你是哪国人？
Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?
The English phrase "what is your nationality?" is translated into Chinese as 你是哪国人？ (Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?)
你是哪国人？ is the standard way to ask someone's nationality in a direct but neutral manner.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "You are which country person?" It is composed of 你 (you), 是 (are), 哪 (which), 国 (country) and 人 (person).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
While 你是哪国人？ is standard, you can make the question more polite and respectful when addressing elders or strangers by replacing 你 with 您 to say 您是哪国人？
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun phrase for nationality is constructed by combining 哪 (which), 国 (country) and 人 (person) into 哪国人 (which country person).
How do you pronounce it?
Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?
When do people say it?
A natural response to this question follows the pattern 我是 [Country Name] 人 (Wǒ shì … rén), which means "I am [country] person.".
Did you know?
- The character 国 used for 'country' is a pictograph that originally depicted a weapon or a tool inside a boundary, symbolizing a defended territory.
- When answering 我是 [Country Name] 人, people from the US typically say 美国人, where 美国 literally means 'beautiful country'.
- In China, you may be asked 你是哪儿人？ instead of 你是哪国人？ While the latter asks for nationality, the former asks for your hometown or province, which is often a more important social distinction within the country.
Examples in context
- 请问您的国籍是什么？May I ask what your nationality is?
- 你係邊國人？Which country are you from?
- 你是哪国人？Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?What is your nationality?
- 请问，你是哪国人？Qǐngwèn, nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?Excuse me, what is your nationality?
Example conversation
Two people meet at an international student party.
- 志强 Zhiqiang你好，请问你是哪国人？Nǐ hǎo, qǐngwèn nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?Hello, may I ask what your nationality is?
- 梓涵 Zihan我是英国人。Wǒ shì Yīngguó rén.I am British.
- 志强 Zhiqiang原来如此，很高兴认识你。Yuánlái rúcǐ, hěn gāoxìng rènshì nǐ.I see, it is nice to meet you.
- 梓涵 Zihan我也很高兴认识你。Wǒ yě hěn gāoxìng rènshì nǐ.Nice to meet you too.
