How to say where are you from in German politely & how to reply
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We all have our unique backgrounds and stories about our homes. Asking someone where they’re from can be a great way to start a conversation and get to know strangers from all over the world.
If you’re taking a class in order to learn German with a small group of people, that class is probably full of fellow learners from the most different countries, who come together to study for all kinds of reasons. Practicing with them how to ask “Where are you from” and a number of related questions in German is a great way to get to know them.
It will also prepare you for different situations in which you’d want to ask someone about their background:
- If you visit or move to a German-speaking country and want to learn which part of the country your new friends are from
- If you’re meeting fellow travelers on the road and want to ask them where they’re from to start an interesting conversation
- If a German-speaker is inviting you to their home and you need to understand where exactly they live so you can find the address
How do I say “Where are you from?” in German
“Where are you from” in German is “Wo kommst du her?” or “Woher kommst du?”. It’s a common way of finding out about someone’s origins if they have moved from a different country or they’re traveling so it’s not obvious where they’re from.
If you want to learn where someone’s currently living, there are two ways to ask “Where do you live” in German. One is the literal translation: “Who lebst du?”. This is a general question that can refer to one’s country of residence or one’s housing situation.
The other one is “Wo wohnst du”, which is also common and translates to “where do you reside”.
Only if you already know the person and they invite you to their house, can you use this to find out where they live. Obviously, don’t be creepy and start the conversation by asking a perfect stranger for their address!
| English | German | IPA |
| Where are you from? | Wo kommst du her? | [vo: kɔmst du: he:ɐ] |
| Where are you from? (From where do you come) | Woher kommst du? | [voˈheːɐ̯ kɔmst du:] |
| Where are you from? (formal) | Woher kommen Sie? | [voˈheːɐ̯ ˈkɔmən zi:] |
| Where are you from? (plural) | Woher kommt ihr? | [voˈheːɐ̯ ˈkɔmt iːɐ̯] |
| May I ask where you’re from? (polite) | Darf ich fragen, wo du herkommst? | [daɐ̯f ɪç ˈfʁa:gən vo: du: ˈhe:ɐ̯kɔmst] |
| Which country are you from? | Aus welchem Land kommst du? | [aʊ̯s vɛlçəm lant kɔmst du:] |
| Which city are you from? | Aus welcher Stadt kommst du? | [aʊ̯s ˈvɛlçɐ ʃtat kɔmst du:] |
| Which place are you from? (can be a city or village) | Aus welchem Ort kommst du? | [aʊ̯s vɛlçəm ɔʁt kɔmst du:] |
| Where is your girlfriend / wife from? | Wo kommt deine Freundin / Frau her? | [vo: kɔmt ˈdaɪ̯nə ˈfʁɔɪ̯ndɪn / fʁaʊ̯ he:ɐ] |
| Where is your boyfriend / husband from? | Wo kommt dein Freund / Mann her? | [vo: kɔmt daɪ̯n fʁɔʏ̯nt / man he:ɐ] |
| Where were you born? | Wo wurdest du geboren? | [vo: ˈvʊɐ̯dəst duː ɡəˈboːʁən] |
| Which part of the world did you grow up in? | In welchem Teil der Welt bist du aufgewachsen? | [ɪn ˈvɛlçəm taɪ̯l de:ɐ̯ vɛlt bɪst du: ˈaʊ̯fgəvaksən] |
| Where did you grow up? | Wo bist du aufgewachsen? | [vo: bɪst du: aʊ̯fgəvaksən] |
| What’s your nationality? | Welche Nationalität hast du? | [vɛlçə natsionaliˈtɛːt hast du:] |
| Do you have dual citizenship then? | Hast du dann die doppelte Staatsbürgerschaft? | [hast du: dan di: ˈdɔpl̩tə ˈʃtaːt͡sbʏʁɡɐˌʃaft] |
| Do you live closeby? | Wohnst du in der Nähe? | [vo:nst du: ɪn de:ɐ̯ ˈnɛ:ə] |
| Are you from here? | Bist du von hier? | [bɪst du: fɔn hi:ɐ̯] |
| Have you always lived there? | Hast du schon immer da gewohnt? | [hast du: ʃo:n ˈɪmɐ da: gəˈvo:nt] |
| Where do you live? | Wo wohnst du? | [vo: vo:nst du:] |
| In which part of town do you live? | In welchem Stadtteil wohnst du? | [ɪn ˈvɛlçəm ˈʃtattaɪ̯l vo:nst du:] |
| What’s your metro stop? | Welche U-Bahn Haltestelle ist deine? | [ˈvɛlçə ˈu: ba:n ˈhaltəʃtɛlə ɪst ˈdaɪ̯nə] |
| What’s your address? | Wie ist deine Adresse? | [vi: ɪst ˈdaɪ̯nə ˈadʁɛsə] |
How to respond to where are you from
Whether you’ve spent your whole life in a small village in Nigeria or you’ve been moving from one metropolis to the next since you were two - we’ll teach you a number of ways to explain where you’re from and where you live now.
| English | German | IPA |
| I was born and raised in France, although now I live in Italy. | Ich bin in Frankreich geboren und aufgewachsen, aber jetzt lebe ich in Italien. | [ɪç bɪn ɪn ˈfʁaŋkʁaɪ̯ç gəˈbo:ʁən ʊnt ˈaʊ̯fgəvaksən abɐ jɛt͡st ˈle:bə ɪç ɪn ɪˈtaljən] |
| I’m from Berlin. | Ich komme aus Berlin. | [ɪç ˈkɔmə aʊ̯s bɛɐ̯ˈli:n] |
| I’m from the North. | Ich komme aus dem Norden. | [ɪç ˈkɔmə aʊ̯s de:m ˈnɔɐ̯dən] |
| I’m from the South. | Ich komme aus dem Süden. | [ɪç ˈkɔmə aʊ̯s de:m ˈzy:dən] |
| I’m from a smalltown. You’ve probably never heard of it. | Ich komme aus einer Kleinstadt. Von der hast du wahrscheinlich noch nie etwas gehört. | [ɪç kɔmə aʊ̯s ˈaɪ̯nɐ ˈklaɪ̯nʃtat. fɔn ˈde:ɐ̯ hast du: va:ʁˈʃaɪ̯nlɪç nɔx ni: ˈɛtvas ɡəˈhøːɐ̯t] |
| I’m from Montreal, and you? | Ich komme aus Montreal, und du? | [ɪç ˈkɔmə aʊ̯s mɔntʁɛˈa:l ʊnt du:] |
| I was born in Spain, and moved to South Africa when I was twenty years old. | Ich bin in Spanien geboren worden und nach Südafrika gezogen, als ich zwanzig Jahre alt war. | [ɪç bɪn ɪn ˈʃpa:ni:ən gəˈbo:ʁən vɔɐ̯dən ʊnt na:x zy:tˈafʁɪka gəˈtso:gən als ɪç ˈtsvantsɪç ˈja:ʁə alt va:ɐ̯] |
| I only just moved here from Sydney. | Ich bin gerade erst von Sydney hierher gezogen. | [ɪç bɪn gəˈʁa:də ɛɐ̯st fɔn ˈzɪtnɛɪ hi:ɐ̯ˈhe:ɐ gəˈtso:gən] |
| I’ve always lived in Germany. | Ich habe immer in Deutschland gelebt. | [ɪç ˈha:bə ɪmɐ ɪn ˈdɔʏ̯tʃlant gəˈle:pt] |
| Originally I’m from Nigeria but my family moved here when I was only two. | Ursprünglich komme ich aus Nigeria, aber meine Familie ist hierher gezogen, als ich erst zwei Jahre alt war. | [ˈu:ɐ̯ʃpʁʏŋlɪç ˈkɔmə ɪç aʊ̯s niˈɡeːʁia ˈabɐ ˈmaɪ̯nə faˈmi:ljə ɪst ˈhi:ɐ̯he:ɐ gətˈso:gən als ɪç ɛɐ̯st tsvaɪ̯ ˈja:ʁə alt va:ɐ̯] |
| I live in Colorado but I have German ancestors. | Ich lebe in Colorado, aber meine Vorfahren sind deutsch. | [ɪç ˈle:bə ɪn ko:lo:ʁa:dɔ abɐ maɪ̯nə fo:ɐ̯fa:ʁən zɪnt dɔʏ̯tʃ] |
| I was born in Lithuania but I feel German. | Ich bin in Litauen geboren, aber ich fühle mich deutsch. | [ɪç bɪn ɪn ˈli:taʊ̯ən gəˈbo:ʁən abɐ ɪç ˈfy:lə mɪç dɔʏ̯tʃ] |
| I live in Bremen. | Ich wohne / lebe in Bremen. | [ɪç ˈvo:nə / ˈle:bə ɪn ˈbʁe:mən] |
| I’ve lived in so many different places. | Ich habe an so vielen verschiedenen Orten gelebt. | [ɪç ˈha:bə an zo: ˈfi:lən fɛɐ̯ˈʃi:dənən ˈɔɐ̯tən gəˈle:pt] |
| I move around a lot. | Ich ziehe oft um. | [ɪç ˈtsi:ə ɔft ʊm] |
Follow-up questions about someone’s home country or city
Asking someone where they’re from clearly means you’re talking to someone you don’t know well, yet, but are interested in getting to know. Asking someone “Where are you from?” or “Where were you born” in German will only be the beginning of the conversation.
Here are some great follow-up questions to keep the conversation going once you found out where the other person is from. You can ask them about the weather or the landscape in their country, as well as some more specific questions like their favorite spots and recommendations if you’re planning to visit. This is your chance to learn about another country from a local!
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| English | German | IPA |
| What’s it like there? | Wie ist es da so? | [vi: ɪst ɛs da: zo:] |
| What’s the weather like in your home country? | Wie ist das Wetter in deinem Heimatland? | [vi: ɪst das ˈvɛtɐ ɪn ˈdaɪ̯nəm ˈhaɪ̯maːtˌlant] |
| What does the landscape look like where you’re from? | Wie sieht die Landschaft bei dir zuhause aus? | [vi: zi:t di: ˈlantʃaft baɪ̯ di:ɐ̯ tsuˈhaʊ̯zə aʊ̯s] |
| Do you like it there? | Magst du es da? | [makst du: ɛs da:] |
| What’s your favorite part about home? | Was gefällt dir an Zuhause am besten? | [vas gəfɛlt di:ɐ̯ an tsuˈhaʊ̯zə am ˈbɛstn̩] |
| What do you miss most about your home country? | Was vermisst du am meisten an deinem Heimatland? | [vas fɛɐ̯ˈmɪst du: am ˈmaɪ̯stn̩ an ˈdaɪ̯nəm ˈhaɪ̯maːtˌlant] |
| Which cities / places would you recommend if I ever travel there? | Welche Städte / Orte würdest du empfehlen, falls ich mal da hin reise? | [ˈvɛlçə ˈʃtɛtə / ˈɔɐ̯tə ˈvʏɐ̯dəst du: ɛmˈp͡fe:lən fals ɪç ma:l da: hɪn ʁaɪ̯zə] |
| Have you ever been to the US? | Warst du schon mal in den USA? | [vaʁst du: ʃo:n ma:l ɪn de:n u: ɛs a:] |
| What’s your favorite place you’ve been to? | Was ist dein Lieblingsort, an dem du gewesen bist? | [vas ɪst daɪ̯n ˈli:plɪŋsɔɐ̯t an de:m du: gəˈve:zən bɪst] |
| Where would you like to live if you could move anywhere you wanted? | Wo würdest du gerne leben, wenn du hinziehen könntest, wo du möchtest? | [vo: ˈvʏɐ̯dəst du: ˈgɛɐ̯nə ˈle:bən vɛn du: ˈhɪnt͡si:ən ˈkœntəst vo: du: ˈmøçtɛst] |
Tips on addressing people’s origins in a sensitive way
Asking someone where they’re from can be a fun conversation starter at best - or an insensitive and borderline racist inquiry at worst. That’s why it’s important to stick to some basic rules when you ask about people’s backgrounds.
1. Don’t assume someone is not from here because of their looks
Parts of Germany, especially bigger cities, are actually really diverse and many people who were born and raised in Germany have all kinds of ethnic backgrounds. So don’t ever act surprised if you ask someone where they’re from and they give you an answer you didn’t expect.
2. Refrain from pointing out people’s accents
We know it’s tempting because accents are so intriguing but most language learners try really hard to speak like a native so accents can be a touchy subject. Just be patient. If you’re getting to know someone, you’ll eventually learn where that mystical accent is from anyway and if you’re talking to a stranger, no matter how curious you are, you might just have to settle for quiet admiration.
3. Keep the questions very casual
If you don’t get the impression that the other person wants to talk about their background, move on to easier questions right away. Our guides on asking someone how they are in German or what sports they do will help you find perfectly safe conversation topics.
4. Don’t question people’s answers
If you ask someone where they’re from and they say something you didn’t expect, don’t EVER ask where they’re originally from or if their parents were from another country. If they wanted to share more info on their background, they would have done so. Don’t pry. Don’t be like this guy:
Where Are You REALLY From??? | Decoded | MTV News
Are you living, yet?
The Swedish furniture store chain Ikea has an interesting slogan in the German-speaking world: Wohnst du noch oder lebst du schon? It’s a clever play of words that literally translates to “Are you still residing or are you living, yet?”, referencing the fact that in German, those two terms are used interchangeably. People talk about residing in a place just as much as they talk about living there.
If you think about it, living, or in German “leben”, is a much more expressive term though. The suggestion is that you should never stay in a place and just reside there, without ever making it your own and truly living. Languages get especially fun once you understand such clever plays of words, so always be curious about every word’s exact meaning!
If you’re looking for more German vocab to play around with, pick your favorites from the thousands of words we’ve collected in our many German vocabulary articles!
