Talking about nationalities, countries and languages in Spanish Share Copied!
Spanish Where are you from? A1 To introduce oneself
Learn to talk about where you're from using "Soy de," match nationality adjectives to gender, and memorize country and continent names in Spanish.
<< ¿De dónde eres? (Where are you from?)
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Podcast
Where are you from?
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Soy de España. | I am from Spain. |
| "Soy de" is the key phrase here. It means "I am from." | |
| Soy inglés. | I am English. |
| Soy alemán. | I am German. |
| Adjectives are not capitalized. | |
| Soy italiano. | I am Italian (male speaker). |
| Adjectives must match the gender and number of the subject. | |
| Soy belga. | I am Belgian. |
| Soy neerlandés. | I am Dutch. |
| Soy suizo. | I am Swiss. |
| Mi país de origen es Francia. | My country of origin is France. |
| "Mi país de origen es" is a more formal way to say where you're from. | |
Dialogue on nationalities in Spanish
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¡Hola! ¿De dónde eres? | Hi! Where are you from? |
| Hola, soy de Francia. ¿Y tú? | Hi! I am from France. And you? |
| Yo soy japonesa, pero vivo en Italia. | I am Japanese, but I live in Italy. |
| ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas viviendo en Italia? | How long have you been living in Italy? |
| “Cuánto tiempo” | “How long” |
| “Llevas viviendo” | “Have you been living” |
| Cinco años, pero antes vivía en Alemania. | Five years, but before I used to live in Germany. |
| “Años” | “Years” |
| “Antes” | “Before” |
| ¡Eres una cosmopolita! | You are a cosmopolitan! |
| “Cosmopolita” | “Cosmopolitan” |
| Sí, me encanta explorar diferentes lugares. | Yes, I love exploring different places. |
| “Me encanta” | “I love” |
| “Lugares” | “Places” |
Country names in Spanish
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| España | Spain |
| Alemania | Germany |
| Francia | France |
| Italia | Italy |
| Polonia | Poland |
| Rumania | Romania |
| Países Bajos | Netherlands |
| Bélgica | Belgium |
| Grecia | Greece |
| Portugal | Portugal |
"Países Bajos" refers to the Netherlands. The term directly translates to "Low Countries" in English, which historically encompassed regions of northern Europe that were geographically low-lying.
Dialogue using country names in Spanish
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Hola, ¿de dónde eres? | Hi, where are you from? |
| Soy de España. ¿Y tú? | I am from Spain. ¿And you? |
| “Yo soy” | I am |
| Vivo en Polonia, pero vengo de Portugal. | I live in Poland, but I am from Portugal. |
| “Yo vivo” | I live |
| “Yo vengo” | I come |
| ¿Qué guay! ¿Tienes pareja? | How cool! Do you have a partner? |
| Sí, mi pareja viene de Italia. | Yes, my partner comes from Italy. |
| “Pareja” | Partner |
| Me gusta la comida italiana. | I like Italian food. |
| “Me gusta” | I like |
| “Comida” | Food |
| A mí me gusta el pescado portugués. | I like Portuguese fish. |
| “Pescado” | Fish |
Saying the continents in Spanish
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Asia | Asia |
| África | Africa |
| América del Norte | North America |
| América del Sur | South America |
| Antártida | Antarctica |
| Europa | Europe |
| Oceanía | Oceania |
The adjectives for each continent are used in phrases like:
"Comida asiática" => Asian food
"Continente africano => African continent
Dialogue using the continents names in Spanish
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Hola, ¿de dónde eres? | Hi, where are you from? |
| Soy de América del Sur. ¿Y tú? | I am from South America. And you? |
| Soy de Asia. | I am from Asia. |
| ¡Qué guay! Me encanta la comida asiática. | How cool! I love Asian food. |
| ¡Lo sé, le gusta a mucha gente! | I know, a lot of people like it! |
| Sí, es muy popular en Europa. | Yes, it is very popular in Europe. |
| “Mucha” | A lot of |
| “Gente” | People |
| “Popular” | Popular |
Key takeaways
Here is a quick summary of this lesson.
- Use "Soy de" to say where you're from, followed by the country name, like "Soy de España" (I am from Spain).
- Nationality adjectives in Spanish are not capitalized, e.g., "Soy alemán" (I am German).
Exercises
