How to Say Where You're From

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Japanese by JapanesePod101.com

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

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

しゅっしんはフロリダです。 (Shusshin wa Furorida desu.)

Two passengers, Megumi Sasaki and Ken Kobayashi, are seated next to each other on a plane to Japan.

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

しゅうしん

"hometown"

しゅうしん (enunciated)

しゅうしん

どこ

"where"

どこ (enunciated)

どこ

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

Note: the speakers in this conversation use polite Japanese.

Ready?

ささきさん、しゅっしんはどこですか。 (Sasaki-san, shusshin wa doko desu ka.)

しゅっしんはフロリダです。 (Shusshin wa Furorida desu.)

Once more with the English translation.

ささきさん、しゅっしんはどこですか。 (Sasaki-san, shusshin wa doko desu ka.)

"Ms. Sasaki, where are you from?"

しゅっしんはフロリダです。 (Shusshin wa Furorida desu.)

"I'm from Florida."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Ken Kobayashi asks,

"Ms. Sasaki, where are you from?"

ささきさん、しゅっしんはどこですか。 (Sasaki-san, shusshin wa doko desu ka.)

First is ささきさん, "Ms. Sasaki." ささきさん.

This starts with Megumi’s family name, ささき, "Sasaki." ささき (slow version - breakdown by syllable). ささき.

After this is さん, a polite suffix attached to a person’s name. It translates as "Ms." in Megumi’s case. さ-ん. さん.

Note: this suffix can be used with any gender.

Together, ささきさん, "Ms. Sasaki." ささきさん.

Next is the word, しゅっしん, "hometown." しゅ-っ-し-ん. しゅっしん.

Remember this word, because you’ll see it again in Megumi’s response.

After this is the particle, は, the topic-marking particle. は. は.

It marks "hometown" as the topic of the sentence. Think of it like "as for" in the expression "as for your hometown."

Together, it’s しゅっしんは, "as for [your] hometown." しゅっしんは.

Note: the "your" is understood through context, as the speaker is asking a question.

しゅっしんは.

Next is the word, どこ, "where." ど-こ. どこ.

After this is です. Here, it’s like the "is" in "where is." で-す. です.

Last is the particle, か, the question-marking particle. か. か.

This particle turns the sentence into a question.

All together, it’s ささきさん、しゅっしんはどこですか。This literally means "Ms. Sasaki, as for [your] hometown, where is," but it translates as "Ms. Sasaki, where are you from?"

ささきさん、しゅっしんはどこですか。

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 Megumi Sasaki says,

"I’m from Florida."

しゅっしんはフロリダです。(Shusshin wa Furorida desu.)

First is しゅっしん, "hometown." しゅっしん.

Next is the particle, は, the topic-marking particle. は.

It marks "hometown" as the topic of the sentence.

Together it's, しゅっしんは. "As for [my] hometown." しゅっしんは.

Note: the "my" is understood through context, as the speaker is responding to a question about his hometown.

Next is フロリダ, "Florida." フ-ロ-リ-ダ. フロリダ.

Last is です. In this case, it’s like the "is" in "it is." です.

All together, しゅっしんはフロリダです。This literally means, "As for [my] hometown, Florida is," but it translates as, "I’m from Florida."

しゅっしんはフロリダです。

The pattern is

しゅっしんは HOMETOWN です。

"I’m from HOMETOWN."

しゅっしんは HOMETOWN です。

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

Imagine you’re from Sydney. In Japanese, シドニー. シドニー. (slow version - breakdown by syllable) シドニー.

Say

"I'm from Sydney"

Ready?

しゅっしんはシドニーです。 (Shusshin wa Shidonī desu.)

"I'm from Sydney."

しゅっしんはシドニーです。 (Shusshin wa Shidonī desu.)

Again, the key pattern is

しゅっしんは HOMETOWN です。

"I’m from HOMETOWN."

しゅっしんは HOMETOWN です。

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

しゅっしんはフロリダです。 (Shusshin wa Furorida desu.)

"I'm from Florida."

しゅっしんはフロリダです。 (Shusshin wa Furorida desu.)

しゅっしんはさっぽろです。 (Shusshin wa Sapporo desu.)

"I'm from Sapporo."

しゅっしんはさっぽろです。 (Shusshin wa Sapporo desu.)

しゅっしんはシアトルです。 (Shusshin wa Shiatoru desu.)

"I'm from Seattle."

しゅっしんはシアトルです。 (Shusshin wa Shiatoru desu.)

しゅっしんはロンドンです。 (Shusshin wa Rondon desu.)

"I'm from London."

しゅっしんはロンドンです。 (Shusshin wa Rondon desu.)

しゅっしんはながさきです。 (Shusshin wa Nagasaki desu.)

"I'm from Nagasaki."

しゅっしんはながさきです。 (Shusshin wa Nagasaki desu.)

しゅっしんはオーストラリアです。 (Shusshin wa Ōsutoraria desu.)

"I'm from Australia."

しゅっしんはオーストラリアです。 (Shusshin wa Ōsutoraria desu.)

Did you notice the last speaker says a country name in place of a city name?

She says

しゅっしんはオーストラリアです。 (Shusshin wa Ōsutoraria desu.)

"I’m from Australia."

しゅっしんはオーストラリアです。 (Shusshin wa Ōsutoraria desu.)

The word, しゅっしん, actually has a broader meaning than just one’s home town. You can also use it to talk about your country.

This pattern is

しゅっしんは HOME COUNTRY です。

"I’m from HOME COUNTRY."

You should be aware of this pattern, but for this lesson, we’ll use city names.

Let's review the key vocabulary.

さっぽろ. "Sapporo." さっ-ぽ-ろ .さっぽろ.

シアトル. "Seattle." シアトル. シアトル.

ロンドン. "London." ロ-ン-ド-ン. ロンドン.

ながさき. "Nagasaki." ながさき. ながさき.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speakers, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "hometown?"

しゅっしん.

And the topic-marking particle?

は.

Do you remember how to say "Florida?"

フロリダ.

And do you remember how Megumi says,

"I’m from Florida."

しゅっしんはフロリダです。

Do you remember how to say "where?"

どこ

And the question-marking particle?

か.

Do you remember how Ken Kobayashi asks,

"Where are you from?"

しゅっしんはどこですか。

Do you remember how to say, "London?"

ロンドン.

And how to say "Seattle?"

シアトル.

Do you remember how to say "Nagasaki?"

ながさき.　

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Jack Jones from London or ロンドン (Rondon) in Japanese.

Respond to Ken Kobayashi's question.

Ready?

しゅっしんはどこですか。 (Shusshin wa doko desu ka.)

しゅっしんはロンドンです。 (Shusshin wa Rondon desu.)

Listen again and repeat.

しゅっしんはロンドンです。 (Shusshin wa Rondon desu.)

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're Emma Egawa from Seattle, or シアトル (Shiatoru) in Japanese.

Ready?

しゅっしんはどこですか。 (Shusshin wa doko desu ka.)

しゅっしんはシアトルです。 (Shusshin wa Shiatoru desu.)

Listen again and repeat.

しゅっしんはシアトルです。 (Shusshin wa Shiatoru desu.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Kana Kano from Nagasaki, or ながさき (Nagasaki) in Japanese.

Ready?

しゅっしんはどこですか。 (Shusshin wa doko desu ka.)

しゅっしんはながさきです。 (Shusshin wa Nagasaki desu.)

Listen again and repeat.

しゅっしんはながさきです。 (Shusshin wa Nagasaki desu.)

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

はじめまして。

And how to say

"Pleased to meet you."

よろしくおねがいします。

Do you remember the word for "I?"

わたし

And the topic-marking particle?

は

Do you remember how Megumi Sasaki says,

"I'm Megumi Sasaki."

わたしはささきめぐみです。

All together, do you remember how Megumi Sasaki introduces herself?

はじめまして。わたしはささきめぐみです。よろしくおねがいします。

Imagine you're Jack Jones, from London.

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

ジョンズ・ジャック

(1)

ジョンズ・ジャック

Respond to Ken Kobayashi's self-introduction and follow-up question…

Ready?

はじめまして。わたしはこばやしです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Kobayashi desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

はじめまして。わたしはジョンズ・ジャックです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Jonzu Jakku desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

Listen again, and repeat.

はじめまして。わたしはジョンズ・ジャックです。よろしくおねがいします。 (Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Jonzu Jakku desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.)

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

ロンドン

(1)

ロンドン

Now respond that you’re from London.

しゅっしんはどこですか。 (Shusshin wa doko desu ka.)

しゅっしんはロンドンです。 (Shusshin wa Rondon desu.)

Listen again and repeat.

しゅっしんはロンドンです。 (Shusshin wa Rondon desu.)

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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