How to say where you are from in German

The question “where are you from” in German has two common uses:

• Woher kommst du?
• Woher stammen Sie?

These two questions mean the same thing and you can use one interchangeably.

Woher kommst du? It is a more informal question and is used between friends, family members or acquaintances.

Woher stammen Sie? It is a more formal question and is used in business situations or when asking people you are meeting for the first time.

Example sentences:

• Woher kommst du? - Where are you from?
• Woher stammen Sie? - Where are you from?
• Ich komme aus der Turkei. - I am from turkey.
• Ich stamme aus Deutschland. – I come from Germany.

Another option is “woher bist du?” is to use. This question is “where are you from?” It means and is more informal because the pronoun “du” is used.

Sample sentences:

• Woher bist du? - Where are you from?

When answering, you can indicate the name of your hometown using the word “aus”. For example:

• Here you go, Berlin. – I'm from Berlin.
• Ich stamme aus der Schweiz. – I come from Switzerland.

Alternatively, you can specify the name of your city of birth using the word “bei”. For example:

• Ich bin in Istanbul geboren. - I was born in Istanbul.
• Ich bin in Frankfurt am Main geboren. – I was born in Frankfurt am Main.

To summarize:

“Where are you from in German?” The phrase “Woher kommst du?” is translated into German. or more formally “Woher stammst du?” can be expressed as . Here are other example sentences:

1. Where are you from?
   • Woher kommst du?
2. You speak German, are you from Germany?
   • Sie sprechen Deutsch, kommen Sie aus Deutschland?
3. How did you start learning German?
   • Wie hast du angefangen, Deutsch zu lernen?
4. I work as a German teacher, I come from Germany.
   • Ich arbeite als Deutschlehrer und komme aus Deutschland.
5. I speak German as my mother tongue, I was born in Germany.
   • Ich spreche Deutsch als Muttersprache, ich wurde in Deutschland geboren.