tôi đến từ
[toj˧˧ ʔɗen˧˦ tɨ˨˩]word by word
The Vietnamese phrase for "I am from" is tôi đến từ.
tôi đến từ is used to state the place where a person was born or where they live.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of tôi (I), đến (to come) and từ (from).
Which one should you use?
While tôi đến từ literally means "I come from", it is the standard way to translate "I am from" when stating a country or city of origin.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
tôi đến từ is formal. In Vietnamese, the word for 'I' changes based on the listener's age. If you are speaking to someone older, you should replace tôi with em to be polite. In this case, the phrase becomes em đến từ.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase tôi đến từ is used to state origin, but it is more common in spoken Vietnamese to use tôi là người [place] (I am a person from [place]) to sound more natural.
Did you know?
Examples in context
- Tôi đến từ Indonesia.I am from Indonesia.This sentence shows how to use tôi đến từ to state your country.Tatoeba #13682549 by leucammieuvu, translation #13682400 by HAGNi
- Tôi đến từ Shizuoka.I am from Shizuoka.This sentence shows how to use tôi đến từ to state your city.Tatoeba #1250180 by lewtds, translation #259003 by CN
- Tôi đến từ Mỹ.I am from America.
- Mình ở Đà Nẵng.I am from Da Nang.
- Tôi đến từ Hà Nội.I am from Hanoi.
Example conversation
Two new colleagues are introducing themselves at the office.
- TuấnChào Chi, tôi là Tuấn. Tôi đến từ Đà Nẵng.Hello Chi, I am Tuan. I am from Da Nang.
- ChiChào anh Tuấn, tôi là Chi. Còn tôi đến từ Sài Gòn.Hello Tuan, I am Chi. As for me, I am from Saigon.
- TuấnSài Gòn là một thành phố rất đẹp.Saigon is a very beautiful city.
- ChiCảm ơn anh, tôi cũng rất thích Đà Nẵng.Thank you, I also like Da Nang very much.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (tôi, đến, từ) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries tôi, từ, đến, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
