German Phrase
Ich wohne gerade in Tokio.
Meaning
Literally “I live right now in Tokyo.” The adverb gerade makes it clear that the residence is current and possibly temporary, as opposed to a permanent home.
When to use
Use this sentence when you want to tell a friend, a colleague, or a language partner where you are living at the moment, especially after a recent move or during a study‑abroad stay.
✦Grammar Breakdown
IchwohnegeradeinTokio
Personal pronoun (Ich)
First‑person singular pronoun used as the subject of the sentence.
Verb (wohnen)
Regular verb meaning “to live / to reside”. In the present tense, 1st person singular adds –e: ich wohne.
Adverb (gerade)
Means “right now, currently”. Placed before the prepositional phrase to stress the temporary nature of the stay.
Preposition (in) + Dative
‘In’ with a static location takes the dative case. With proper nouns like Tokio the article is omitted, but the case is still dative.
Proper noun (Tokio)
German spelling of Tokyo; it does not change form in the dative without an article.
🗨In Conversation
Wo wohnst du gerade?
Where do you live right now?
Ich wohne gerade in Tokio.
I currently live in Tokyo.
✕Common Mistakes
Ich bin in Tokio.
Use wohnen or leben for residence; sein describes location of a person at a moment, not where they live.
Ich wohne gerade in den Tokio.
Tokio is a proper noun; no article is used and the preposition in takes the dative without an article.
Gerade ich wohne in Tokio.
The word order is fine, but beginners often forget the verb‑subject order in statements; the standard order is subject‑verb‑adverb‑prepositional phrase.
↔Alternatives
Ich lebe gerade in Tokio.
I currently live in Tokyo.
Zurzeit wohne ich in Tokio.
At the moment I live in Tokyo.
Momentan wohne ich in Tokio.
I am living in Tokyo at the moment.
Cultural Tip
In German, wohnen is used for a more settled residence (an apartment, a house), while leben can be broader, covering both short‑term stays and overall life. Adding gerade or zurzeit signals that the situation may change. Note that the city name is spelled Tokio in German, not Tokyo.

