el / en

Where You Are from

Level 1

Use el for your origin and en for the place where you live.

How It Works

SayMeaning
Mi estas el Brazilo.I am from Brazil.
Mi loĝas en Pollando.I live in Poland.
Ĉu vi estas el Japanio?Are you from Japan?

Both words stand before the place, and the place keeps its plain form: el Brazilo, en Pollando. A later topic explains the -n that can follow a place when you move into it.

Many people live in a country other than the one they come from, so one sentence can use both words: Mi estas el Japanio, sed mi loĝas en Germanujo.

Country names have no single ending (Brazilo, Pollando, Ganao), and some end in -ujo or -io. For several countries both forms are in use, as in Japanujo and Japanio, so you will meet both.

Examples (5)

  1. Mi estas el Brazilo.

    I am from Brazil.

    El shows the country you come from.

  2. Mi loĝas en Pollando.

    I live in Poland.

    En shows the country where you live.

  3. Ĉu vi estas el Japanio?

    Are you from Japan?

    A ĉu question uses the same el.

  4. Jes, mi estas el Japanio, sed mi loĝas en Germanujo.

    Yes, I am from Japan, but I live in Germany.

    One sentence can use both words.

  5. Kofi estas el Ganao.

    Kofi is from Ghana.

    The same pattern works for every person and country.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out el.

    Mi estas Brazilo.
    Mi estas el Brazilo.

    Brazilo is a country, so Mi estas Brazilo says that you are Brazil. Add el to say where you come from.

  • Adding -n after en for a place you live in.

    Mi loĝas en Pollandon.
    Mi loĝas en Pollando.

    Living in a place does not move you into it, so the place takes no -n.

How It Connects

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

el / enLevel 1Where You Are from

Learn This First

Where you are from is told with estas and comes after saying your name.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.