je viens de
To say I am from in French, use je viens de followed by the place.
je viens de is the standard way to say where you come from, whether a country or a city. It literally translates to I come from.
What does it mean word for word?
je means I, viens is the form of the verb to come and de means from.
Which one should you use?
Je suis originaire de means I am originally from and sounds more formal. Je suis né(e) à is used to give the city where you were born. Je suis de followed by a city is also common, but je viens de is the more standard way to state your origin.
How does it change in a sentence?
Before a place name that starts with a vowel or a silent h, de contracts to d with an apostrophe. With a masculine country starting with a consonant, de combines with le to become du, as in Je viens du Canada. With a plural country, it becomes des, as in Je viens des États-Unis. Many feminine countries take de with no article, as in Je viens de Norvège.
Did you know?
- The phrase je viens de is also used as a grammatical tool called the 'recent past'. Adding it before an infinitive verb, such as je viens de manger, means 'I have just eaten'.
- In very formal or poetic French, you might encounter je suis issu de, which suggests being 'descended from' a specific family or social class rather than just a geographic location.
- The word je traces its lineage back to the Classical Latin 'egō', which is the same ancestor found in the English 'I'.
Examples in context
- Je viens de Russie.I am from Russia.Je viens de Russie uses plain de before a feminine country.Tatoeba #754557 by Cocorico, translation #436345 by lukaszpp
- Je viens de Norvège.I am from Norway.Je viens de Norvège follows the same pattern as Russia.Tatoeba #9159684 by Julien_PDC, translation #371916 by saeb
- Je viens de Tokyo, Japon.I am from Tokyo, Japan.Je viens de Tokyo uses de before a city.Tatoeba #129716 by Micsmithel, translation #3626638 by Lindoula
- Je viens de France.I am from France.
- Non, je suis originaire du Canada.No, I am originally from Canada.
- Je viens de Belgique, mais j'habite en Suisse.I am from Belgium, but I live in Switzerland.
- Je suis marocain(e) de nationalité, mais je viens de France.I am of Moroccan nationality, but I come from France.
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two students are meeting for the first time in class.
- ChloéBonjour ! Je m'appelle Chloé. Et toi ?Hello! My name is Chloé. And you?
- GabrielSalut Chloé, je m'appelle Gabriel.Hi Chloé, my name is Gabriel.
- ChloéD'où viens-tu, Gabriel ?Where are you from, Gabriel?
- GabrielJe viens de Lyon, en France.I am from Lyon, France.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, je, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
