How to Say ‘Where are you from?’ in Japanese
ご出身はどちらですか。
go shusshin wa dochira desu ka
[goh shoos-SHEEN wah DOH-chee-rah dess kah]
💬 Usage Tip: どちら is the polite form of どこ "where", and ご adds respect to 出身 "hometown, origin". You'd answer with just the place plus です, without ご.
Phrase Breakdown
ご出身は
go shusshin wa
your hometown / origin (topic)
ご is an honorific prefix, 出身 (shusshin) means 'origin', and は marks the topic. Hold the small っ as a short pause: shu-s-shin.
ご出身は東京ですか。
Are you from Tokyo?
Words in this phrase
ご
go
[goh]
honorific prefix
Polite prefix placed before Sino-Japanese words like chuumon.
ご注文をどうぞ。
Please go ahead with your order.
出身
shusshin
[shoos-SHEEN]
hometown; place of origin
Noun for where someone is from or graduated from.
ご出身はどちらですか。
Where are you from?
は
wa
[wah]
topic marker
は marks the topic of the sentence.
空席はありますか。
Are there any seats available?
どちらですか。
dochira desu ka
where is it?
どちら is the polite word for 'where/which'. ですか makes it a question; let your pitch rise slightly at the end.
駅はどちらですか。
Which way is the station?
Words in this phrase
どちら
dochira
[DOH-chee-rah]
where (polite)
Polite word for 'where' or 'which', used respectfully when asking about places.
お住まいはどちらですか。
Where do you live?
です
desu
[dess]
is; polite copula
A polite sentence ending used in formal conversation.
少し伺いたいです。
I would like to ask a little.
か
ka
[kah]
question marker
Placed at the end of a sentence to make it a question.
A席はありますか。
Are there A seats available?
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