Hi Sally I agree with duguup, ivy and Diego. In UK, you are not likely to hear anyone using the term native at all, except in fairly specific circumstances, such as 'native American indian', or 'he returned to his native country'. The question 'Are you a native?' or 'Are you a native German?' is not used here. Instead, you will hear 'Are you German?' (or British? French? Scottish? Chinese? etc etc). The response will be "Yes, I am German", or maybe "No, I am Lithuanian". However, the implication is not necessarily that they are a native of that country. If you particularly want to know where a person came from, the English would ask "Where were you born?", or "Where do you come from originally?", or "Were you born here?".

Hello Sally! I do agree with both comments above, however, I believe the best way for you to say that you are Shanghainese is to say it in the simplest way possible. For example, if you say "I'm from Shanghai" or "I'm Shanghainese", your interviewer will definetely understand the message that you were born in Shanghai and, therefore, you're a native of Shanghai. I hope this helps! All the best, Diego

I completely agree with duquup. today I made the same mistake: I said to my English teacher, "most of actors and actress aren't native.... my English teacher corrected me: most of actors and actress aren't native people. or native of Xi'an.

It is acceptable to say "I'm a native" or "I'm American". But if you only say "I'm a native", this does not specify exactly where you are a native of. Someone could mean they are a native from the state of California, or they are a native of the city of San Francisco for example. It is a bit more formal, but you could say "I am a native of (country name)". Another acceptable way to say you are a native is "I'm a (country name) native". In the US, saying "I am a Native American" means that you belong to the American Indian ethnicity so this would be incorrect usage if you are not an American Indian.