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
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.
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.
Q&A
Susan
Kwiziq community member
11 February 2019
1 reply
tu viens d'oú
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
12/02/19
Mistake, Susan????
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
9/02/19
Hi Jho,
It would be -
des Philippines....
Haloui
Kwiziq community member
25 January 2019
2 replies
How to say im from algeria like this: je viens d'algerie ????
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
26/01/19
Yes Haloui , ‘Je viens d’ Algérie’ is correct
Haloui
Kwiziq community member
26/01/19
Merci
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
20/01/19
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!
Atul
Kwiziq community member
21/01/19
Oui, merci beaucoup Cécile!
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
29/01/19
Hi Kevin.
Yes that is correct for I come from Winnipeg...
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
5/01/19
HI Yolanda,
You would say -
Je viens de la ville,
Je viens du centre ville
The context would make meaning clear.
Hope this helps!
Chris
Kwiziq community member
22/12/18
Yes.
Chris
Kwiziq community member
19/12/18
Sami
Kwiziq community member
13 December 2018
2 replies
Corrigez-moi . S'il vous plaît
J'habite à Alexandrie en Egypte.Chris
Kwiziq community member
14/12/18
Sami
Kwiziq community member
14/12/18
Susan
Kwiziq community member
11 February 2019
2 replies
venez-vous de Londres?
Susan
Kwiziq community member
11 February 2019
11/02/19
no je vien pas de Londres. Je vien de Philadelphia
Chris
Kwiziq community member
15 February 2019
15/02/19
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 Londre. Je viens de Philadelphia.