de qué nacionalidad eres
/de ke naθjonalidad eɾes/from spelling rules
The English phrase "what nationality you are" is translated into Spanish as de qué nacionalidad eres.
This phrase is used to ask someone which country they are a citizen of. When answering, it is generally not necessary to use articles. For example, you would say Soy chileno rather than Soy un chileno. Note that the form of the nationality changes based on the gender of the speaker: a male would say Soy argentino and a female would say Soy argentina. Examples of nationalities include español/a (Spanish), francés/a (French), italiano/a (Italian), alemán/alemana (German), chino/a (Chinese), japonés/japonesa (Japanese), inglés/inglesa (English), hindú (Indian), griego/a (Greek), colombiano/a (Colombian), argentino/a (Argentinian) and mexicano/a (Mexican).
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "of what nationality are you" because the preposition de is required in Spanish to link the person to their nationality.
How does it change in a sentence?
When asking about a group of people, the verb changes to de qué nacionalidad son (what nationality are they / you all are).
How do you pronounce it?
/de ke naθjonalidad eɾes/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly omit the preposition de at the beginning by saying qué nacionalidad eres. You must include de to be grammatically correct.
Did you know?
- The word eres is a linguistic relic. It comes from the Latin word for 'you will be', which replaced the original Latin word for 'you are' to avoid confusion with es.
- In some Latin American contexts, asking de qué nacionalidad eres can sound overly official or like a question from a border agent or lawyer.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, people prefer to ask de dónde eres ('where are you from') instead of de qué nacionalidad eres in casual conversation.
Examples in context
- Soy ciudadano españolI am a Spanish citizen
- ¿De qué nacionalidad eres?What nationality are you?
- No sé de qué nacionalidad eres.I don't know what nationality you are.
- Dime, ¿de qué nacionalidad eres?Tell me, what nationality are you?
- ¿Me puedes decir de qué nacionalidad eres?Can you tell me what nationality you are?
Example conversation
Lucía and Daniel are meeting for the first time at a social event.
- LucíaHola, mucho gusto. ¿De qué nacionalidad eres?Hello, nice to meet you. What nationality are you?
- DanielSoy español, ¿y tú?I am Spanish, and you?
- LucíaYo soy mexicana.I am Mexican.
- Daniel¡Qué bien! Encantado de conocerte, Lucía.That's great! Pleased to meet you, Lucía.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, eres, nacionalidad, qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
