Vocabulary · Lesson 13

Countries & nationalities

In a voluntary introduction, someone may ask Where are you from? You can answer with a country, I'm from Brazil, or use a nationality adjective, I'm Brazilian. Keep country, nationality, language, and current home separate, and use only information that a real person chooses to provide.

45–55 min corecountry · nationality · languagefrom + country · be + adjective15–20 min optional practice

NoticeCountry versus nationality.

DiscoverGroup nationalities by ending.

BuildMatch, choose, and build sentences.

UseShare or ask only when the context is comfortable.

Use a capital letter for country names, nationality words, and language names: Spain · Spanish · Japan · Japanese · Portuguese, never spain, spanish, or portuguese.

Two-minute retrieval

Bring earlier grammar into an introduction

Use the complete context. Read each finished sentence aloud.

1Where you from?

2The fictional profile says, “I'm from .”

3The same profile says, “I'm .”

Meet the countries

Each flag represents the listed country. Use the visible written label rather than identifying a country from color or symbol alone. The second word is a nationality adjective used in a sentence such as She's Mexican. A flag does not prove a person's nationality, language, birthplace, or identity.

MexicoMexican

JapanJapanese

BrazilBrazilian

SpainSpanish

ItalyItalian

FranceFrench

TürkiyeTurkish

GermanyGerman

United StatesAmerican

United KingdomBritish

CanadaCanadian

ChinaChinese

IndiaIndian

South KoreaKorean

RussiaRussian

PolandPolish

EgyptEgyptian

PortugalPortuguese

Notice before the rule

Two ways to answer one question

I'm from Brazil. → I'm Brazilian.
I'm from Japan. → I'm Japanese.

Which word names the country, the place? Which nationality word describes where the person is from?
After from, do we use the country or the nationality? And after am / is / are?
Look at the endings: Brazil → Brazilian, Japan → Japanese. The nationality is built from the country. What changed?

Discovery check: from or be?

After from use the country. After am / is / are use the nationality.

1The fictional speaker says, “I'm from .”

2The same speaker says, “I'm .”

3The profile states that Lena uses she and is from Italy. She's .

4Lena and Amir both state that they are from Italy. They're from .

The system: from a country, be a nationality

There are two simple patterns. Keep these chunks together:

1. from + country. Where are you from? → I'm from Spain. This answer gives a place connected to the speaker.

2. be + nationality adjective. I'm Spanish. She's Spanish. They're Spanish. The adjective describes nationality and does not change for gender or number.

Do not add a or an before the adjective in this pattern: I'm Brazilian. Some nationality words can also be person nouns, as in a Brazilian, but those noun patterns vary. The dependable A0 pattern is a Brazilian person or two Brazilian people.

Many nationality adjectives use common endings, but an ending is only a memory aid. It is not a rule that can generate every word. Learn each country and nationality adjective as a pair:

ending	country	nationality
-ian / -an	Brazil · Italy · Canada · Egypt · Colombia	Brazilian · Italian · Canadian · Egyptian · Colombian
-ish	Türkiye · Spain · Poland	Turkish · Spanish · Polish
-ese	Japan · China · Portugal	Japanese · Chinese · Portuguese
other common pairs	Mexico · Germany · the United States · France	Mexican · German · American · French

Country, nationality, language, and current home are different

meaning	example
country connected to the person	Mina is from Brazil.
nationality adjective the person uses	Mina is Brazilian.
language the person says they speak	Mina speaks Portuguese and English.
current home	Mina lives in Canada now.

One fact does not prove the others. A Brazilian person may speak Portuguese, another language, or several languages. Someone can be from one country, have more than one nationality, and live in another country. Use the words a person provides. Do not infer identity from a name, appearance, accent, or flag.

Small country-name boundaries

Use the in the United States and the United Kingdom: She's from the United States. Most names here have no article: from Mexico · from Japan · from Brazil.
The United Kingdom includes England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. British and English are not exact synonyms.
In English, American commonly names a nationality connected to the United States. The Americas is a larger geographic region with many countries.
The official country name used here is Türkiye. You may still hear or read Turkey in some English-language contexts. The nationality adjective is Turkish.

Meaning check: which kind of word?

Read the label and the whole profile sentence before choosing.

1Country connected to Mina: She is from .

2Nationality adjective Mina uses: She is .

3One language Mina says she speaks: She speaks .

4Current home in this fictional profile: She lives in now.

Sound natural: the strong beat can move

When a country becomes a nationality, the number of syllables or the main stress can change. Learn the pair aloud, not only by spelling.

country	nationality	stress pattern
Mexico	Mexican	MEX-i-co → MEX-i-can
Italy	Italian	IT-a-ly → i-TAL-ian
Japan	Japanese	Ja-PAN → Jap-a-NESE
China	Chinese	CHI-na → Chi-NESE
Brazil	Brazilian	Bra-ZIL → Bra-ZIL-ian

The ending -ese carries a strong beat in Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese. In a sentence, make the place or nationality clear: I’m from MEXico. I’m MEXican.

In relaxed U.S. speech, Where are you from? may connect and sound close to Where-er-yuh from?. I'm from often has a light, quick from. Recognize the connected form, but keep the full words in writing.

Meaning check

Can we say I'm from Brazilian? No. After from we name the country: I'm from Brazil.
Can we say I'm Brazil? No. After be we use the nationality: I'm Brazilian.
Do we write spanish with a small letter? No. Countries and nationalities always take a capital: Spain, Spanish.
Is the nationality the same for he, she, and they? Yes. The adjective never changes: He's French. She's French. They're French.
Does She's from Brazil prove which language she speaks or where she lives now? No. Ask or use only information she provides.
Does Where are you from? always mean current home? No. For current home, ask Where do you live now?

Listen: place, nationality, or language?

Your teacher reads each fictional profile sentence once at a natural speed and once more slowly. Listen before you choose.

Tutor-read listening check

1Diego's fictional profile says, “I'm from .”

2Akira's profile says, “I'm .”

3Rita says she speaks .

4Omar's profile says, “I live in United States.”

5Giulia's profile states that she is .

6Noah's profile states that he is from .

Build the pairs

Drill 1: match each country to its nationality

Tap a country, then tap the nationality that fits it

Drill 2: give the nationality

The country is given. Choose the matching nationality.

1A fictional coworker uses he and states that he is from China. He is .

2A fictional client uses she and states that she is from France. She is .

3Anna's fictional profile states that she uses she and is from Poland. She is .

4Max's fictional profile states that he uses he and is from Germany. He is .

5Mateo's fictional profile states that he uses he and is from Colombia. He is .

6Olena's fictional profile states that she uses she and is from Ukraine. She is .

Build the sentence, then say it

Drill 3: build a fictional speaker's answer

The fictional speaker chooses Mexico. Pattern: from + country. Build the answer, then say it.

Drill 4: give his nationality

A fictional profile states that Ken uses he and is Japanese. Build the sentence.

Notice and repair errors

Drill 5: from a country or a nationality?

Tap the word that is wrong.

Drill 6: fix the capital letter

Tap the word that is written wrong.

Drill 7: country → nationality, then say it

Say the nationality aloud first. Reveal only after you answer.

1 Spain → nationality

Spanish

2 Türkiye → nationality

Turkish

3 Italy → nationality

Italian

4 the United States → nationality

American

5 I'm from China. → use a nationality

I'm Chinese.

Read and choose

A fictional team profile

“Paulo uses he. He states that he is from Brazil and speaks Portuguese. Yuki uses she. She states that she is Japanese and is from Osaka, Japan. Sara uses she. She states that she is Egyptian and speaks Arabic and English.”

Read, then choose

1. Where is Paulo from?

2. What nationality is Yuki?

3. What does Sara speak?

Play and practice

Games and a short reading that recycle this lesson. Use them as a warm-up, a fast finisher, or homework. Each one checks itself.

Read

Welcome to the evening class

Read once for meaning. Then read again and do the tasks below.

Email59 wordsAbout 1 min

Welcome to the evening class at City Library! Our teacher is Ms. Park. She is Korean, but she lives in Chicago now.

There are eight students. Ali is from Egypt. He is Egyptian and speaks Arabic. Lucia and Pedro are Mexican. Hana is from Japan. Marta is Polish. Two students are Ukrainian. Tom is Canadian. See you on Monday!

Find it

Tap the 6 nationality words. Skip countries, cities, and languages.

Check your understanding

1. Where does Ms. Park live now?

2. What language does Ali speak?

3. How many students are in the class?

Sort it

Country or nationality?

Tap a word, then tap the box it belongs in. Press Check when the tray is empty.

Match up

Country and nationality

Tap an item on the left, then its partner on the right.

Country

Nationality

Unscramble

Build the introduction

Tap the words in order to build the sentence. Tap a placed word to send it back.

1. Ask about a person’s country.
2. Use from + country.
3. This country name needs the.
4. Use be + nationality.

Use it in real life

You never need to share your nationality, birthplace, current home, languages, immigration history, or information about real coworkers, clients, family, or friends. Use a fictional profile or a public figure's verified self-description. Ask about origin only when the setting is appropriate and the person appears comfortable sharing.

A fictional profile: Choose or invent a country, nationality adjective, language, and current home. Keep the four facts separate: Mina is from Brazil. She is Brazilian. She speaks Portuguese. She lives in Canada now.

Two possible answers: A fictional speaker answers in two ways: Where are you from? I'm from Mexico. I'm Mexican. Add And you? only if the other person is participating voluntarily.

Current home, not origin: Contrast Where are you from? with Where do you live now? Give different invented answers and explain which question asks about the current home.

Information gap: You and your teacher each choose one fictional profile. Ask for one missing fact at a time. Do not guess a nationality or language from the person's name, picture, or accent.

Repair an assumption: Your partner says, She's from Brazil, so she speaks Portuguese. Respond with the known fact and the missing information: She's from Brazil. We don't know which languages she speaks.

Final production: welcome a fictional international team

Create three short profile cards and give a 45- to 60-second welcome. Use labels or invented information rather than real private details.

Use from + country accurately at least twice.
Use be + nationality adjective accurately at least twice.
Include the if you use the United States or the United Kingdom.
Keep nationality, language, and current home separate.
Ask one correctly ordered, respectful question and accept “I'd rather not say.”

Reflect

Close the level

Complete this aloud: “After from, I use the ______ . After am, is, are, I use the nationality ______ . Country, nationality, and language words begin with a ______ letter.”

Then explain why She's from Brazil does not tell you her language or current home. Give one fictional example with different origin and current-home countries. This is the last A0 lesson in the sequence. The A0 level check provides broader evidence across several skills.

Final quiz: countries and nationalities

1. He is from Spain. He is ___.

2. She's from ___. She's Japanese.

3. A fictional client states that she is from Türkiye. She is ___.

4. Which sentence is correct?

5. A fictional coworker states that she is from France. She is ___.

6. The team members are from Italy. Which is correct?

7. Two fictional speakers state that they are from the United States. They are ___.

8. In a voluntary introduction, your partner invites an origin question. You ask:

Return tomorrow before rereading the lesson. Complete the five-minute next-day retrieval, then revisit only the country, adjective, language, article, or question pattern that still feels slow.

Next-day retrieval

Complete the fictional profiles from memory

1The profile says, “I'm from .”

2The same profile says, “I'm .”

3They live in United Kingdom now.

4They state that they speak .

Repair the question order

Tap the word that is in the wrong position.

Thirty-second retrieval

Without looking back, give the country, nationality adjective, and language labels in this invented profile: Amir is from Egypt. He is Egyptian. He speaks Arabic. Then say one fact that the profile does not tell you.

Country: Egypt. Nationality adjective: Egyptian. Language: Arabic. The profile does not state his current home, other languages, birthplace, or legal nationality details.