ich komme aus Deutschland
The English phrase "I am from germany" is translated into German as ich komme aus Deutschland.
This phrase is a statement used to tell someone that Germany is your country of origin.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, the phrase translates to "I come from Germany". The preposition aus is used here to indicate origin from a country or city.
Which one should you use?
While Ich bin aus Deutschland is grammatically possible to say "I am from Germany", Ich komme aus Deutschland is the much more natural and common way to express origin in German.
Did you know?
- The name Deutschland has nothing to do with the Germanic tribes or a specific group of warriors. Instead, it comes from the word 'diutisc', which was used to describe the language spoken by the 'common people' as opposed to the Latin used by the elite.
- If you want to sound more precise than just saying you are from 'Germany', you can specify your 'Bundesland', or federal state. Because regional identity is so strong, many Germans feel that mentioning their specific state, like 'Bayern' or 'Sachsen', says much more about them than just naming the country.
- In some southern German dialects, the word ich is pronounced as i, a linguistic remnant of how the word sounded centuries ago.
Examples in context
- Hallo, ich komme aus Deutschland und wohne jetzt in Berlin.Hello, I am from Germany and live in Berlin now.
Example conversation
Two people are meeting at an international student party.
- MaximilianHallo, ich bin Maximilian. Woher kommst du?Hello, I am Maximilian. Where are you from?
- SarahIch bin Sarah. Ich komme aus Spanien.I am Sarah. I am from Spain.
- MaximilianSchön dich kennenzulernen. Ich komme aus Deutschland.Nice to meet you. I am from Germany.
- SarahFreut mich auch, Maximilian!Nice to meet you too, Maximilian!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Deutschland, aus, ich, CC BY-SA 4.0.
