quelle est votre nationalité ?
The French for what is your nationality? Is quelle est votre nationalité ?
quelle est votre nationalité ? asks which country a person officially belongs to. It can sound rather formal or administrative, like a question at a border or on a form. In casual conversation French speakers often ask where someone comes from or what their origin is instead.
Which one should you use?
De quelle nationalité êtes-vous ? is another formal way to ask the same thing. With someone you know well, Quelle est ta nationalité ? or Tu es de quelle nationalité ? sound natural.
How does it change in a sentence?
quelle is the feminine form of which or what, because it agrees with the feminine noun nationalité. Use ta instead of votre when speaking to a peer, a child or someone you know well.
Did you know?
- In France, the concept of 'nationality' is closely tied to the legal definition of 'citoyenneté' or citizenship. While English speakers might use 'nationality' to describe their cultural roots, a French speaker using nationalité is almost always referring to the passport they hold.
- In modern French, the word est is a rare survivor that maintains a silent internal 's' in its spelling. Aside from the name Jésus-Christ, it is the only common word where this silent 's' is preserved.
- When answering Quelle est votre nationalité ?, French speakers must change the ending of the nationality word based on their own gender. For example, a man says français but a woman says française.
Examples in context
- Pardon, quelle est votre nationalité ?Excuse me, what is your nationality?
- Est-ce que je peux demander quelle est votre nationalité ?May I ask what your nationality is?
Example conversation
At an international student registration desk.
- ChloéBonjour, quelle est votre nationalité ?Hello, what is your nationality?
- HugoJe suis espagnol.I am Spanish.
- ChloéD'accord, Hugo. Merci beaucoup.Okay, Hugo. Thank you very much.
- HugoDe rien, Chloé.You're welcome, Chloé.
