How to Talk About Your Nationality

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Portuguese by PortuguesePod101.com.

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

For example, "I'm American" is

Eu sou americana.

Two passengers, Susana Santos and Alex Andrade , are seated next to each other as passengers on a plane to Brazil.

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

Americana.

"American"

Americana.

Listen to the conversation.

Você é americana?

Sim, eu sou americana.

Once more with the English translation.

Você é americana?

"Are you American?"

Sim, eu sou americana.

"Yes, I'm American."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Mr. Andrade asks,

"Are you American?"

Você é americana?

First is você é, "you are." Você é.

Let’s start with você, meaning "you," in this context. Você. Você.

Note: in Brazilian Portuguese você is used when addressing someone in a casual conversation.

After this is é, literally "is," but translates as "are," in this context. É. É.

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

Together você é literally means "you is," but translates as "you are." Você é.

Note: você, "you," is always followed by a verb in the third person singular, as in Você é, literally, "You is," but translates as "You are."

After this is americana, "American." Americana. Americana.

Note: Americana is feminine, as the speaker is addressing Susana Santos.

If Mr. Andrade was referring to a male, he would use the masculine noun, Americano, to refer to him. As in Você é americano? "Are you American?" Você é americano?

All together, Você é americana?, "Are you American?"

Você é americana?

Let's take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Susana Santos says,

"Yes, I'm American."

Sim, eu sou americana.

This starts with the expression, sim, meaning "yes." Sim. Sim.

It answers Mr. Andrade's yes-or-no question, "Are you American?"

Você é americana?

Next is eu, "I." Eu. Eu.

After this is sou, "am." Sou. Sou.

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

Last is americana, "American." americana.

All together, Sim, eu sou americana. "Yes, I'm American."

Sim, eu sou americana.

The pattern is

Eu sou NATIONALITY.

I'm NATIONALITY.

Eu sou NATIONALITY.

To use this pattern, simply replace the {NATIONALITY} placeholder with your nationality.

Note: This pattern requires an adjective, and its gender will depend on the gender of the speaker.

Imagine you're Mr. Andrade, and you're Brazilian. The word for a "Brazilian" man is brasileiro. Brasileiro. Brasileiro.

Say

"I'm Brazilian."

Ready?

Eu sou brasileiro.

"I'm Brazilian."

Eu sou brasileiro.

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

In case the answer was "no," the corresponding Portuguese response would be não, meaning, "no." Não. Não.

For example, if Ms. Santos was asked

Você é brasileira?

"Are you Brazilian?"

She could have answered

Não, eu sou americana.

"No, I'm American."

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

Again, the key pattern is

Eu sou NATIONALITY.

I'm NATIONALITY.

Eu sou NATIONALITY.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Eu sou americana.

"I'm American."

Eu sou americana.

Eu sou brasileiro.

"I'm Brazilian."

Eu sou brasileiro.

Eu sou australiana.

"I'm Australian."

Eu sou australiana.

Eu sou inglês.

"I'm English."

Eu sou inglês.

Eu não sou japonesa, sou chinesa.

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

Eu não sou japonesa, sou chinesa.

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

Eu não sou japonesa, sou chinesa.

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

First is eu, "I". Eu.

Next is não, "not." Não.

After this is sou. "I am." Sou.

Together, it's eu não sou, literally "I not am," but it translates as "I'm not." Eu não sou.

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

All together, Eu não sou japonesa. "I'm not Japanese." Eu não sou japonesa.

Jing Liu then states her actual nationality. Sou chinesa. "I'm Chinese." Sou chinesa.

First is sou. "I am." Sou.

Note, Eu is omitted, as it’s understood from context.

Next is chinesa, "Chinese." Chinesa. Chinesa.

Together, Sou chinesa. "I'm Chinese." Sou chinesa.

All together, Eu não sou japonesa, sou chinesa. "I'm not Japanese. I'm Chinese."

Eu não sou japonesa, sou chinesa.

The pattern is:

Eu não sou NATIONALITY, sou ACTUAL NATIONALITY.

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

This can be shortened to

Não, eu sou chinesa. "No, I'm Chinese." Não, eu sou chinesa.

This pattern is:

Não, eu sou ACTUAL NATIONALITY.

No, I'm ACTUAL NATIONALITY.

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

Let’s review the new vocabulary.

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

"Brazilian"

Brasileiro. Brasileiro.

Brasileira. Brasileira.

"American"

Americano. Americano.

Americana. Americana.

"Australian"

Australiano , Australiano.

Australiana , Australiana.

"English"

Inglês. Inglês.

Inglesa. Inglesa.

Note: in Portuguese this word in a strict sense means "English," but it's widely used to mean "British."

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?"

Sim.

And the word for an "American" woman?

Americana.

Do you remember how Ms. Santos says,

"Yes, I'm American."

Sim, eu sou americana.

Do you remember how Mr. Andrade asks,

"Are you American?"

Você é americana?

Do you remember the word for an English man?

Inglês.

And the word for an Australian woman?

Australiana.

And how to say "no?"

Não.

Do you remember how a woman would say, "No, I’m not Chinese"?

Não, eu sou chinesa.

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Sabrina Santos , and you're American, or americana in Portuguese.

Respond to the question.

Ready?

Você é americana?

Sim, eu sou americana.

Listen again and repeat.

Sim, eu sou americana.

Let's try another.

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

Ready?

Você é americana?

Não, eu sou australiana.

Listen again and repeat.

Não, eu sou australiana.

Let's try one more.

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

Ready?

Você é inglês?

Sim, eu sou inglês.

Listen again and repeat.

Sim, eu sou inglês.

In Portuguese, nationality adjectives are always written with a lowercase letter.

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

Do you remember how Susana says,

“I’m Susana.”

Eu sou Susana.

And do you remember how Susana Santos says

"I'm Susana. Nice to meet you!"

Eu sou Susana. Prazer!

And how to say "from?"

De.

Do you remember how Susana says,

"I'm from Florida."

Eu sou da Flórida.

Do you remember how to say "where?"

Onde.

And how to say "from where?"

De onde.

And do you remember how Alex Andrade asks,

"Where are you from?"

De onde você é?

Imagine you're Jack Jones , from London.

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

Jack Jones.

Respond to Alex Andrade 's self-introduction and follow-up question…

Ready?

Oi! Eu sou Alex. Prazer.

Eu sou Jack. Prazer!

Listen again and repeat.

Eu sou Jack. Prazer!

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

Londres.

Now respond that you’re from London.

De onde você é?

Eu sou de Londres.

Listen again and repeat.

Eu sou de Londres.

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

Inglês.

Now respond that you’re English.

Você é inglês?

Sim, eu sou inglês.

Listen again and repeat.

Sim, eu sou inglês.

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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