How to Say “Where did you grow up?” in Chinese
Small talk and travel · HSK 3
"Where did you grow up?" in Chinese is 你在哪里长大的？ (Nǐ zài nǎlǐ zhǎng dà de?). This uses the 是..
Primary translation
你在哪里长大的？
Nǐ zài nǎlǐ zhǎng dà de?
Traditional: 你在哪裡長大的？
Variants by register
Formal
您是在哪里长大的？
Nín shì zài nǎlǐ zhǎng dà de?
Casual
你在哪儿长大的？
Nǐ zài nǎr zhǎng dà de?
When to use it
This uses the 是...的 (shì...de) construction, which emphasizes the circumstances of a past event; here, the location. Leaving out 是 is fine in casual speech but including it makes the question more polished. Note the regional split: 哪里 (nǎlǐ) is standard Mandarin and universal; 哪儿 (nǎr) with the -r ending is northern/Beijing; Taiwan speakers almost exclusively use 哪裡. Chinese people often distinguish between 老家 (lǎojiā, hometown/ancestral home) and where you actually 长大 (grew up), since many were raised away from family origins; asking about 长大 often invites a richer story.
Example sentences
你在哪里长大的？口音听着像南方人。
Nǐ zài nǎlǐ zhǎng dà de? Kǒuyīn tīngzhe xiàng nánfāng rén.
Where did you grow up? Your accent sounds southern.
我老家是四川的，但我是在上海长大的。
Wǒ lǎojiā shì Sìchuān de, dàn wǒ shì zài Shànghǎi zhǎng dà de.
My hometown is Sichuan, but I grew up in Shanghai.
您是在哪里长大的？普通话说得真标准。
Nín shì zài nǎlǐ zhǎng dà de? Pǔtōnghuà shuō de zhēn biāozhǔn.
Where did you grow up? Your Mandarin is really standard.