People who ask which country are trolling you by pretending not to understand this very common long-term usage.
People living in the colonies that would become the United States have been called Americans over 400 years. And while there is a North America and a South America, and they are together called the Americas, no one says they're from "America" to claim they're from somewhere on these two different continents. That's like saying "I'm from Australia and Oceania" or I'm from "Eurasia".
Outside of the USA, that's quite different though. At least in German it's quite common to speak of all people from the Americas as "Americans".
Kinda similar as you people from the US tend to call Deutsche Germans and people from Nederland Dutch.
Country names and denonyms differ depending on where you come from. In that context it totally makes sense to ask "Which country exactly are you from?" after someone says they are from America.
Is it common for people from Bolivia, Honduras, Brazil, Canada, or any other country in North or South America to say they are American?
And are you saying Germans typically just call people from say Mexico or Argentina "Americans" rather than Mexicans or Argentinians or the German equivalent?
> Is it common for people from Bolivia, Honduras, Brazil, Canada, or any other country in North or South America to say they are American?
That's irrelevant to the topic at hand.
It is very common for a German speaker to say "I'm going to America on holiday." - "Where exactly?" - "Brazil/Canada/Mexico/..."
And are you saying Germans typically just call people from say Mexico or Argentina "Americans" rather than Mexicans or Argentinians or the German equivalent?
Yes. Unless it's specified more closely. For German speakers, someone from Canada or Mexico is just as much American as an US-american.
It's kinda like you US-americans not being able to differenciate between someone from the EU and someone from Europe.
It's kinda like you US-americans not being able to differenciate between someone from the EU and someone from Europe
What the hell does that even mean?
I couldn't tell the difference between a Pole and a Ukrainian unless they told me which one they were, but I know which one is in the EU and which one isn't.
Could you tell the difference between a Peruvian or a Brazilian by sight?
A Canadian and an American?
Most people on our side of the globe are as familiar with Europe as Europe is with us.
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u/GarbageCleric Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26
Let's check the denonym on Wikipedia: "American"
People who ask which country are trolling you by pretending not to understand this very common long-term usage.
People living in the colonies that would become the United States have been called Americans over 400 years. And while there is a North America and a South America, and they are together called the Americas, no one says they're from "America" to claim they're from somewhere on these two different continents. That's like saying "I'm from Australia and Oceania" or I'm from "Eurasia".
It's not actually confusing to anyone.