You can meet people of all different nationalities in France. Since France had a lot of colonies in Africa and Asia, many immigrants from these regions live in France. But, you will also meet many people from the European countries that border France. Below are some of the most common nationalities of people you might encounter in France.
| anglaise | English | espagnol | Spanish |
| français | French | allemand | German |
| italien | Italian | américain- états-unien,
(see comment) |
American |
| algérien | Algerian | sénégalais | Senegalese |
On the map of the European Union, you can see that Spain, Germany, and Italy all border France. England is right off the coast. Senegal in West Africa and Algeria in North Africa are former African colonies of France.
French people call us Americans, just like we often call ourselves in the United States. However, there is another, more accurate, but slightly awkward French term for people from the United States: état-uniens. This term is used to be more specific. Many “Americans” in South America and North America are not from the United States. Mexicans, Columbians, Brazilians, Argentinians, and Canadians can call themselves Americans, too.
Think you got it?
Work your way through the activities on each tab to apply everything we've learned so far.
In this next activity, see if you can match the French and English names of the nationalities you just learned.
How well do you know European cities? Find out in the next activity. Read the description of the person and guess which city they are from.
Il s’appelle George. Il est anglais. D’où vient-il?
- Paris
- London
- New York
George is English, and London is a city in England.
George is English, and London is a city in England.
George is English, and London is a city in England.
Elle s’appelle Marta. Elle est espagnole. D’où vient-elle?
- Madrid
- London
- Paris
Marta is Spanish, and Madrid is a city in Spain.
Marta is Spanish, and Madrid is a city in Spain.
Marta is Spanish, and Madrid is a city in Spain.
Il s’appelle Frederico. Il est un garçon italien. D’où vient-il?
- New York
- London
- Rome
Frederico is an Italian boy, and Rome is a city in Italy.
Frederico is an Italian boy, and Rome is a city in Italy.
Frederico is an Italian boy, and Rome is a city in Italy.
Elle s’appelle Amélie. Elle est une fille française. D’où vient-elle?
- New York
- Rome
- Paris
Amelie is a French girl, and Paris is a city in France.
Amelie is a French girl, and Paris is a city in France.
Amelie is a French girl, and Paris is a city in France.
Elle s’appelle Greta. Elle est une fille allemande. D’où vient-elle?
- Berlin
- New York
- Madrid
Greta is a German girl, and Berlin is a city in Germany.
Greta is a German girl, and Berlin is a city in Germany.
Greta is a German girl, and Berlin is a city in Germany.
Il s’appelle Khalil. Il est un garçon algérien. D’où vient-il?
- Madrid
- Algiers
- London
Khalil is an Algerian boy, and Algiers is a city in Algeria.
Khalil is an Algerian boy, and Algiers is a city in Algeria.
Khalil is an Algerian boy, and Algiers is a city in Algeria.
Summary
Questions answered correctly:
Questions answered incorrectly:
In the last activity, you practiced using new vocabulary along with some of the vocabulary from past lessons, and you learned about some cities and countries outside France.
You’ll also practice expressions with venir de and nationalities. This time the students will tell you where they are from, and you will guess their nationality. Bonne chance!
De quelle nationalité est-elle? il?
(What nationality is she? He?)
Je m’appelle George. Je viens de Londres.
De quelle nationalité est-il?
Oops, George comes from the city of London in England. He is English.
Oops, George comes from the city of London in England. He is English.
Correct! George comes from the city of London in England. He is English.
Je m’appelle Marta. Je viens de Madrid.
De quelle nationalité est-elle?
Correct! Marta comes from the city of Madrid in Spain. She is Spanish.
Opps, Marta comes from the city of Madrid in Spain. She is Spanish.
Oops, Marta comes from the city of Madrid in Spain. She is Spanish.
Je m’appelle Frederico. Je viens de Rome.
De quelle nationalité est-il?
Oops, Frederico comes from Rome, a city in Italy. He is Italian.
Oops, Frederico comes from Rome, a city in Italy. He is Italian.
Correct! Frederico comes from Rome, a city in Italy. He is Italian.
Je m’appelle Amelie. Je viens de Paris.
De quelle nationalité est-elle?
Oops, Amelie comes from Paris, a city in France. She is French.
Correct! Amelie comes from Paris, a city in France. She is French.
Oops, Amelie comes from Paris, a city in France. She is French.
Je m’appelle Greta. Je viens de Berlin.
De quelle nationalité est-elle?
Correct! Greta comes from Berlin, a city in Germany. She is German.
Oops, Greta comes from Berlin, a city in Germany. She is German.
Oops, Greta comes from Berlin, a city in Germany. She is German.
Je m’appelle Khalil. Je viens d’Alger.
De quelle nationalité est-il?
Correct! Khalil comes from Algiers, a city in Algeria. He is Algerian.
Oops, Khalil comes from Algiers, a city in Algeria. He is Algerian.
Oops, Khalil comes from Algiers, a city in Algeria. He is Algerian.
You got # out of # correct. Click the Retry button for another attempt.
You got a perfect score. Great job!
Was it easier, now that you knew all the cities and countries? On the next page, you will review some of the high-frequency words you’ve already learned. That way you’ll be ready for the reading activities in the last slides of the lesson. Allons-y!
As you read more French, you may notice some grammar and writing differences that we have not explained in depth yet. For example, sometimes the nationalities have an e added at the end when they refer to a female. This is because in French the adjectives agree with the gender of the noun they modify. You will learn more about this later. For now, you just need to know that generally if you are describing a female, you add an e to the end of any adjective, including nationality.
Question
Une fille s’appelle Elizabeth. Elle est de Boston. De quelle nationalité est-elle?
Elle est américaine.
