Je M'appelle Jordan, Je viens du Texas!
To talk about where you are from in French, you will use the verb venir (to come).
Look at these questions:
D'où viens-tu?
Where do you come from?
Tu viens d'où?
Where are you from?
Formal/plural questions:
Note that:
- De becomes d' because it's followed by a vowel (où).
Now look at these answers:
To say which city you are from in French, you will use the following expression:
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.
See more complex cases in Using 'à' (to/in) and 'de' (from/of) with cities (prepositions)
See also the more advanced lesson on how to conjugate all six forms of venir in Le Présent:
Conjugate venir, tenir and derivatives in Le Présent (present tense)
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Vous venez d'où ?
Where are you from?
Je viens de Londres.
I am from London.
D'où venez-vous ?
Where are you from?
Je viens d'Édimbourg.
I am from Edinburgh.
Tu viens d'où?
Where are you from?
D'où viens-tu?
Where do you come from?
Je viens d'Omaha.
I come from Omaha.
Je viens de Madrid.
I am from Madrid.
Je viens de Hong Kong.
I am from Hong Kong.
Je viens de Paris.
I am from Paris.
Je m'appelle Caroline et je viens d'Avignon.
My name is Caroline and I am from Avignon.
Q&A Forum 89 questions, 145 answers

Salut Jordan,
Bienvenue! C'est un plaisir de vous compter parmi notre communauté. J'espère que vous apprendrez beaucoup de Kwiziq et de nos autres merveilleux membres de la communauté. Passez une bonne journée!
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Je viens de Seoul.
Je M'appelle Jongsoo, Kim et Je viens de Seoul, Coree du Sud.
Je viens de Seoul.
Je M'appelle Jongsoo, Kim et Je viens de Seoul, Coree du Sud.
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Je viens de Milwaukee, Wisconsin, É.-U.
Je viens de Milwaukee, Wisconsin, É.-U.
Je viens de Milwaukee, Wisconsin, É.-U.
Je viens de Milwaukee, Wisconsin, É.-U.
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de L'Inde ou d'Inde?
I have seen some tutorials using 'Je viens de L'Inde' while some tutorials use 'Je viens d'Inde' to say 'I am from India'.
I feel both are grammatically correct (In my limited knowledge).
Which phrase is should I use?

Hi Prudvinath,
Aurélie answered this question to Aditya in the following -
https://french.kwiziq.com/questions/view/je-viens-de-l-inde
Hope this helps!
de L'Inde ou d'Inde?
I have seen some tutorials using 'Je viens de L'Inde' while some tutorials use 'Je viens d'Inde' to say 'I am from India'.
I feel both are grammatically correct (In my limited knowledge).
Which phrase is should I use?
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Hi Jean,
Here is are a couple of examples with venir de in the negative -
Il ne vient pas de Paris, il vient de Rouen = He doesn't come from Paris he comes from Rouen
Il ne vient pas d'arriver il vient de partir = He hasn't just arrived he has just left
I hope these help!
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What do you say when you want to say I'm from (country)?
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Je m’appelle Pat et je viens d’Australie. D’où venez-vous ?

Moi, je viens de Versailles en France, mais j'habite Warwick dans le Warwickshire....
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Hi Shahd,
Just a small correction -
'Je viens du Caire' as it is, Le Caire and
Hope this helps!

Bonjour Shahd !
Just to complete Cécile's answer, here's a link to our related lesson:
Bonne journée !
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Is this correct Je m'appelle Marshaline et je viens de Jamaïque
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Hi Susan, your reply is almost correct. You only forgot "ne" and the "s" in the end of "viens" to mark it as first person singular:
Non, je ne viens pas de Londres. Je viens de Philadelphia.
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How to say im from algeria like this: je viens d'algerie ????
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pourquoi il n'est pas: Je viens d'Hong Kong?
Je viens d'Omaha.
mais
Je viens de Hong Kong.
pourquoi il n'est pas
Je viens d'Hong Kong?

Hi Atul,
- You do not say,
d’Hong Kong
because it has what is called in French a H aspirate which means you indicate its presence by not doing what you have been taught to do when there’s a clash of vowel and consonant, called an elision...
You have to say
de Hong Kong, de Hollande ....
Hope this helps!
pourquoi il n'est pas: Je viens d'Hong Kong?
Je viens d'Omaha.
mais
Je viens de Hong Kong.
pourquoi il n'est pas
Je viens d'Hong Kong?
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what about i saying i came from somewhere..example i came from town......

HI Yolanda,
You would say -
Je viens de la ville,
Je viens du centre ville
The context would make meaning clear.
Hope this helps!
what about i saying i came from somewhere..example i came from town......
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What about saying you come from a country? does the same rules apply? IE "Je viens de France"
What about saying you come from a country? does the same rules apply? IE "Je viens de France"
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Corrigez-moi . S'il vous plaît
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Je viens d'Adelaide. -- I come from Adelaide.
What was your question again?
In the case of habiter the preposition depends on whether you refer to a country, a province or a city.
J'habite en Australie.
J'habite dans le Yorkshire.
J'habite à Paris.
But in the case of venir, it is always de: Je viens d'Adelaide.
And then there is the gender of the country. Most countries are feminine and use "en" with habiter. But some are masculine and require à: J'habite aux États Unis.
Here are two related lessons: Using en with feminine countries and au(x) with masculine countries to say in or to (prepositions)
En, dans = In, to with regions, states, counties (prepositions)
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I found the audio of "je viens d'Omaha" very difficult to understand and recognise "Omaha"
Hi Nigel,
The audio sounds ok to my ear.
Perhaps you were expecting to hear the "h" sounded in the French version of Omaha?
"H" is always silent in French.
Hope this helps,
Tom

Bonjour Nigel !
I've now replaced the sound file with a clearer one, but as Tom pointed out, the two "a" sounds are very thinly distinct in French because of the non-pronunciation of the "h". It's more like a long [a] sound :)
I hope that's helpful!
Bonne journée !
Aurelie,
many thanks for that. Yes, now I hear it as I expected that it would be said. I relistened to the original recording several times before my post, and several times again after Tom's reply, and every time I found it really hard to recognise the recording as its text, despite knowing exactly what I was listening for.
I was not originally expecting to hear the h sounded, just some separation of the different elements of the word, which I can now hear.
Merci a vous!
I found the audio of "je viens d'Omaha" very difficult to understand and recognise "Omaha"
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I don' understand the (d) D' ou what does the (d) mean in a sentence
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So if you're speaking of a german city starting with H, does the "de" contract to "d' " or not? Je viens de/d' Hambourg.
So if you're speaking of a german city starting with H, does the "de" contract to "d' " or not? Je viens de/d' Hambourg.
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Je viens de Kansas City. Does Kansas City have a French pronunciation or do I say it the way I would in English?

Je viens de Kansas City. Does Kansas City have a French pronunciation or do I say it the way I would in English?
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Comment conjuguez-vous avec il, elle, ils, elles et nous>
Hi Georgia,
here is the conjugation of "Je viens de Vienne."
Je viens de Vienne.
Tu viens de Vienne.
Il/elle/on vient de Vienne.
Nous venons de Vienne.
Vous venez de Vienne.
Ils/elles viennent de Vienne.
I hope that's helpful to you. -- Chris (not a native speaker).

Bonjour Georgia !
Here is the link to our lesson on the full conjugation of venir in Le Présent:
Bonne journée !
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Bonjour Randolf !
Good sentence, just one thing :
Bonne journée !
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Do city names have gender?

Hi Vernon,
Although you don't need to worry about the gender of most towns or cities in the expression , 'Venir de', as in the case of single word places it will always be
Je viens de Paris, je viens de Londres, je viens d'Amsterdam, je viens de Nice ...
In the case of towns which use an article in their name it will be,
je viens du Havre (because the town is Le Havre )
Je viens de La Rochelle ( because the town is La Rochelle)
je viens des Sables d'Olonne ( the town is Les Sables d'Olonne) etc...
When you start talking about towns and cities or describing them you will need to use a gender and some will be feminine or masculine. Some will have an article in front of them like, La Havane , La Rochelle, Le Creusot which will determine whether they are feminine or masculine. Some will have an adjective in their name like, Mantes-la-Jolie which will indicate their gender. But in the majority of single word cases, there are no rules to indicate whether a city or town is masculine or feminine except when you use the adjectives 'vieux', 'grand', 'nouveau' or 'tout' in front of them which will always be masculine in this case, e.g. Le Vieux Nice, le grand Bruxelles, le nouveau Belleville, Le tout-Paris...
Hope this helps!


Do city names have gender?
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, I think I might be starting to understand. Thank you for the repetition.

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I am from the Gold Coast. Would you drop 'the' and say Je viens de Gold Coast?

Bonjour Carrie et Ron !
Depending on these two cases, you'll either say:
1) Je viens de la Côte de l'Or, en Afrique.
or
2) Je viens de Gold Coast, en Australie. (city)Je viens de la Côte d'Or, en Australie. (region including the city of Gold Coast)
I hope that's helpful!
Bonne journée !


I am from the Gold Coast. Would you drop 'the' and say Je viens de Gold Coast?
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Can "je viens de" also mean I have just, if the phrase is followed by an infintive of a verb

Can "je viens de" also mean I have just, if the phrase is followed by an infintive of a verb
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Bonjour a tous! Je m'appelle Rita. Je viens de Vilnius en Lituanie.

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je m'appele rafael , je viens de Rio de Janeiro.
je m'appele rafael , je viens de Rio de Janeiro.
je m'appele rafael , je viens de Rio de Janeiro.
je m'appele rafael , je viens de Rio de Janeiro.
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Jerry asked: "Isn't Monaco a country not a city?"


Jerry asked: "Isn't Monaco a country not a city?"
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Bonjour Wendy !
"Je viens de Somerset West" is correct if you're talking about a city, however to say "in South Africa", you'll say: en Afrique du Sud.
See the related lesson: https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/use-en-with-feminine-countries-and-aux-with-masculine-countries-to-say-in-or-to-prepositions
À bientôt !
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Bonjour !
The rule for states or regions is a bit different than for cities.
You would say: Je viens du New Jersey.
Have a look at the related lesson: https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/say-where-you-come-from-with-venir-de-d-du-des-country-state-region
À bientôt !
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Bonjour Sylvia, Good try, but you're mixing up two different words. Je viens du Nigéria = I'm from Nigeria. Je suis nigériane = I am Nigerian.
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Bonjour Te'Aannie !
Super ! ET tu viens de quel pays ?
See https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/say-where-you-come-from-with-venir-de-d-du-des-country-state-region
À bientôt !
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Bonjour Aditya !
This sentence is almost perfect, but because India is a country, you will say:
Je viens d'Inde.
See also this lesson: https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/say-where-you-come-from-with-venir-de-d-du-des-country-state-region
A bientôt !
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Je viens d'Amsterdam aux Pays-Bas mais je suis née en Andorre.

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Bonjour Janet,
The way to say "to go to + city" is:
aller in Le Présent + à + city
"Je vais à Paris."
"Tu vas à Londres."
"Nous allons à New York."
Look for more cases in the following lesson:
https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/contractions-of-articles-a-le-au-a-les-aux-de-le-du-de-les-des
A bientôt !
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Je viens de Melbourne en Australie


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Bonjour Kim,
Très bien ! Une petite correction : Angleterre.
Je viens de Chicago, aux États-Unis.
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Je viens de Portland, Oregon Etas Unis, mais j'habite a Florence, Oregon pur vingt cinq ans.

Bonjour Hope,
First, a few corrections :)
Je viens de Portland, en Oregon, aux États-Unis, mais j'habite à Florence, en Oregon depuis vingt-cinq ans.
Here is a link to the lesson on how to say "since / for + duration":
https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/how-you-use-depuis-since-for-with-le-present-and-not-le-passe-compose-prepositions-of-time
By the way: J'adore Portlandia, c'est une de mes séries préférées !
À bientôt !
Je viens de Portland, Oregon Etas Unis, mais j'habite a Florence, Oregon pur vingt cinq ans.
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Je viens de Los Angeles, mais maintenant j'habite à CDM.

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Je habite u New York me je viens D'Israel

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Je ne viens pas de florida. J'habite à florida. Je viens d'alabama.

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To use this in everyday speech, are you really saying this is where you were born or grew up?

To use this in everyday speech, are you really saying this is where you were born or grew up?
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je viens d'Athenes

je viens d'Athenes
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