How to Ask ‘Where Are You From’ in Japanese

Making new friends? One of the first questions that comes up in conversation when meeting someone is ‘where are you from?’ – especially when we meet people in an international environment, such as travelling, at university or language school!

And if you’re lucky enough to visit Japan, it’s a question you’re likely to hear from curious locals.

Talking and learning about one another’s home countries, or the country where you live, is one of the best ways to delve into a meaningful conversation!

Let’s learn how to ask ‘where are you from?’ in Japanese, and how to answer.

How to ask ‘where are you from?’

There are several different ways to ask this question in Japanese. Let’s look at each of them in turn, so you’ll recognise them when you hear them!

Doko kara kita no

どこから来たの

Where do you come from?

Doko kara kita no (どこから来たの / どこからきたの) literally translates as ‘where did you come from?’, and is a common way to ask someone where they are from!

This is the most casual phrasing so should be reserved for use in an informal setting.

If you want to up the politeness slightly, you can ask doko kara kimashita ka (どこから来ましたか / どこからきましたか).

If you find yourself in a situation where you are asking someone of high social status or an elder where they are from, you should use keigo or honorific language.

The formal phrasing here would be dochira kara irasshaimashita ka (どちらからいらっしゃいましたか). Dochira is the polite alternative of doko, while irasshai is a keigo term used to mean ‘come or ‘go.

Shusshin wa doko desu ka

出身はどこですか

Where are you from?

Another way to ask ‘where are you from’ in Japanese is shusshin wa doko desu ka (出身はどこですか /  しゅっしんはどこですか). It sounds similar to ‘where are you originally from?’, in English.

Shusshin means ‘one’s origin’ and can relate to one’s home country, city, or even school. 

This is a good standard phrase, not too informal and not too formal. However, to go up a level in politeness, add on the honorific go along with the keigo endings to create the respectful phrase go shusshin wa dochira desu ka (ご出身はどちらですか).

Dochira no kata desu ka?

どちらの方ですか

Where are you from? 

Dochira no kata desu ka (どちらの方ですか / どちらのかたですか) is quite a formal way of asking someone where they are from! Kata is a polite term for ‘person’, so the question almost translates as ‘you are a person from where?’

How to answer ‘where are you from?’

As we learned in our post about Japanese question words, questions are generally formed by adding the interrogative particle ka (か).

So, if someone asks you doko kara kimashita ka, you can simply remove the ka, replace doko with your country’s name – and there’s your answer!

Here are some different formats for telling people where you come from:

(see further down the page for a list of countries in Japanese!)

watashi wa ⚪︎⚪︎ kara kimashita
私は⚪︎⚪︎から来ました
わたしは⚪︎⚪︎からきました
I come from ⚪︎⚪︎

watashi wa ⚪︎⚪︎ no shusshin desu
私は⚪︎⚪︎の出身です
わたしは⚪︎⚪︎のしゅっしんです
I am from ⚪︎⚪︎

watashi wa ⚪︎⚪︎ jin desu
私は⚪︎⚪︎人です
わたしは⚪︎⚪︎じんです
My nationality is ⚪︎⚪︎

Reminder that ‘watashi wa‘ means ‘I am’ – but it’s actually optional in Japanese! So you can leave it out, and people will understand that you’re talking about yourself from context.

Examples:

watashi wa airurando jin desu 
私はアイルランド人です
I am Irish

indoneshia jin desu
インドネシア人です
(I’m) Indonesian

oosutoraria kara kimashita
オーストラリアから来ました
(I) come from Australia

If you want to be more specific about where you are from, you can state your city also. 

Foreign cities are written in katakana which means they are ‘translated’ by phonetic/sound-based transliteration.

To name a few: London = rondon (ロンドン / ろんどん) and Paris = pari (パリ / ぱり).

Example:

watashi wa airurando no daburin kara kimashita
私はアイルランドのダブリンから来ました
I’m from Dublin in Ireland

 or 

watashi wa airurando no daburin no shusshin desu 
私はアイルランドのダブリンの出身です
I’m from Dublin in Ireland

List of countries in Japanese

Kuni – 国 – くに – countries

Here’s a list of different country names in Japanese. Don’t see your country here? Let us know in the comments and we’ll tell you how to say it!

English	Kanji / Katakana	Hiragana	Romaji
Australia	オーストラリア	おーすとらりあ	oosutoraria
Brazil	ブラジル	ぶらじる	burajiru
Canada	カナダ	かなだ	kanada
China	中国	ちゅうごく	chuugoku
France	フランス	ふらんす	furansu
Germany	ドイツ	どいつ	doitsu
Ghana	ガーナ	がーな	gaana
India	インド	いんど	indo
Indonesia	インドネシア	いんどねしあ	indoneshia
Ireland	アイルランド	あいるらんど	airurando
Italy	イタリア	いたりあ	itaria
Jamaica	ジャマイカ	じゃまいか	jamaika
Japan	日本	にほん	nihon
Kenya	ケニヤ	けにや	keniya
Korea	韓国	かんこく	kankoku
Malaysia	マレーシア	まれーしあ	mareeshia
Mexico	メキシコ	めきしこ	mekishiko
New Zealand	ニュージーランド	にゅーじーらんど	nyuujiirando
Philippines	フィリピン	ふぃりぴん	firipin
Russia	ロシア	ろしあ	roshia
Singapore	シンガポール	しんがぽーる	shingapooru
Spain	スペイン	すぺいん	supein
Thailand	タイ	たい	tai
Türkiye	タルこ	たるこ	taruko
Ukraine	ウクライナ	うくらいな	ukuraina
United Kingdom	イギリス	いぎりす	igirisu
United States	アメリカ	あめりか	amerika
Vietnam	ベトナム	べとなむ	betonamu

Tairiku – 大陸 – たいりく- continents

English	Kanji / Katakana	Hiragana	Romaji
Africa	アフリカ	あふりか	afurika
Asia	アジア	アジア	ajia
Antarctica	南極大陸	なんきょくたいりく	nankyoku tairiku
Europe	ヨーロッパ	よーろっぱ	yooroppa
North America	北アメリカ / 北米	きたあめりか / ほくべい	kita amerika / hokubei
South America	南アメリカ / 南米	みなみあめりか / なんべい	minami amerika / nanbei
Oceania	オセアニア	おせあにあ	oseania

Now you’re ready to make friends in Japanese!

‘Where do you come from?’ is a common question when travelling in Japan, or making new friends from overseas! Now you know how to ask and answer with ease.

Want to learn more simple, everyday Japanese? Our top recommended course is JapanesePod101. Try it – it’s free!

Related posts

• How to Say ‘My Name Is’ in Japanese: Introduce Yourself Like a Native!
• How to Say ‘Nice to Meet You’ in Japanese
• How to Ask How Old Are You in Japanese

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Hannah Stafford

Hannah is a half Irish/half Japanese girl living in Ireland. Her love for Japan and the Japanese language led her to studying languages and translation in university where she specialised in Japanese. She spent a year studying abroad at Rikkyo University in Tokyo. In her free time, Hannah enjoys using her sewing machine to upcycle clothes and create new pieces!