je suis américain
The English phrase "my nationality is american" is expressed in French as je suis américain.
In French, it is much more natural to say je suis américain (I am American) rather than using a literal translation like "Ma nationalité est américaine".
Which one should you use?
When using the word to mean "an American person" as a noun, such as in un Américain, the word must be capitalized. However, in the phrase je suis américain, the word acts as an adjective and is not capitalized.
How does it change in a sentence?
If the speaker is female, the adjective must change to the feminine form américaine.
Did you know?
- While américain is the standard term, some French speakers use états-unien to distinguish citizens of the 'United States' from people living on the entire American continent.
- The word je shares the same Classical Latin root egō̆ as the English word 'ego'.
Examples in context
- Bonjour, je suis de nationalité américaine. Enchanté(e) de vous rencontrer.Hello, I am of American nationality. Nice to meet you.
- D'accord, donc je suis américain.Okay, so I am American.
Example conversation
Two people are meeting at a social event.
- HugoBonjour, je m'appelle Hugo.Hello, my name is Hugo.
- ManonEnchantée, vous êtes français ?Nice to meet you, are you French?
- HugoNon, je suis américain.No, I am American.
- ManonAh, je vois !Ah, I see!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries américain, je, suis, CC BY-SA 4.0.
