je suis indien
In French, the phrase "I am indian" is said as je suis indien.
This phrase is used to express that your nationality or ethnic origin is Indian.
Which one should you use?
The form you choose depends on your gender. You should use je suis indien if you are male, and je suis indienne if you are female.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective must agree with the gender of the speaker. indien is the masculine adjective used for a male speaker, while indienne is the feminine form used if the speaker is female.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not include an article like "un" before the nationality when using the verb être to state your identity.
Did you know?
- To avoid confusion with people from India, French speakers often use the phrase amérindien when specifically referring to Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
- The word je descends from the Classical Latin egō̆, the same root that produced the English word 'ego'.
- If you were talking about a person from the country of India, you might use the proper noun Indien with a capital letter, whereas the adjective indien remains lowercase.
Examples in context
- Je suis indien.I am Indian.
- En tant que citoyen, je suis indien.As a citizen, I am Indian.
- Non, je suis indien, pas français.No, I am Indian, not French.
Example conversation
Two people are meeting for the first time at a party.
- HugoEnchanté, je m'appelle Hugo.Nice to meet you, my name is Hugo.
- ChloéMoi, c'est Chloé. Tu es français ?I'm Chloé. Are you French?
- HugoNon, je suis indien.No, I am Indian.
- ChloéOh, c'est très intéressant !Oh, that is very interesting!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries indien, je, suis, CC BY-SA 4.0.
