engirundhu varugireergal? நீங்கள் எங்கிருந்து வருகிறீர்கள்? நான் சென்னையிலிருந்து வருகிறேன். Where are you from? I’m from Chennai.
51 Telugu మీరు ఎక్కడి వారు? Meeru ekkadi vaaru? మీరు ఎక్కడి వారు? నేను హైదరాబాద్‌ నుంచి. Where are you from? I’m from Hyderabad.
52 Kannada ನೀವು ಎಲ್ಲಿಯವರು? Neevu elliyavaru? ನೀವು ಎಲ್ಲಿಯವರು? ನಾನು ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನವನು. Where are you from? I’m from Bengaluru.
53 Malayalam നിങ്ങൾ എവിടെ നിന്നാണ്? Ningal evide ninnaanu? നിങ്ങൾ എവിടെ നിന്നാണ്? ഞാൻ കൊച്ചിയിൽ നിന്നാണ്. Where are you from? I’m from Kochi.
54 Thai คุณมาจากไหน? Khun maa jaak nai? คุณมาจากไหน? ฉันมาจากกรุงเทพฯ Where are you from? I’m from Bangkok.
55 Vietnamese Bạn đến từ đâu? Ban den too dow? Bạn đến từ đâu? Tôi đến từ Hà Nội. Where are you from? I’m from Hanoi.
56 Indonesian Kamu berasal dari mana? Kah-moo beh-rah-sal dah-ree mah-nah? Kamu berasal dari mana? Saya dari Jakarta. Where are you from? I’m from Jakarta.
57 Malay Awak dari mana? Ah-wak dah-ree mah-nah? Awak dari mana? Saya dari Kuala Lumpur. Where are you from? I’m from Kuala Lumpur.
58 Filipino Taga-saan ka? Tah-gah-sah-an kah? Taga-saan ka? Taga-Manila ako. Where are you from? I’m from Manila.
59 Chinese (Mandarin) 你来自哪里？ Nee lai-zuh nah-lee? 你来自哪里？我来自北京。 Where are you from? I’m from Beijing.
60 Cantonese 你係邊度人？ Nei hai bin dou yan? 你係邊度人？我係香港人。 Where are you from? I’m from Hong Kong.
61 Japanese どこから来ましたか？ Doh-koh kah-rah kee-mah-shee-tah kah? どこから来ましたか？東京から来ました。 Where are you from? I’m from Tokyo.
62 Korean 어디에서 왔어요? Uh-dee-eh-suh wah-suh-yo? 어디에서 왔어요? 서울에서 왔어요. Where are you from? I’m from Seoul.
63 Mongolian Та хаанаас ирсэн бэ? Tah kha-naas ir-sen beh? Та хаанаас ирсэн бэ? Би Улаанбаатараас ирсэн. Where are you from? I’m from Ulaanbaatar.
64 Swahili Unatoka wapi? Oo-na-TOH-kah wah-pee? Unatoka wapi? Ninatoka Nairobi. Where are you from? I’m from Nairobi.
65 Zulu Uvelaphi? Oo-veh-LAH-pee? Uvelaphi? Ngivela eThekwini. Where are you from? I’m from Durban.
66 Xhosa Usuka phi? Oo-SOO-kah pee? Usuka phi? Ndisuka eKapa. Where are you from? I’m from Cape Town.
67 Afrikaans Waar kom jy vandaan? Vahr kom yay fun-DAHN? Waar kom jy vandaan? Ek kom van Kaapstad. Where are you from? I’m from Cape Town.
68 Amharic ከየት ነህ? / ከየት ነሽ? Ke-yet neh? / ke-yet nesh? ከየት ነህ? ከአዲስ አበባ ነኝ። Where are you from? I’m from Addis Ababa.
69 Somali Xaggee baad ka timid? HAG-ee baad kah tee-mid? Xaggee baad ka timid? Waxaan ka imid Muqdisho. Where are you from? I’m from Mogadishu.
70 Malagasy Avy aiza ianao? Ah-vee EYE-zah ee-ah-now? Avy aiza ianao? Avy any Antananarivo aho. Where are you from? I’m from Antananarivo.
How to Say “Where Are You From?” in Different Languages

The phrase can look very different from one language to another. Some languages translate the idea literally as asking where someone comes from, while others use a shorter expression that is closer to “What is your origin?” or “Where do you come from?”

For example, Spanish uses “¿De dónde eres?”, while Turkish commonly uses “Nerelisin?”. In Japanese, a polite form such as “どこから来ましたか？” asks where someone came from.

This is why learning the natural phrase is usually more useful than translating each English word individually.

“Where Are You From?” Translations for Travel and Conversation

Knowing this question can make everyday conversations easier when traveling. It is particularly useful when meeting someone at a hotel, language exchange, university, workplace, restaurant, or social event.

In many languages, the form of the question changes depending on factors such as politeness, age, gender, or familiarity. For that reason, beginners should pay attention to the context in which a phrase is normally used.

A simple follow-up such as “I’m from Pakistan” or “I’m from London” can also help keep the conversation going.

Common Ways to Answer “Where Are You From?”

The question normally expects an answer naming a country, city, region, or hometown.

For example:

“I’m from Canada.”
“I’m from Toronto.”
“I’m from northern Italy.”
“I grew up in Seoul.”
“I’m originally from India.”

The best answer depends on what the other person is asking. If the conversation is international, naming your country may be enough. If you are speaking with someone from your own country, you may want to give your city or region instead.

Useful Tips for Learning These Phrases

When learning “where are you from” in different languages, focus on pronunciation and context rather than memorizing a direct word-for-word translation.

First, learn the native phrase. Then practice saying it aloud several times. Finally, memorize a natural answer such as “I’m from London” or “I’m from Karachi.”

It is also helpful to notice whether the language has formal and informal versions. Using a polite form with a stranger is generally safer when you are unsure which version is appropriate.

“Where Are You From?” Around the World

The question is universal, but cultures differ in how quickly people use it. In some places, asking about someone’s origin is a natural conversation starter. In others, people may first discuss work, studies, hobbies, or shared interests.

The phrase is therefore more than a vocabulary item. Learning it can give you a practical way to begin conversations and show interest in another person’s background.

Whether you are studying Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, Hindi, French, Chinese, or another language, learning this question is a useful first step toward everyday communication.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do you say “Where are you from?” in different languages?

“Where are you from?” has different natural forms across languages. Examples include Spanish “¿De dónde eres?”, French “D’où viens-tu ?”, German “Woher kommst du?”, Hindi “आप कहाँ से हैं?”, and Japanese “どこから来ましたか？”.

2. What is the easiest language for saying “Where are you from?”

For English speakers, languages with familiar vocabulary or sentence structures may feel easier. Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, and several Scandinavian languages can be relatively approachable, although difficulty varies from person to person.

3. Is “Where are you from?” the same as asking someone’s nationality?

Not always. Someone can be from a particular city or region without that being their nationality. The question can refer to a person’s hometown, birthplace, current country, or general origin depending on the context.

4. What is the difference between “Where are you from?” and “Where do you live?”

“Where are you from?” usually asks about someone’s origin or background. “Where do you live?” asks about their current place of residence. A person might be from one country but currently live in another.

5. Why should I learn “Where are you from?” in another language?

It is a practical conversation starter. Learning this phrase can help you meet people, practice speaking, make travel conversations easier, and show interest in another person’s culture and background.

Conclusion

Learning how to say “Where are you from?” in different languages is a small but useful part of building conversational language skills. The 70 translations above give you natural phrases to recognize and practice across languages from around the world.

For the best results, learn each phrase together with its pronunciation and a simple answer. That way, you can move from memorizing a translation to having a real conversation.

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