How to Talk About Your Nationality

Learn how to talk about your nationality

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Spanish by SpanishPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your nationality in Spanish.

For example, "I'm American" is

Soy estadounidense.

Two passengers, Valeria Varela and Angel Salazar Almonte , are seated next to each other as passengers on a plane to Mexico.

Before you hear their conversation, let’s preview some of its key components.

estadounidense

"American"

estadounidense

Listen to the conversation.

¿Eres estadounidense?

Sí, soy estadounidense.

Once more with the English translation.

¿Eres estadounidense?

"Are you American?"

Sí, soy estadounidense.

"Yes, I'm American."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Angel asks,

"Are you American?"

¿Eres estadounidense?

First is eres, “ are”. Eres. Eres.

Note: eres is a shortened form of tú eres, "you are." In Spanish, tú, "you," can be omitted when it is understood from context.

Eres is from the verb ser, meaning "to be." Ser.

After this is estadounidense, "American." Estadounidense. Estadounidense.

All together, ¿Eres estadounidense?, "Are you American?"

¿Eres estadounidense?

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Valeria says,

"Yes, I'm American."

Sí, soy estadounidense.

This starts with the expression Sí, meaning “yes”. Sí.. Sí.

Note, that this word includes an accent mark.

It answers Ms.Varelas yes-or-no question, "Are you American?"

¿Eres estadounidense?

Next is soy. " am." Soy. Soy.

Note: in this sentence, soy is a shortened form of yo soy, "I am." In Spanish, yo, "I," is usually omitted, as it's understood from context.

Soy is from the verb ser, meaning "to be." Ser.

After this is estadounidense, "American." Estadounidense.

All together, Sí, soy estadounidense. "Yes, I'm American."

Sí, soy estadounidense.

The pattern is

Soy NATIONALITY.

“I’m NATIONALITY.”

Soy NATIONALITY.

Simply replace the {NATIONALITY} placeholder with your nationality.

Note: the placeholder is an adjective, and its gender will depend on the speaker -- in this case you.

Imagine you’re Angel Salazar Almonte, and you're Mexican. The word for "Mexican" when referring to male is mexicano. Mexicano. Mexicano.

Say

"I'm Mexican."

Ready?

Soy mexicano.

"I'm Mexican."

Soy mexicano.

In the conversation, the response to the yes-no question was "yes."

¿Eres estadounidense?

Sí, soy estadounidense.

In case the answer were "no," the corresponding Spanish response would be No, "no." No. No.

For example, if Ms. Reyes were asked

¿Eres estadounidense?

"Are you American?"

She could have answered

No, soy mexicana.

"No, I'm Mexican."

Remember this pattern. You’ll need it for the practice section.

Again, the key pattern is

Soy NATIONALITY.

“I’m NATIONALITY.”

Soy NATIONALITY.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Soy estadounidense.

"I'm American."

Soy estadounidense.

Soy mexicano.

"I'm Mexican."

Soy mexicano.

Soy australiana.

"I'm Australian."

Soy australiana.

Soy inglés.

"I'm English."

Soy inglés.

No soy japonesa, soy china.

"I'm not Japanese, I'm Chinese."

No soy japonesa, soy china.

Did you notice how the last speaker uses a different pattern?

No soy japonesa, soy china.

"I'm not Japanese, I'm Chinese."

First is no, “not”. No. No.

Next is soy, “ am.” Soy.

Together, it's no soy, literally "not am," but it translates as "I'm not." No soy.

Next is japonesa. "Japanese." Japonesa. Japonesa.

Note: japonesa ends in -a, since it refers to a female. To refer to a male, the word japonés is used. Japonés.

Back to the conversation.

All together, No soy japonesa. "I'm not Japanese." No soy japonesa.

Jing Liu then states her actual nationality. Soy china. "I'm Chinese." Soy china.

First is soy " am." Soy.

Next is china, "Chinese." China. china.

Note: china ends in -a, since it refers to a female. To refer to a male, it changes to chino.

Together, soy china. "I'm Chinese." Soy china.

All together, No soy japonesa, soy china. "I'm not Japanese. I'm Chinese."

No soy japonesa, soy china.

The pattern is:

No soy NATIONALITY, soy ACTUAL NATIONALITY.

I'm not NATIONALITY. I'm ACTUAL NATIONALITY.

This can be shortened to

No, soy china. “No, I'm Chinese. No, soy china.

This pattern is:

No, soy ACTUAL NATIONALITY.

No, I'm ACTUAL NATIONALITY.

Remember this shortened pattern. You’ll need it for the practice section.

Let's review the new words.

In Spanish, adjectives of nationality can change based on gender. In these cases, we provide the masculine word for the nationality followed by the feminine one.

"Mexican."

Mexicana. Mexicana.

Mexicano. Mexicano.

“American.”

Estadounidense. Estadounidense. Estadounidense.

"Australian."

Australiano. Australiano.

Australiana. Australiana.

"English."

Inglés. Inglés.

Inglesa. Inglesa.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "yes?"

Sí.

And the word for “American?"

Estadounidense.

Do you remember how Valeria Varela says,

"Yes, I'm American."

Sí, soy estadounidense.

Do you remember how Angel Salazar Almonte asks,

"Are you American?"

¿Eres estadounidense?

Do you remember the word for "Mexican" man?

Mexicano.

And the word for an "Australian" woman?

Australiana.

Do you remember the word for an "English" man?

Inglés.

And how to say "no?"

No.

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Catalina Hurtado , and you’re American, or estadounidense in Spanish.

Respond to the question.

Ready?

¿Eres estadounidense?

Sí, soy estadounidense.

Listen again and repeat.

Sí, soy estadounidense.

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Mia Martin, a student from Australia. "Australian" is australiana in Spanish. Pay attention to the nationality in the question.

Ready?

¿Eres inglesa?

No, soy australiana.

Listen again and repeat.

No, soy australiana.

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Jack Jones , a student from England. "English" is inglés in Spanish.

Ready?

¿Eres inglés?

Sí, soy inglés.

Listen again and repeat.

Sí, soy inglés.

Usually it is quite simple to identify the gender of nouns in Spanish. Most masculine nouns end in an -o, while most feminine nouns end in an -a.

There are, however, some exceptions, like the word estadounidense, “American”. Notice that it ends in an -e. Words like this are used for both, male and female.

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your nationality in Spanish. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of introducing yourself. Let’s review.

Do you remember how Valeria Varela says,

"I'm Valeria."

Soy Valeria.

And do you remember how Valeria Varela says

"Nice to meet you. I’m Valeria."

Mucho gusto, soy Valeria.

And how to say "from?"

Do you remember how Valeria says,

"I'm from Florida."

Soy de Florida.

Do you remember how to say "where?"

Dónde.

And the formal word for "you?"

Usted.

And do you remember how Angel Salazar asks,

"Where are you from?"

¿De dónde es usted?

Imagine you're Jack Jones , from London.

Do you remember how to pronounce "Jack Jones" in Spanish?

Jack Jones

Respond to Angel Salazar Almonte 's self-introduction and follow-up question…

Ready?

Hola. Soy Ángel. Mucho gusto.

Mucho gusto. Soy Jack.

Listen again and repeat.

Mucho gusto. Soy Jack.

Do you remember how to say "London" in Spanish?

Londres

Now respond that you’re from London.

¿De dónde es usted?

Soy de Londres.

Listen again and repeat.

Soy de Londres.

And do you remember how to say "English" in Spanish?

inglés

Now respond that you’re English.

¿Eres inglés?

Sí, soy inglés.

Listen again and repeat.

Sí, soy inglés.

Well done! This is the end of the lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your nationality, an essential skill for introducing yourself.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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