German · Real conversations
How to respond to “Woher kommst du?” in German
An origin question can refer to a country, where you grew up, or a more complex personal history. Answer the part you want to share.
What you might hear
Woher kommst du?
Where are you from?
Choose a reply that fits
Ich komme aus Kanada.
I'm from Canada.
Name a country when that is the answer you want to give.
Ich bin in Indien aufgewachsen.
I grew up in India.
Use for the place where you grew up.
Ich habe an mehreren Orten gelebt.
I've lived in several places.
Acknowledge a history involving several places.
Und du?
What about you?
Return the question when you want to hear their story.
Two short exchanges
A new introduction
Woher kommst du?
Where are you from?
Ich komme aus Kanada.
I'm from Canada.
A question about growing up
Wo bist du aufgewachsen?
Where did you grow up?
Ich bin in Indien aufgewachsen.
I grew up in India.
Your turn
Give a short answer that reflects having lived in several places.
Reveal a sample reply
Ich habe an mehreren Orten gelebt.
I've lived in several places.
This response guide in other languages
A note on speaking German
Use Sie for formal address and du with people you address informally. Könnten Sie …? is a useful polite request. Keep noun capitals and the verb position shown in each complete sentence.
The examples preserve German accents and ß. Read a full sentence before replacing a detail: a subordinate clause can move the verb to the end, and case can change an article or pronoun.
