你从哪里来？

[nauht]

Hello,

I think this is the case but I just wanted someone to confirm about this. Is the question "Where are you from?" phrased as "你从哪里来？“ mostly used in Taiwan? In China they would say something else like "你从什么地方来？“ instead right?

Thanks!

[david]

Anyone with more experience in Taiwan answer this? In the mainland I'm used to 你是那国人, assuming that's what you really mean (where were you born, etc.)

[nauht]

I just asked two of my Chinese friends and they both said that it is also used in China. So it's not something local to Taiwan. They said that "你从哪里来？" is a more casual way of asking where someone is from so I guess it's more often used than "你从什么地来？". They also said that the latter is too formal so it's more natural to use the first.