Table of Contents
Talking about Nationalities in German
In this chapter you learn how to say where you are from in a more detailed way, using country names and nationalities. You also see how nationality words behave as adjectives in German.
Countries and Nationalities: Basic Pattern
In German, most words for nationalities have a country form and one or more person forms. Person forms usually change for masculine and feminine.
Basic pattern:
Country: "Deutschland"
Masculine person: add "-er" → "der Deutsche"
Feminine person: add "-e" or "-in" → "die Deutsche"
Nationality words are written with a capital letter when they are nouns (the person), and with a small letter when they are adjectives.
Here is a first table with very common nationalities. Do not worry if your own country is not here; later you will see how the pattern works and you can look up special forms.
| English | German country | German nationality (m) | German nationality (f) | Adjective (language / general) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Deutschland | der Deutsche | die Deutsche | deutsch |
| Austria | Österreich | der Österreicher | die Österreicherin | österreichisch |
| Switzerland | die Schweiz | der Schweizer | die Schweizerin | schweizerisch |
| Italy | Italien | der Italiener | die Italienerin | italienisch |
| France | Frankreich | der Franzose | die Französin | französisch |
| Spain | Spanien | der Spanier | die Spanierin | spanisch |
| Portugal | Portugal | der Portugiese | die Portugiesin | portugiesisch |
| United Kingdom | das Vereinigte Königreich / Großbritannien | der Brite / der Engländer | die Britin / die Engländerin | britisch / englisch |
| United States | die USA / die Vereinigten Staaten | der Amerikaner | die Amerikanerin | amerikanisch |
| Russia | Russland | der Russe | die Russin | russisch |
| Poland | Polen | der Pole | die Polin | polnisch |
| Turkey | die Türkei | der Türke | die Türkin | türkisch |
| China | China | der Chinese | die Chinesin | chinesisch |
| Japan | Japan | der Japaner | die Japanerin | japanisch |
| India | Indien | der Inder | die Inderin | indisch |
| Brazil | Brasilien | der Brasilianer | die Brasilianerin | brasilianisch |
| Mexico | Mexiko | der Mexikaner | die Mexikanerin | mexikanisch |
The masculine and feminine forms here follow patterns, but there are many exceptions. At A1 level it is best to learn the country together with the two person forms and the adjective.
Saying Your Nationality
To say what nationality you are, you usually use the adjective form of the nationality with the verb "sein". You do not use "ein" here.
Examples:
"Ich bin deutsch."
"Ich bin spanisch."
"Ich bin brasilianisch."
You can also use the noun form with an article, especially in more formal German, but this is less common in simple introductions.
"Ich bin Deutscher." (man)
"Ich bin Deutsche." (woman)
The noun forms "Deutscher" and "Deutsche" behave like other nouns. For now, focus mainly on the adjective pattern "Ich bin deutsch / spanisch / brasilianisch".
To say your nationality in everyday German, use:
Ich bin + nationality adjective.
No article, no "ein".
Asking about Nationality
There are two very simple question patterns that you can use.
First pattern, with "woher" (from where) and the verb "kommen". This connects with what you learn in "Where are you from?":
"Woher kommst du?"
"Woher kommen Sie?" (formal)
Answer:
"Ich komme aus Spanien."
"Ich komme aus der Türkei."
"Ich komme aus den USA."
Second pattern, a direct question with "sein":
"Welche Nationalität hast du?" or "Welche Staatsangehörigkeit hast du?" is possible, but sounds formal.
More natural is:
"Was bist du von Beruf?" is for profession, not for nationality, so you should not use it here.
In practice, the most common question about nationality is actually a follow-up to "Woher kommst du?"
For example:
"Du kommst aus Italien. Bist du Italiener?" (to a man)
"Du kommst aus Italien. Bist du Italienerin?" (to a woman)
You can answer:
"Ja, ich bin Italiener." / "Ja, ich bin Italienerin."
or
"Ja, ich bin italienisch."
Masculine and Feminine Forms
For many nationalities German makes a clear difference between male and female forms.
Some very common patterns are:
- "-er" for masculine, "-erin" for feminine
"der Italiener" → "die Italienerin"
"der Amerikaner" → "die Amerikanerin"
"der Brasilianer" → "die Brasilianerin"
- Special stem changes with "-e" / "-in"
"der Deutsche" → "die Deutsche"
"der Russe" → "die Russin"
"der Türke" → "die Türkin"
- No change in stem, only "-in"
"der Schweizer" → "die Schweizerin"
"der Japaner" → "die Japanerin"
"der Spanier" → "die Spanierin"
Masculine usually has the basic form.
Feminine often adds "-in", sometimes with a small change: "Türke" → "Türkin", "Pole" → "Polin".
At the A1 level, always learn the pair together, for example:
"ein Italiener, eine Italienerin"
"ein Pole, eine Polin"
This helps later with grammar.
Nationalities, Languages, and Adjectives
Many nationality adjectives are also the same words you use for languages:
"Deutsch" is the language and also the nationality adjective.
"Spanisch" is the language and also the nationality adjective.
You can say:
"Ich spreche Deutsch."
"Ich bin deutsch."
The first sentence talks about language. The second sentence talks about nationality.
Some adjectives have special country forms with "-isch" or other endings.
Examples:
"Österreich" → "österreichisch"
"Schweiz" → "schweizerisch"
"Portugal" → "portugiesisch"
You can say:
"Er kommt aus Österreich. Er ist österreichisch."
"Sie kommt aus der Schweiz. Sie ist Schweizerin."
Notice that with the person from Switzerland, the noun "Schweizerin" is often more common than the adjective "schweizerisch" for nationality.
More Example Sentences
Here are some short dialogues that combine countries, nationalities, and languages.
"Woher kommst du?"
"Ich komme aus Deutschland."
"Ah, du bist Deutsche?"
"Ja, ich bin Deutsche und ich spreche Deutsch."
"Woher kommen Sie?"
"Ich komme aus Brasilien."
"Sind Sie Brasilianer?"
"Ja, ich bin Brasilianer. Ich spreche Portugiesisch und ein bisschen Deutsch."
"Woher kommst du?"
"Ich komme aus der Türkei."
"Sprichst du Türkisch?"
"Ja, ich spreche Türkisch und Englisch."
These examples show you how to connect the information: country, nationality, and language.
Special Country Forms with Articles
Some country names in German always take an article, like "die Türkei" or "die Schweiz". Some are plural, like "die USA". You will learn the rules for articles in other chapters, but for nationalities it is good to see some examples.
"Ich komme aus der Türkei. Ich bin Türke / Türkin."
"Ich komme aus der Schweiz. Ich bin Schweizer / Schweizerin."
"Ich komme aus den USA. Ich bin Amerikaner / Amerikanerin."
You can also use the adjective:
"Ich bin türkisch."
"Ich bin schweizerisch."
"Ich bin amerikanisch."
At A1 level, it is enough to recognize that some country names have "die" or "die ...en". The exact rules for these articles belong in the articles chapters.
Practice Pattern for Yourself
You can use this simple pattern to practice with your own nationality. Replace the country and nationality with your own:
"Ich komme aus ______."
"Ich bin ______."
"Ich spreche ______."
You can also try the noun form:
"Ich bin ______." (Italiener / Italienerin / Deutscher / Deutsche, etc.)
If you are not sure about the correct German word for your nationality, check a dictionary and then practice it in these three sentences.
Vocabulary List
New and important words from this chapter:
| English | German | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | Deutschland | country |
| German (person, m) | der Deutsche | noun, male person |
| German (person, f) | die Deutsche | noun, female person |
| German (adj./language) | deutsch | adjective / language |
| Austria | Österreich | country |
| Austrian (m) | der Österreicher | person |
| Austrian (f) | die Österreicherin | person |
| Austrian (adj.) | österreichisch | adjective |
| Switzerland | die Schweiz | country (with article) |
| Swiss (m) | der Schweizer | person |
| Swiss (f) | die Schweizerin | person |
| Swiss (adj.) | schweizerisch | adjective |
| Italy | Italien | country |
| Italian (m) | der Italiener | person |
| Italian (f) | die Italienerin | person |
| Italian (adj.) | italienisch | adjective / language |
| France | Frankreich | country |
| French (m) | der Franzose | person |
| French (f) | die Französin | person |
| French (adj.) | französisch | adjective / language |
| Spain | Spanien | country |
| Spaniard (m) | der Spanier | person |
| Spaniard (f) | die Spanierin | person |
| Spanish (adj./language) | spanisch | adjective / language |
| Portugal | Portugal | country |
| Portuguese (m) | der Portugiese | person |
| Portuguese (f) | die Portugiesin | person |
| Portuguese (adj.) | portugiesisch | adjective / language |
| United Kingdom | das Vereinigte Königreich / Großbritannien | country |
| British (m) | der Brite | person |
| British (f) | die Britin | person |
| Englishman | der Engländer | person |
| Englishwoman | die Engländerin | person |
| English (adj./language) | englisch | adjective / language |
| British (adj.) | britisch | adjective |
| United States (USA) | die USA / die Vereinigten Staaten | country (plural) |
| American (m) | der Amerikaner | person |
| American (f) | die Amerikanerin | person |
| American (adj.) | amerikanisch | adjective / language |
| Russia | Russland | country |
| Russian (m) | der Russe | person |
| Russian (f) | die Russin | person |
| Russian (adj./language) | russisch | adjective / language |
| Poland | Polen | country |
| Pole (m) | der Pole | person |
| Pole (f) | die Polin | person |
| Polish (adj./language) | polnisch | adjective / language |
| Turkey | die Türkei | country (with article) |
| Turk (m) | der Türke | person |
| Turk (f) | die Türkin | person |
| Turkish (adj./language) | türkisch | adjective / language |
| China | China | country |
| Chinese (m) | der Chinese | person |
| Chinese (f) | die Chinesin | person |
| Chinese (adj./language) | chinesisch | adjective / language |
| Japan | Japan | country |
| Japanese (m) | der Japaner | person |
| Japanese (f) | die Japanerin | person |
| Japanese (adj./language) | japanisch | adjective / language |
| India | Indien | country |
| Indian (m) | der Inder | person |
| Indian (f) | die Inderin | person |
| Indian (adj.) | indisch | adjective |
| Brazil | Brasilien | country |
| Brazilian (m) | der Brasilianer | person |
| Brazilian (f) | die Brasilianerin | person |
| Brazilian (adj.) | brasilianisch | adjective |
| Mexico | Mexiko | country |
| Mexican (m) | der Mexikaner | person |
| Mexican (f) | die Mexikanerin | person |
| Mexican (adj.) | mexikanisch | adjective |
| nationality | die Nationalität | noun |
| citizenship | die Staatsangehörigkeit | more formal word |
| from where | woher | question word |
| to come (from) | kommen | verb |
| to be | sein | verb |
| to speak | sprechen | verb |