je suis américain
To say "I am American" in French, use je suis américain.
This phrase is used to make a statement about one's nationality.
Which one should you use?
The spelling of the word for American changes from américain to américaine to reflect the gender of the speaker.
How does it change in a sentence?
If the speaker is female, the adjective must take the feminine form américaine.
Did you know?
- If you are from the United States, you are américain, but in French, this word can also describe someone from Canada, Brazil or Colombia.
- In French, when you use américain as an adjective for nationality, you do not capitalize the first letter, unlike the English 'American'.
- The word suis comes from a complex linguistic evolution where the Latin 'sum' was actually influenced by the past tense 'fuī' to create the modern present tense.
Examples in context
- Je suis américain.I am American.This sentence is useful for stating your nationality.Tatoeba #7392 by Bruno, translation #461975 by tamsanh
- Laissez-moi me présenter. Je suis Américaine.Let me introduce myself. I am American.
- Salut! Comment ça va? Je suis américain.Hi! How is it going? I am American.
- Je suis américain, et toi ?I am American, and you?
- D'accord, je suis américain.Okay, I am American.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two people are introducing themselves at a party.
- GabrielBonjour, je suis Gabriel.Hello, I am Gabriel.
- ManonEnchantée, moi c'est Manon.Nice to meet you, I am Manon.
- GabrielJe suis américain, je viens de New York.I am American, I come from New York.
- ManonOh, c'est super !Oh, that is great!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries américain, je, suis, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
