Je viens de + [ville] = I'm from + [city] in French
To talk about where you are from in French, you will use the verb venir (to come).
How to say where you are from in French
Look at these questions:
Informal/singular questions:
D'où viens-tu ?Where do you come from?
Tu viens d'où ?Where are you from?
Formal/plural questions:
D'où venez-vous ?Where are you from?
Vous venez d'où ?Where are you from?
Note that:
- D'où is the contraction of de + où (from + where).
- De becomes d' because it's followed by a vowel (où).
- De becomes d' because it's followed by a vowel (où).
Now look at these answers:
Je viens de Londres.I am from London.
Je viens de Paris.I am from Paris.
Je viens de Hong Kong.I am from Hong Kong.
To say which city you are from in French, you will use the following expression:
Je viens de + [city]
ATTENTION:
If the city name begins with a vowel, de becomes d' :
Je viens d'Édimbourg.I am from Edinburgh.
Je m'appelle Caroline et je viens d'Avignon.My name is Caroline and I am from Avignon.
Je viens d'Omaha.I come from Omaha.
See more complex cases in À = To/in and De = From/of with cities in French (French Prepositions of Location)
See also the more advanced lesson on how to conjugate all six forms of venir in Le Présent:
Conjugate venir/tenir and derivatives in the present tense in French (Le Présent)
