ドイツ人です
doitsujin desu
To say I am german in Japanese, say ドイツ人です (doitsujin desu).
ドイツ人です states that your nationality is German. The subject I is usually left out when it is clear you are talking about yourself, and the full form is 私はドイツ人です。
What does it mean word for word?
ドイツ人 means German person and です makes the sentence polite.
Which one should you use?
Casual versions are ドイツ人だよ。 and 僕はドイツ人だよ, with Boku, a word for I used by males in informal situations.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Replacing desu with da to get ドイツ人だ makes the statement informal or blunt.
How do you pronounce it?
It is romanized doitsujin desu.
Did you know?
- The word ドイツ ('doitsu') for Germany is not a direct imitation of 'Germany', but comes from the word 'Deutsch'. Japanese borrowed this via Dutch traders who were the only Westerners allowed in Japan for over two centuries.
- While ドイツ ('doitsu') is the standard name for Germany, you may occasionally see the archaic name 独逸 ('doitsu') written in Kanji. These characters were chosen specifically because their pronunciations matched the sound of the word, not because of their original meanings.
- If you are a woman, using the masculine 'I' forms like 僕 ('boku') or 俺 ('ore') in the phrase 僕はドイツ人だよ would sound extremely unnatural or even intentionally eccentric. Women almost exclusively use 私 ('watashi') or omit the subject entirely to remain natural.
Examples in context
- 私はドイツ人です。I am German.This is the full sentence with 私は, meaning I, at the start.Tatoeba #5385071 by 7evenbananas, translation #3221039 by CN
- 私はドイツ人です。ドイツには美しい風景がたくさんあります。I am German. Germany has many beautiful landscapes.
- ドイツ人です。ドイツの食べ物は美味しいですよ。I am German. German food is delicious.
- 僕はドイツ人だよ。ドイツに行ったことがありますか？I am German. Have you ever been to Germany?
- すみません、私はドイツ人です。Sumimasen, watashi wa Doitsujin desu.Excuse me, I am German.
Example conversation
At a cafe in Tokyo where two people are meeting for the first time.
- 美咲 Misaki蓮さんはどこの国の人ですか？Ren-san wa doko no kuni no hito desu ka?Ren, which country are you from?
- 蓮 Ren私はドイツ人です。Watashi wa Doitsujin desu.I am German.
- 美咲 Misakiそうなんですね！Sou nan desu ne!Is that so!
- 蓮 Renはい、そうです。Hai, sou desu.Yes, that's right.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
