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Below you find some useful expressions to ask about where somebody is from and to talk about your origins.

To ask what country somebody is coming from you can ask:

你是哪国人? Nǐ shì nǎ guórén? Literally, 'you are what country person?'.

The answer has the same form with the country replacing the question word 哪.

For example:
我是中国人。 Wǒ shì Zhōngguórén. I am Chinese.
他是英国人。 Tā shì Yīngguórén. He is English.

To ask if somebody is from a particular country you can say:

你是美国人吗? Nǐ shì Měiguórén ma? Are you American.

To ask what town or region somebody is coming from you can ask:

你从哪里来? Nǐ cóng nǎli lái? Literally 'you from where come?'

Possible answers might be:

我从北京来。 Wǒ cóng Bēijǐng lái. I am from Beijing.
她从伦敦来。 Tā cóng Lúndūn lái. She is from London.

To ask if somebody is from a particular place you can say:

你从剑桥来吗? Nǐ cóng Jiànqiáo lái ma? Are you from Cambridge.

The names of countries are often but not always formed by using a syllable that resembles the country's name in its own language followed by 国 (meaning country).

For example: 英国
英国 Yīngguó England
德国 Déguó Germany
法国 Fǎguó France
美国 Měiguó America

Other country names simple resemble the sound of the country's name in its own language:

意大利 Yìdàlì Italy
澳大利亚 Àodàlìyà Austrialia
加拿大 Jiānádà Canada

Some common place names you are likel to hear are:

北京 Běijīng Beijing
上海 Shànghǎi Shanghai
香港 Xiānggǎng Hong Kong
伦敦 Lúndūn London
华盛顿 Huáshèngdùn Washington
纽约 Niǔyuē New York
巴黎 Bālí Paris
柏林 Bólín Berlin
旧金山 Jiùjīnshān San Francisco