Skip to content

11. Where I'm From

0:00 --:--
はじめまして
Nice to meet you
私の名前はアンナです
My name is Anna
はじめまして、たけしです
Nice to meet you, I'm Takeshi
国はどちらですか
What country are you from?
アメリカです
America
ああ、アメリカですか
Oh, America?
日本語が好きですか
Do you like Japanese?
はい、好きです
Yes, I do
英語も好きです
I like English too
私は日本人です
I'm Japanese
日本が好きですか
Do you like Japan?
はい、日本が好きです
Yes, I like Japan
日本人の友達がいます
I have Japanese friends
ああ、いいです
Oh, nice
外国が好きです
I like foreign countries
外国人の友達がいます
I have foreign friends
ええ、いいです
Yeah, nice
たけしさんは学生ですか
Are you a student, Takeshi?
はい、学生です
Yes, I'm a student
アンナさんも学生ですか
Are you a student too, Anna?
はい、私も学生です
Yes, I'm a student too
よろしくお願いします
Nice to meet you

Cultural Notes

Building words with 人 and 語

Japanese builds country-related words by adding pieces to the country name. Add 人 to get "person from that country" (日本人, a Japanese person) and 語 to get "that country's language" (日本語, Japanese). The same pattern works for other countries too — once you know a country name, you automatically know how to say its people and language.

好き always uses が

When you say you like something in Japanese, the thing you like is marked with が, not は. So it's 日本語が好きです (I like Japanese), not 日本語は好きです. This feels backwards from English — in English you say "I like X" but in Japanese the pattern is closer to "X is liked (by me)."

外国人 is not rude — but context matters

外国人 simply means "person from outside the country" and is the standard, neutral way to say foreigner. It's used on signs, in news, and in everyday conversation without any negative feeling. You might also hear 外人, which is a casual shortening — some people find it too blunt, so 外国人 is the safer choice.