お国
okuni
In Japanese, 'your nationality' is expressed as お国 (okuni).
お国 is a common way to refer to someone's nationality or home country in polite, spoken social interactions. While the technical term for nationality is kokuseki, お国 is much more common in polite, spoken social interactions. To state your own nationality formally, you can use the structure Watashi wa [your nationality] desu. For example, if you are an American person, you might see the term Amerikajin used.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
お国 is a polite way to refer to someone's nationality or home country in conversation. If you are a male and wish to express your nationality informally, you can use the phrase Ore wa [your nationality] da yo.
How do you pronounce it?
okuni
Did you know?
- The honorific prefix お in お国 is used to show respect to the person being asked, not to the country itself.
- Historically, 国 did not refer to the nation-state of Japan, but rather to the small provinces and domains that made up the archipelago.
- While お国 can mean 'nationality', it is often used more broadly to mean 'one's hometown' or 'one's prefecture' depending on the context of the conversation.
Examples in context
- 俺はフランス人だよ (Ore wa Furansujin da yo)I'm French.
- 俺はオーストラリア人だよ (Ore wa Ōsutorariajin da yo)I'm Australian.
- 私はスペイン人だよ (Watashi wa Supeinjin da yo)I'm Spanish.
- 俺はロシア人だよ (Ore wa Roshiajin da yo)I'm Russian.
- お国はどちらですか？okuni wa dochira desu ka?Which country are you from?
- お国について教えてください。okuni ni tsuite oshiete kudasai.Please tell me about your country.
- お国の言葉は何ですか？okuni no kotoba wa nan desu ka?What is the language of your country?
Example conversation
Kenta and Misaki are talking about Misaki's background during a lunch break.
- 健太 Kenta美咲さんのお国はどこですか？Misaki-san no okuni wa doko desu ka?Misaki, which country are you from?
- 美咲 Misakiカナダです。Kanada desu.It is Canada.
- 健太 Kentaへえ、素敵ですね！Hee, suteki desu ne!Oh, that's lovely!
- 美咲 Misakiありがとうございます。Arigatou gozaimasu.Thank you.
