Lesson 18: Where Are You From?
One of the first things people ask is where you’re from. This lesson gives you the question, the countries, and the little word for “from”.
Meeting someone new
מֵאַיִן אַתָּה?
me’ayin ata?
Where are you from?
אֲנִי מִפּוֹלִין. וְאַתְּ?
ani mipolin. ve’at?
I’m from Poland. And you?
אֲנִי מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, מִתֵּל אָבִיב.
ani miyisrael, mitel aviv.
I’m from Israel, from Tel Aviv.
אָז אַתְּ מְדַבֶּרֶת עִבְרִית!
az at medaberet ivrit!
So you speak Hebrew!
כֵּן, וְגַם קְצָת אַנְגְּלִית.
ken, ve’gam ktsat anglit.
Yes, and also a bit of English.
Grammar: saying “from”
To say where you’re from, attach מ־ (mi- / me-, “from”) to the front of the place:
- מִפּוֹלִין mipolin — from Poland
- מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל miyisrael — from Israel
- מֵאֲמֶרִיקָה me’amerika — from America
To ask, use מֵאַיִן? (me’ayin?, “from where?”) — in everyday speech you’ll also hear מֵאֵיפֹה? (me’eifo?). And to talk about languages, use מְדַבֵּר / מְדַבֶּרֶת (medaber / medaberet, “speak”, m. / f.).
Tip: There’s still no word for “am”. אֲנִי מִפּוֹלִין is literally “I from-Poland” — and that’s the whole sentence.
Vocabulary
Countries
| יִשְׂרָאֵל | yisrael | Israel |
| פּוֹלִין | polin | Poland |
| אֲמֶרִיקָה | amerika | America |
| אֶרֶץ | erets | country, land |
Languages & speaking
| מְדַבֵּר / מְדַבֶּרֶת | medaber / medaberet | speak (m. / f.) |
| אַנְגְּלִית | anglit | English |
| עִבְרִית | ivrit | Hebrew |
Useful words
| מֵאַיִן? | me’ayin? | from where? |
| קְצָת | ktsat | a little, a bit |