откъде

Asking Where from

Level 1Sounds Like otkʺde

Откъде си? = Where are you from? The answer uses от: От България съм. (I am from Bulgaria.)

How It Works

Asking about origin.

  • Откъде си? (Where are you from? — to a friend)
  • Откъде сте? (Where are you from? — polite, or to a group)
  • Откъде идва автобусът? (Where is the bus coming from?)

Answering. Answer with от: От Германия съм. or Аз съм от Германия. (I am from Germany.)

From comes first. In English, from goes at the end: Where are you from? In Bulgarian, the from part is inside the question word, so it comes first: Откъде си? You cannot say Къде си от?

One word. Write откъде as one word, like докъде (how far).

Asking about a source. Откъде can also ask where knowledge or a thing comes from: Откъде знаеш? (How do you know?) Откъде е този хляб? (Where is this bread from?)

Compare with къде. Къде asks where something is or where it goes: Къде живееш? (Where do you live?) Откъде asks where it comes from.

Examples (5)

  1. Откъде си?

    Where are you from?

    Word by Word: From-where are-you?

    Said to a friend or a child. Си is the ти form of съм.

  2. Откъде сте? — От Англия сме.

    Where are you from? — We are from England.

    Word by Word: From-where are-you? — From England (we)-are.

    Сте for polite Вие or a group; the answer starts with от.

  3. Откъде идва влакът?

    Where is the train coming from?

    Word by Word: From-where comes train-the?

  4. Откъде знаеш?

    How do you know?

    Word by Word: From-where (you)-know?

    Откъде can ask about the source of information.

  5. Откъде е този сладолед? Много е вкусен.

    Where is this ice cream from? It is very tasty.

    Word by Word: From-where is this ice-cream? Very is tasty.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving от at the end, as in English.

    Къде си от?
    Откъде си?

    Bulgarian cannot leave a preposition at the end of a question. From is part of the question word откъде.

  • Writing откъде as two words.

    От къде си?
    Откъде си?

    The official spelling is one word, like докъде.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

откъдеLevel 1Asking Where from

Learn This First

Asking where from combines къде with от.

Words in This Pattern

откъде