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Mythic Mandarin

Where are you from?

HSK 1 Unit 1: Meeting new people · Lesson 2 of 5 · About 16 minutes

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can ask where someone is from and say your nationality.

Warm-up: do you remember?

Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.

  1. Fill the gap

    Quick recall: complete What is your name?

    你叫＿＿名字？

    1. 什么
    2. 吗
    3. 很
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 什么.

    你叫什么名字？ 什么 asks what.

  2. Meaning

    What does 认识你很高兴 mean?

    1. Thank you very much.
    2. Nice to meet you.
    3. My name is Anna.
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, Nice to meet you..

    认识你很高兴: nice to meet you.

New words

  • 哪nǎwhich
  • 国guócountry
  • 中国ZhōngguóChina
  • 美国Měiguóthe United States
  • 英国Yīngguóthe United Kingdom

Country + 人

A country name plus 人 (person) means someone from that country:

Countries and people
CountryPerson from there
中国 Zhōngguó, China中国人 Zhōngguó rén, Chinese
美国 Měiguó, the United States美国人 Měiguó rén, American
英国 Yīngguó, the United Kingdom英国人 Yīngguó rén, British

国 (guó) means country: 中国 is literally the middle country. If your country is not here, find its name in the dictionary and add 人.

Which country? 哪国人

哪 (nǎ, which) asks you to pick one. 你是哪国人？ is literally you are which-country person? Answer in the same order, with your country in the place of 哪国.

  • 你是哪国人？

    Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?

    Where are you from? (Which country are you from?)

  • 我是英国人。

    Wǒ shì Yīngguó rén.

    I am British.

  • 他是中国人吗？

    Tā shì Zhōngguó rén ma?

    Is he Chinese?

    When you can guess, a yes-no question with 吗 works too.

  • Not: 我是美国。

    But: 我是美国人。 Wǒ shì Měiguó rén.

    我是美国 says I am the United States. Add 人 to say you are American.

  • Not: 你是哪国人吗？

    But: 你是哪国人？ Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?

    哪 already makes the question: no 吗.

Characters

  • 国 = 囗 + 玉
  • 中 = 口 with a line through the middle

Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.

Where are you from?

Anna and Li Ming meet at a friend's party.

Listen first

Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.

  1. Listening

    Listen first. Where is Anna from?

    1. China
    2. the United States
    3. the United Kingdom
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, the United Kingdom.

    安娜 says 我是英国人: she is British.

  2. Listening

    How does Anna ask about Li Ming?

    1. She guesses with a yes-no question.
    2. She asks which country with 哪.
    3. She does not ask.
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, She guesses with a yes-no question..

    安娜 guesses: 你是中国人吗？ is a yes-no question with 吗.

Show the transcript
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 安娜

    你好Nǐ hǎo！我Wǒ叫jiào安娜Ānnà。

    Hello! My name is Anna.

  2. 李明

    你好Nǐ hǎo！我Wǒ叫jiào李明Lǐ Míng。你Nǐ是shì哪nǎ国guó人rén？

    Hello! My name is Li Ming. Where are you from?

  3. 安娜

    我Wǒ是shì英国Yīngguó人rén。你Nǐ是shì中国Zhōngguó人rén吗ma？

    I'm British. Are you Chinese?

  4. 李明

    是Shì，我wǒ是shì中国Zhōngguó人rén。

    Yes, I'm Chinese.

Speak: listen, record, compare

Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.

  • 你是哪国人？

    Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?

    Where are you from?

  • 我是英国人。

    Wǒ shì Yīngguó rén.

    I am British.

  • 他是中国人。

    Tā shì Zhōngguó rén.

    He is Chinese.

Practice

  1. Fill the gap

    Complete: Where are you from?

    你是＿国人？

    1. 什么
    2. 哪
    3. 吗
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 哪.

    你是哪国人？ 哪 (which) asks you to choose one country.

  2. Word order

    Put the words in order: I am American.

    • 人
    • 美国
    • 是
    • 我
    Show the answer

    我是美国人 Wǒ shì Měiguó rén.

    I am American.

    我是 + country + 人.

  3. Your turn

    Type China in pinyin.

    Show the answer

    Answer: Zhōngguó

    China is Zhōngguó (中国): first tone, then second tone.

  4. Meaning

    What is 英国?

    1. the United Kingdom
    2. the United States
    3. China
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, the United Kingdom.

    英国 (Yīngguó) is the United Kingdom; 英国人 is a British person.

  5. Listening

    Listen. Where is the person from?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    他是美国人。 Tā shì Měiguó rén.

    1. China
    2. the United States
    3. the United Kingdom
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, the United States.

    You heard 他是美国人: he is American.

  6. Grammar

    How do you say I am Chinese?

    1. 我是中国。
    2. 我中国人。
    3. 我是中国人。
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 我是中国人。.

    我是中国人。 Country + 人, linked to 我 with 是.

Your mission: where you are from

Prepare the two sentences you will use most when you meet people.

  1. If you are not from China, the United States or the United Kingdom, find your country in the dictionary.
  2. Say 我是 + your country + 人.
  3. Ask 你是哪国人？ and record both sentences.

Sentence frames

  • 我是＿＿人。

    Wǒ shì ＿＿ rén.

    I am from ...

  • 你是哪国人？

    Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?

    Where are you from?

Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:

Review and finish

Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.

  • I can ask 你是哪国人？
  • I can say my nationality with country + 人.
  • I know 中国, 美国 and 英国.
  • I do not add 吗 to a question with 哪.

Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.

Next lesson: And you? 呢 and 也