wo du wohnst
The English phrase "where you live" is translated into German as wo du wohnst.
This phrase is used to refer to the specific location or address of a person's home. When talking about living in a broader sense, such as the country or general area where one exists, you might use wo du lebst instead.
Which one should you use?
wo du wohnst refers specifically to a residence or apartment. In contrast, wo du lebst is used for a broader sense of living, such as the region or country where someone resides.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase changes depending on who you are addressing. Use wo du wohnst for one person informally, wo ihr wohnt for a group of people you know informally and wo Sie wohnen for a formal address. You can also use the impersonal form wo man wohnt to mean "where one lives".
Did you know?
- While wo du wohnst refers to a residence, German has a separate word, Heimat, to describe the place where you feel you truly belong, which is not always where you wohnen.
- Using the informal wo du wohnst to ask a stranger for their location can feel uncomfortably intimate or even aggressive in German social settings.
- The pronoun du is a direct relative of the archaic English word 'thou'.
Examples in context
- Sag mir, wo du wohnst.Tell me where you live.This sentence is useful for practicing the command to tell someone your location.Tatoeba #8294290 by driini, translation #3199967 by CK
- Tom weiß, wo du wohnst.Tom knows where you live.This sentence shows how to use the phrase within a statement about someone's knowledge.Tatoeba #4018895 by pullnosemans, translation #3922983 by CK
- Sag noch mal, wo du wohnst!Tell me again where you live.This sentence is useful for asking someone to repeat their location.Tatoeba #2132271 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #1860559 by CK
- Mein Wohnort ist Hamburg.My place of residence is Hamburg.
- Ich bin ansässig in Köln.I am resident in Cologne.
- I wohn in da Nähe von München.I live near Munich.
- 17 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Laura and Maximilian are talking about their new apartment search.
- LauraIch weiß nicht, wo du wohnst.I don't know where you live.
- MaximilianIch wohne in Berlin.I live in Berlin.
- LauraIst das schön, wo du wohnst?Is it nice where you live?
- MaximilianJa, es ist sehr zentral.Yes, it is very central.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries du, wo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
