Língua da Gente — Você vem de onde?

Step 1 — Listen

🎧 Listen to the podcast episode

First listen: Just listen and relax. Try to understand the general topic — you don't need to catch every word.

Língua da Gente · Episode 01

🔊 Pronunciation note: In Brazilian Portuguese, de onde is often said quickly as one unit: "d'onde". Also notice that the R in Rio sounds like the English H in "heat" — so it's pronounced "Hio", not like the English R.

Step 2 — Read & Listen Again

📄 The dialogue

Answer in Portuguese.
Write your own answers. There are no right or wrong responses — this activity is about expressing your own ideas and experiences.

A: Você vem de onde, Paulo?

Where do you come from, Paulo?

B: Aqui do Rio, e você?

Here from Rio, and you?

A: Eu sou de Brasília.

I am from Brasília.

B: Dizem que o céu lá é enorme, não é?

They say the sky there is huge, right?

🌎 Culture note: Brasília is famous for its wide-open skies — the city was planned in the 1950s by urban designer Lúcio Costa and architect Oscar Niemeyer in a flat region (o cerrado), which gives it a famously enormous sky.

Step 3 — Language Focus

📌 Ser de vs. Vir de — Expressing origin

In the dialogue, the two characters use two different ways to ask and talk about where they are from. Both are common in Brazilian Portuguese:

Structure	Example	Meaning
ser de + place	Eu sou de Brasília.	I am from Brasília. (origin/identity)
vir de + place	Você vem de onde?	Where do you come from? (slightly more conversational)
ser + de + article	Sou do Rio. / Sou da Bahia.	I'm from Rio / Bahia. (de + o = do; de + a = da)

Quick question forms:
Você é de onde? — Where are you from?
Você vem de onde? — Where do you come from?
Both are correct and interchangeable in everyday speech.

Tag question: não é?

In English, tag questions change form: "it's big, isn't it?" / "they're nice, aren't they?"
In Brazilian Portuguese, não é? (or informal né?) works for all situations:

O céu lá é enorme, não é? — The sky there is huge, right?
Você é do Brasil, né? — You're from Brazil, right?

Exercise 1 — Complete the sentences

Fill in the blanks

Use sou de, é de, vem de, somos de or são de to complete each sentence.

1. Eu São Paulo. (I / from SP)

2. Paulo onde? (Paulo / where from?)

3. A professora Salvador. (she / from Salvador)

4. Nós Belo Horizonte. (we / from BH)

5. Você onde? (you / where from?)

6. Eles Recife. (they / from Recife)

Exercise 2 — Match the question to the answer

Matching

Write the letter of the correct response next to each question.

QUESTIONS

1. Você é de onde?

2. De onde você vem?

3. E o Paulo, de onde é ele?

4. Vocês são do Brasil?

ANSWERS

A. Ele é do Rio.

B. Sou de Brasília.

C. Venho de Fortaleza.

D. Sim, somos do Brasil.

Exercise 3 — About you

Answer in Portuguese

Write your own answers. There are no right or wrong responses — this activity is about expressing your own ideas and experiences.

1. Você é de onde? (Where are you from?)

2. Você mora em qual cidade agora? (What city do you live in now?)

3. O céu na sua cidade é enorme? Como é o tempo lá? (What is the sky/weather like in your city?)

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