(a) To swap addresses and numbers, say:Wie ist Ihre/deine Adresse/Telefonnummer?
What is your address/telephone number?(b) To discover a person’s place of origin, ask:Wo bist du geboren?
Where were you born?Woher kommen Sie/kommst du?
Where are you from?Woher stammen Sie/stammst du?
Where do you come from (originally)?The verb stammen has a slightly formal ring to it.Possible responses are:Ich komme aus Schottland/aus den USA/aus dem Libanon/aus der
Türkei.
I’m from Scotland/the USA/the Lebanon/Turkey.Wir stammen aus Düsseldorf.
We come from Düsseldorf (originally).Ich bin Engländer(in).
I’m English.See 23.1 (p. 37) for the omission of the indefinite article.
Ich bin in Paris geboren.
I was born in Paris.(c) If discussing families, the following will be useful (see also 74.9 on ‘Family
relationships’):Haben Sie/Hast du Geschwister?
Do you have any brothers or sisters?Ich habe zwei Schwestern aber keinen Bruder.
I have two sisters but no brother.Wir sind zu dritt/zu viert/zu fünft in der Familie.
There are three/four/five of us in our family.A family of four, five, etc. is eine vierköpfige/fünfköpfige Familie.(d) Typical questions and answers when meeting a foreigner include:Waren Sie/warst du schon einmal in Deutschland/im Ausland?
Have you been to Germany/abroad before?Nein, ich bin zum ersten Mal hier.
No, it’s my first time here.Sind Sie/Bist du zum ersten Mal in der Schweiz?
Is this your first visit to Switzerland?61
Introductions