Where are you from?
从哪里 asks from where.
FREE BEGINNER LESSON 5 · MANDARIN CHINESE
Mandarin Chinese: Where are you from?
Say where you are from and where you live.
Neutral · getting acquainted. Learn the meaning, listen to the pronunciation, then practise in the interactive lesson.
Practise this lessonOpening vocabulary referenceUseful Mandarin Chinese phrases and their meanings
I am from the UK.
英国 is the UK.
I live in Beijing.
住在 gives the place where you live.
This is my first visit to China.
第一次 means the first time.
How the sentence works
从 means from; 来 means come. 哪里 asks where. 住在 introduces where you live. Mandarin does not require a verb change for past time: 第一次 says the first time, while context tells us this is your present visit.
A short conversation in Mandarin Chinese
Where are you from?
I am from the UK. I live in Beijing.
Welcome!
Words to recognise
where
the UK
China
Beijing
Listen to the whole phrase before focusing on each word. You can replay as often as you like, and the interactive lesson uses pictures and a short exchange to put the meaning in context.
Open the interactive lessonThe opening six teaching lessons are free, including the mini-tests after lessons three and six. A test accepts any answer and shows the score and corrections at the end. No typing or speaking aloud is required.
Keep learning Mandarin Chinese
Free five-minute audio lesson and MP3 · Language learning games
The pronunciation uses prepared synthetic voices. Credits and licences explain the free voice models. Independent native-speaker certification is not claimed.