How to Talk About Your Nationality

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Japanese by JapanesePod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your nationality in Japanese.

For example, "I'm American" is

アメリカじんです。 (Amerika-jin desu.)

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

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

アメリカじん (Amerika-jin)

"American"

アメリカじん (enunciated)

アメリカじん

Listen to the conversation, and focus on the response.

Ready?

アメリカじんですか。 (Amerika-jin desu ka.)

はい、アメリカじんです。 (Hai, Amerika-jin desu.)

Once more with the English translation.

アメリカじんですか。 (Amerika-jin desu ka.)

"Are you American?"

はい、アメリカじんです。 (Hai, Amerika-jin desu.)

"Yes, I'm American."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Ken Kobayashi asks,

"Are you American?"

アメリカじんですか。 (Amerika-jin desu ka.)

First is アメリカじん (Amerika-jin) "American," as in a American person. アメリカじん.

There are two components.

This starts with アメリカ (Amerika), "America." ア-メ-リ-カ. アメリカ.

After this is じん (jin), "person." じ-ん. じん.

Together, アメリカじん (Amerika-jin) literally means "America person," but translates as "American" as in a American person. アメリカじん.

Note: アメリカじん (Amerika-jin) is a noun, not an adjective.

Next is です(desu). Here, it’s like the "are" in "are you." で-す. です.

Last is the particle, か (ka), the question-marking particle. か. か.

This turns the sentence into a question.

All together, it’s アメリカじんですか。 (Amerika-jin desu ka.) This literally means "America person [you] are?" but it translates as "Are you American?"

アメリカじんですか。 (Amerika-jin desu ka.)

Note the [you] is understood from context, as this is a two person conversation.

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Megumi Sasaki says,

"Yes, I'm American."

はい、アメリカじんです。 (Hai, Amerika-jin desu.)

The first part is はい, meaning, "yes." は-い. はい.

It answers Ken's yes-or-no question, "Are you American?"

アメリカじんですか。

はい、アメリカじんです。 (Hai, Amerika-jin desu.)

Next is アメリカじん (Amerika-jin), "American," as in a person from America. アメリカじん.

After this is です. Here, it’s like the "am" in "I am." です.

Note: the "I" is understood through context.

All together, it’s はい、アメリカじんです。 (Hai,Amerika-jin desu.) This literally means "Yes, American person [I] am," but it translates as "Yes, I’m American."

はい、アメリカじんです。 (Hai, Amerika-jin desu.)

The pattern is

NATION じんです。 (-jin desu.)

"I’m NATIONALITY."

NATION じんです。 (-jin desu.)

To use this pattern, simply replace the {NATION} placeholder with the country you’re from.

Imagine you’re from Japan. にほん (Nihon). に-ほ-ん. にほん.

Say

"I'm Japanese."

Ready?

にほんじんです。 (Nihon-jin desu.)

"I'm Japanese."

にほんじんです。 (Nihonjin-jin desu.)

In the conversation, the response to the yes-no question was "yes." In the case the answer was "no," the corresponding Japanese response would be いいえ, meaning, "no." い-い-え. いいえ.

For example, if Ken Kobayashi asks

にほんじんですか。 (Nihon-jin desu ka.)

"Are you Japanese?"

いいえ、アメリカじんです。 (Iie, Amerika-jin desu.)

No, I’m American

Again, the key pattern is

NATION じんです。 (-jin desu.)

"I’m NATIONALITY."

NATION じんです。 (-jin desu.)

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

アメリカじんです。 (Amerika-jin desu.)

"I'm American"

アメリカじんです。 (Amerika-jin desu.)

にほんじんです。 (Nihon-jin desu.)

"I'm Japanese."

にほんじんです。 (Nihon-jin desu.)

オーストラリアじんです。 (Ōsutoraria-jin desu.)

"I'm Australian."

オーストラリアじんです。 (Ōsutoraria-jin desu.)

イギリスじんです。 (Igirisu-jin desu.)

"I'm English."

イギリスじんです。 (Igirisu-jin desu.)

ちゅうごくから　きました。 (Chūgoku kara kimashita.)

"I'm from China."

ちゅうごくから　きました。 (Chūgoku kara kimashita.)

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

ちゅうごくから　きました。 (Chūgoku kara kimashita.)

"I'm from China."

First is ちゅうごく (Chūgoku). "China." ちゅ-う-ご-く. ちゅうごく.

Next is から (kara). "From." か-ら. から.

After this is きました (kimashita). "Came," as in "[I] came." き-ま-し-た. きました.

Note: the "I" is understood through context.

きました is from the verb くる (kuru), meaning "to come." くる.

All together, it’s ちゅうごくから　きました。 (Chūgoku kara kimashita.) This literally means "China from [I] came," but it translates as "I’m from China."

ちゅうごくから　きました。 (Chūgoku kara kimashita.)

This pattern is

HOME COUNTRYから　きました。 (kara kimashita.)

"I’m from HOME COUNTRY."

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

NATIONALITY じんです。 (-jin desu.)

I’m NATIONALITY.

NATIONALITY じんです。 (-jin desu.)

Let’s review the new words.

イギリスじん (Igirisu-jin). "British person."

イ-ギ-リ-ス-じ-ん. イギリスじん.

オーストラリアじん (Ōsutoraria-jin). "Australian person."

オ-ー-ス-ト-ラ-リ-ア-じ-ん. オーストラリアじん.

ちゅうごく (Chūgoku). "China." ちゅ-う-ご-く. ちゅうごく.

ちゅうごくじん (Chūgoku-jin). "Chinese person." ちゅ-う-ご-く-じ-ん. ちゅうごくじん.

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 "America?"

アメリカ (Amerika).

And how to say "American," as in an American person?"

アメリカ人 (Amerika-jin).

Do you remember how to say,

"Yes."

はい (Hai).

Do you remember how Ms. Sasaki says

"Yes, I’m American."

はい、アメリカじんです。 (Hai, Amerika-jin desu.)

Do you remember how to say the question-marking particle?

か (ka).

Do you remember how Ken Kobayashi asks,

"Are you American?"

アメリカじんですか。 (Amerika-jin desu ka.)

Do you remember how to say "Japanese" as in a person from Japan?

にほんじん (Nihon-jin).

And how to say "British," as in a British person?"

イギリスじん (Igirisu-jin).

Do you remember how to say "Australian," as in an Australian person?"

オーストラリアじん (Ōsutoraria-jin).

And how to say "no?"

いいえ。(Iie).

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Rin Sasaki, and your home country is America or アメリカ (Amerika) in Japanese.

Respond to the question.

Ready?

アメリカじんですか。 (Amerika-jin desu ka.)

はい、アメリカじんです。 (Hai, Amerika-jin desu.)

Listen again and repeat.

はい、アメリカじんです。 (Hai, Amerika-jin desu.)

Let's try another.

Imagine you’re Mia, and your home country is Australia, or オーストラリア (Ōsutoraria) in Japanese. Pay attention to the nationality in the question.

Ready?

イギリスじんですか。 (Igirisu-jin desu ka.)

いいえ、オーストラリアじんです。 (Iie, Ōsutoraria-jin desu.)

Listen again and repeat.

いいえ、オーストラリアじんです。 (Iie, Ōsutoraria-jin desu.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you’re Jack Jones and your home country is England, or イギリス (Igirisu) in Japanese.

Ready?

イギリスじんですか。 (Igirisu-jin desu ka.)

はい、イギリスじんです。 (Hai, Igirisu-jin desu.)

Listen again and repeat.

はい、イギリスじんです。 (Hai, Igirisu-jin desu.)

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your nationality in Japanese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of introducing yourself. Let’s review.

Do you remember how Megumi Sasaki says,

"I'm Megumi Sasaki."

わたしはささきめぐみです。

And do you remember how Megumi Sasaki says

"Nice to meet you. I’m Megumi Sasaki. Pleased to meet you."

ささきじゅん: 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。

Do you remember how to say "hometown?"

しゅっしん.

And do you remember how Megumi Sasaki says,

"I’m from Florida."

しゅっしんはフロリダです。

Do you remember the How to say "where?"

どこ

Do you remember how Ken Kobayashi asks,

"Where are you from?"

しゅっしんはどこですか。

Imagine you're Jack Jones, from London, and your home country is England.

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

ジョンズ・ジャック

Respond to Ken Kobayashi's self-introduction and follow-up questions.

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

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.)

And do you remember how to say "England" in Japanese?

イギリス

(1)

イギリス　

Now respond that you’re English.

あ、イギリスじんですか。 (A, Igirisu-jin desu ka.)

はい、イギリスじんです。 (Hai, Igirisu-jin desu.)

Listen again and repeat.

はい、イギリスじんです。 (Hai, Igirisu-jin desu.)

Well done! This is the end of the lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your nationality, an essential skill for introducing yourself.

This is the end of this lesson.

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