How to Say Where You're From

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Korean by KoreanClass101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to say where you're from in Korean.

For example, "I'm from Florida." is

플로리다에서 왔어요. (Peul-lo-ri-da-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

Two passengers, Yeon-a Yu and Min-gyu Mun, are seated next to each other on a plane to Korea.

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

어디 (eo-di)

"where"

어디 (enunciated)

어디

Listen to the conversation, and focus on Yeon-a’s response.

Note: the speakers in this conversation use polite Korean.

Ready?

연아 씨는 어디에서 왔어요? (Yeon-a ssi-neun eo-di-e-seo wass-eo-yo?)

플로리다에서 왔어요.(Peul-lo-ri-da-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

Once more with the English translation.

연아 씨는 어디에서 왔어요? (Yeon-a ssi-neun eo-di-e-seo wass-eo-yo?)

"Yeon-a, where are you from?"

플로리다에서 왔어요.(Peul-lo-ri-da-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

"I'm from Florida."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Min-gyu Mun asks,

"Yeon-a, where are you from?"

연아 씨는 어디에서 왔어요? (Yeon-a ssi-neun eo-di-e-seo wass-eo-yo?)

First is 연아 (Yeon-a). "Yeon-a." 연아.

After this is 씨(ssi), a polite suffix attached to a person’s name. 씨 (enunciated). 씨

씨 is commonly used among people of equal social status, age or position.

This suffix can be used with any gender, and can be attached to a person’s given name or their full name, but not the last name alone.

Together, 연아 씨 (Yeon-a ssi), "Yeon-a." 연아 씨.

Next is the particle 는(neun), the topic marking particle. 는 (enunciated). 는.

Here, 는(neun) indicates that "Yeon-a" is the topic of the sentence. Think of it like "as for..." in the expression "as for Yeon-a,..."

In Korean, it’s impolite to refer to someone as "you." Using the person’s name is considered more indirect and, therefore, more polite.

Together it’s: 연아 씨는(Yeon-a ssi-neun). "As for Yeon-a,..." 연아 씨는.

Note: there are two forms of the topic-marking particle. 는 follows words that end in a vowel, such as in 연아 씨.

Next is the word, 어디(eo-di), "Where." 어-디-(enunciated). 어디.

After this is the particle: 에서(e-seo), the location marking particle. 에-서- (enunciated). 에서.

In this sentence, think of it as the "from" as in "Where are you from?"

Next is 왔어요?(wass-eo-yo) which means, "you came," as in "You came from?" 왔-어-요? (enunciated). 왔어요?

Note: the word "you" is understood from context, as the speaker is asking a question.

왔어요 comes from the verb 오다(o-da) meaning "to come," as in "to come from." 오다.

All together, 연아 씨는 어디에서 왔어요? This literally means, "As for Yeon-a, where from you came?" but it translates as, "Yeon-a, where are you from?" 연아 씨는 어디에서 왔어요?

Remember this question. You’ll hear it again later in this lesson.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Yeon-a Yu says,

"I'm from Florida."

플로리다에서 왔어요.(Peul-lo-ri-da-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

First is 플로리다(Peul-lo-ri-da), "Florida." 플로리다 (enunciated). 플로리다.

After this is 에서(e-seo), the location-marking particle. 에서.

It marks 플로리다, "Florida,"" as the location that’s relevant to the action of the sentence.

Think of it as the "from" as in "from Florida." 플로리다에서(Peul-lo-ri-da-e-seo)

This is followed by 왔어요(wass-eo-yo), "I came," as in "I came from." 왔-어-요 (enunciated). 왔어요.

Note: the word "I" is understood from context, as Yeon-a is answering a question.

왔어요 is from the verb 오다(o-da) meaning "to come." 오다

All together, it’s 플로리다에서 왔어요. This literally means, "Florida from I came," but it translates as, "I come from Florida." 플로리다에서 왔어요.

The pattern is

{HOMETOWN} 에서 왔어요.

"I’m from {HOMETOWN}."

{HOMETOWN} 에서 왔어요

To use this pattern, simply replace {HOMETOWN} placeholder with your hometown.

Imagine you’re from Seattle, 시애틀(Si-ae-teul). 시-애-틀 (enunciated). 시애틀.

Say

"I’m from Seattle."

Ready?

시애틀에서 왔어요. (Si-ae-teur-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

"I'm from Seattle."

시애틀에서 왔어요. (Si-ae-teur-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

Again, the key pattern is

{HOMETOWN} 에서 왔어요.

"I’m from {HOMETOWN}."

{HOMETOWN} 에서 왔어요

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

플로리다에서 왔어요.(Peul-lo-ri-da-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

"I'm from Florida."

플로리다에서 왔어요.(Peul-lo-ri-da-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

평창에서 왔어요. (Pyeong-chang-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

"I'm from Pyeongchang."

평창에서 왔어요. (Pyeong-chang-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

시애틀에서 왔어요. (Si-ae-teur-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

"I'm from Seattle."

시애틀에서 왔어요. (Si-ae-teur-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

런던에서 왔어요. (Reon-deon-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

"I'm from London."

런던에서 왔어요. (Reon-deon-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

서울에서 왔어요. (Seo-ur-e-seo wa-sseo-yo.)

"I'm from Seoul."

서울에서 왔어요. (Seo-ur-e-seo wa-sseo-yo.)

호주에서 왔어요. (Ho-ju-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

"I'm from Australia."

호주에서 왔어요. (Ho-ju-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

Did you notice the last speaker says a country name in place of a city name?

She says

호주에서 왔어요. (Ho-ju-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

"I'm from Australia."

호주에서 왔어요. (Ho-ju-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

You can use this pattern to talk about your country, not just your hometown. In this example, the speaker is from 호주(Ho-ju), "Australia." 호주 (enunciated). 호주.

The pattern is

{HOME COUNTRY} 에서 왔어요.

"I’m from {HOME COUNTRY}."

You should be aware of this pattern, but for this lesson, we’ll use city names.

Let's review the key vocabulary.

평창(Pyeong-chang). "Pyeongchang." 평창 (enunciated). 평창.

런던(Reon-deon). "London." 런던 (enunciated). 런던.

서울(Seo-ul). "Seoul." 서울(enunciated). 서울.

Let's review.

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

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "Florida"?

플로리다. (Peul-lo-ri-da.)

플로리다.

And how to say "from Florida."

플로리다에서 (Peul-lo-ri-da-e-seo)

플로리다에서

Do you remember how Yeon-a Yu says,

"I'm from Florida."

플로리다에서 왔어요. (Peul-lo-ri-da-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

플로리다에서 왔어요.

Do you remember how to say, "where?"

어디. (eo-di.)

어디.

And how Min-gyu Mun addresses Yeon-a?

연아 씨 (Yeon-a ssi)

연아 씨

Do you remember how Min-gyu Mun asks,

"Where are you from?"

연아 씨는 어디에서 왔어요? (Yeon-a ssi-neun eo-di-e-seo wass-eo-yo?)

Do you remember how to say, "London?"?

런던. (Reon-deon.)

런던.

And how to say "Seattle?"

시애틀. (Si-ae-teul.)

시애틀.

Do you remember how to say "Seoul?"

서울 (Seo-ul)

서울

Let's practice.

Imagine you’re Jack Jones from London or 런던 (Reon-deon) in Korean.

Respond to Min-gyu Mun’s question.

Ready?

어디에서 왔어요? (Eo-di-e-seo wass-eo-yo?)

런던에서 왔어요. (Reon-deon-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

Listen again and repeat.

런던에서 왔어요. (Reon-deon-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're Eugene Eom from Seattle or 시애틀 (Si-ae-teul) in Korean.

Ready?

어디에서 왔어요? (Eo-di-e-seo wass-eo-yo?)

시애틀에서 왔어요. (Si-ae-teur-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

Listen again and repeat.

시애틀에서 왔어요. (Si-ae-teur-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

Let’s try one more.

Now, imagine you're Sophie Kim from Seoul or 서울(Seo-ul) in Korean.

Ready?

어디에서 왔어요? (Eo-di-e-seo wass-eo-yo?)

서울에서 왔어요. (Seo-ur-e-seo wa-sseo-yo.)

Listen again and repeat.

서울에서 왔어요. (Seo-ur-e-seo wa-sseo-yo.)

In this lesson, you learned how to say where you're from in Korean. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of introducing yourself. Let’s review.

Do you remember how to say

"Nice to meet you."

반갑습니다. (Ban-gap-seum-ni-da.)

반갑습니다.

And how to say

"Hello."

안녕하세요. (An-nyeong-ha-se-yo.)

안녕하세요.

Do you remember the word for "I?"

저 (jeo)

저

And the topic-marking particle?

는 (neun)

는

Do you remember how Yeon-a Yu says,

"I'm Yeon-a Yu."

저는 유연아입니다. (Jeo-neun Yu-yeon-a-im-ni-da.)

저는 유연아입니다.

All together, do you remember how Yeon-a Yu introduces herself?

안녕하세요. 저는 유연아입니다. 반갑습니다. (An-nyeong-ha-se-yo. Jeo-neun Yu-yeon-a-im-ni-da. Ban-gap-seum-ni-da.)

안녕하세요. 저는 유연아입니다. 반갑습니다.

Imagine you're Jack Jones, from London.

Do you know how to pronounce "Jack Jones" in Korean?

존스잭 (Jon-seu-jaek)

존스잭

Respond to Min-gyu Mun's self-introduction and follow-up question…

Ready?

안녕하세요. 저는 문민규입니다. 반갑습니다. (An-nyeong-ha-se-yo. Jeo-neun Mun-min-gyu-im-ni-da. Ban-gap-seum-ni-da.)

안녕하세요. 저는 존스잭입니다. 반갑습니다. (An-nyeong-ha-se-yo. Jeo-neun Jon-seu Jaek-im-ni-da. Ban-gap-seum-ni-da.)

Listen again, and repeat.

안녕하세요. 저는 존스잭입니다. 반갑습니다. (An-nyeong-ha-se-yo. Jeo-neun Jon-seu Jaek-im-ni-da. Ban-gap-seum-ni-da.)

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

런던

Now respond that you’re from London.

어디에서 왔어요? (Eo-di-e-seo wass-eo-yo?)

런던에서 왔어요. (Reon-deon-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

Listen again and repeat.

런던에서 왔어요. (Reon-deon-e-seo wass-eo-yo.)

Well done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to say where you're from, an essential skill for introducing yourself.

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

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