Level 1 · Lesson 5

我是中国人
I'm Chinese

你是哪国人？我是中国人。

Build a nationality from country plus 人, and ask for one with 哪国人.

听 · Listen

对话
 李明 —  你好！我叫李明，我是中国人。 
Hello! My name is Li Ming, and I am Chinese.  
 安娜 —  你好！我叫安娜，我是美国人。 
Hello! My name is Anna, and I am American.  
 李明 —  他是哪国人？他是中国人吗？ 
What nationality is he? Is he Chinese?  
 安娜 —  他不是中国人，他是日本人。 
He is not Chinese — he is Japanese.  
 李明 —  他姓什么？ 
What is his surname?  
 安娜 —  他姓山本。 
His surname is Yamamoto.  
 李明 —  山本先生，您好！ 
Hello, Mr Yamamoto!  
 山本 —  你好！ 
Hello!  

讲解 · Explanation

我是中国人。她是美国人。他是日本人。

A nationality is simply the country plus 人 rén 'person': 中国 + 人 gives 中国人, 美国 + 人 gives 美国人, 日本 + 人 gives 日本人. Nothing changes shape — no ending is added to the country, and 人 is the same word for one person or a hundred. Note that pinyin writes these as one word, Zhōngguórén, because that is how they are said.

你是哪国人？

哪 nǎ means 'which', and like 什么 it stays exactly where the answer will stand. 哪国人 is 'which-country person', sitting in the same slot as 中国人 in the answer 我是中国人. So the question and the answer have the identical shape — you only swap 哪国 for the country.

中国、美国、日本

The names repay a look. 中国 is the 'middle country'. 美国 keeps the second syllable of 美利坚 Měilìjiān, an old transcription of America, and 美 happens to mean 'beautiful'. 日本 is 'sun origin' — the same two characters Japan writes its own name with. Two of the three end in 国 guó 'country'; 日本 does not, so you still say 日本人 with no 国 in it.

生词 · Vocabulary

词	Meaning	注 · Note
人	person, people	no plural ending, ever
中国	China	中国人 Zhōngguórén = Chinese person
哪	which	stays in the answer's position
国	country
美国	the United States	美国人 Měiguórén = American
日本	Japan	日本人 Rìběnrén = Japanese; no 国 in the name

练习 · Practice

你是哪国人？ You are American. Which answer is correct?

他是中国人吗？ He is Japanese. Which answer is correct?

他是日本______。 He is Japanese.

排一排。 Arrange the words: 'What nationality are you?'

中国、美国、日本、人、国 Match each word to its meaning.

用一用 · Use it

我是……人。你是哪国人？

Say your own nationality aloud in the frame 我是 … 人, then ask it back: 你是哪国人？ Now chain everything you have: 你好！我姓 …，我叫 …，我是 … 人。你是学生吗？ That is a complete first meeting in Chinese, and you built it in five lessons.