quelle est votre nationalité
The English phrase "what your nationality is" is expressed in French as quelle est votre nationalité.
This phrase is used to ask a person which country they are a citizen of. When responding, you can use the formal expression Je suis de nationalité [nationality]. or the more informal Je viens de [country name]. Note that in French, nationalities are not capitalized, such as in Je suis français.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "which is your nationality". The word quelle is the feminine form of "which/what" because the noun nationalité is a feminine noun in French.
Which one should you use?
While Quelle est votre nationalité ? is grammatically correct, in casual spoken French, people often use Vous êtes de quelle nationalité ? (You are of what nationality?).
How does it change in a sentence?
To adapt the question to an informal or familiar setting, you can replace the possessive adjective votre with ta to say quelle est ta nationalité.
Did you know?
- The word est is one of only two words in the entire modern French language, along with Jésus-Christ, that retains a silent internal 's' in its spelling.
- In French, if you use a nationality as a noun to describe a person, such as un Français, it is capitalized, but when used as an adjective, like je suis français, it is not.
- While nationalité asks for legal citizenship, a French person might ask D'où viens-tu ? to learn about your cultural origins, as the two concepts are often distinguished.
Examples in context
- Salut, d'où viens-tu?Hi, where are you from?
- Je suis de nationalité anglaise.I am of English nationality.
- Puis-je vous demander quelle est votre nationalité ?May I ask what your nationality is?
- Pour remplir ce formulaire, je dois savoir quelle est votre nationalité.To fill out this form, I must know what your nationality is.
- Dites-moi, quelle est votre nationalité ?Tell me, what is your nationality?
Example conversation
At a registration desk for an international conference.
- GabrielBonjour, quelle est votre nationalité ?Hello, what is your nationality?
- EmmaJe suis italienne, et vous ?I am Italian, and you?
- GabrielJe suis français. Bienvenue à la conférence.I am French. Welcome to the conference.
- EmmaMerci beaucoup, Monsieur.Thank you very much, sir.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries est, nationalité, votre, CC BY-SA 4.0.
