¿De dónde viene ese ruido?

De dónde means from where. In Spanish, when you ask about the origin or source of something, you often use de dónde.

So:

• ¿De dónde viene ese ruido? = Where is that noise coming from?

Here, de means from, and dónde means where.

It has an accent because dónde is being used in a direct question.

Compare:

• ¿Dónde está? = Where is it?
• No sé dónde está. = I don’t know where it is.

In questions and exclamations, Spanish normally uses the accented forms: qué, cómo, cuándo, dónde, quién, etc.

Viene is the third person singular form of the verb venir (to come).

Present tense of venir:

• yo vengo = I come
• tú vienes = you come
• él/ella/usted viene = he/she/you come(s)

In this sentence, ese ruido is singular, so the verb is singular too:

• ese ruido viene

Literally, it is that noise comes / more naturally, that noise is coming.

In Spanish, venir de is very natural for talking about where a sound, smell, light, problem, or effect comes from.

Examples:

• ¿De dónde viene ese olor? = Where is that smell coming from?
• ¿De dónde viene esa luz? = Where is that light coming from?

So with ruido, Spanish uses the idea of coming from a source, just like English often does.

Ese means that, while este means this.

Very roughly:

• este = this, near the speaker
• ese = that, a bit farther away / not right here
• aquel = that over there, farther away

So ese ruido means that noise. The speaker is referring to a specific noise that is not treated as especially close.

In real Spanish, the difference between este and ese is sometimes less strict than in textbook explanations, but this is the basic idea.

Because ruido is a masculine singular noun.

• el ruido
• ese ruido

Demonstratives must agree with the noun:

• este / ese / aquel for masculine singular
• esta / esa / aquella for feminine singular

For example:

• ese ruido = that noise
• esa música = that music

Spanish often keeps a structure that is closer to From where comes that noise?

So:

• ¿De dónde viene ese ruido?

This is completely normal Spanish word order for this kind of question.

You could think of the structure as:

• De dónde = from where
• viene = comes
• ese ruido = that noise

English usually prefers Where is that noise coming from?, but Spanish does not need an extra is here.

Yes, grammatically you can, but it is less natural in many everyday situations.

• ¿De dónde viene ese ruido? is the normal, simple, idiomatic choice.
• ¿De dónde está viniendo ese ruido? sounds more like you are emphasizing an action in progress right now.

In Spanish, the simple present often covers meanings that English expresses with the present continuous.

So Spanish prefers:

• ¿De dónde viene ese ruido?

even when English says:

• Where is that noise coming from?

That would be a different question.

• ¿De dónde viene ese ruido? = Where is that noise coming from?
• ¿Qué hace ese ruido? = What is making that noise?

The first asks about the source/location. The second asks about the thing causing it.

Both are useful, but they do not mean exactly the same thing.

Spanish uses both an opening and a closing question mark:

• ¿ ... ?

So the correct punctuation is:

• ¿De dónde viene ese ruido?

The opening mark tells you immediately that the sentence is a question.

In Spain Spanish, viene is pronounced roughly like BYEH-neh.

A few pronunciation points:

• vie sounds like byeh but with a softer b/v sound
• ne sounds like neh

Also, in standard Spanish, b and v are pronounced very similarly, so viene does not sound like English vee-ene.

Yes. Ruido usually means noise, but it can also mean:

• a sound that seems strange or noticeable
• a disturbing sound
• background noise, depending on context

For example:

• Oigo un ruido. = I hear a noise.
• Hay mucho ruido. = There is a lot of noise.

In this sentence, it most naturally means that noise or that sound.

A very common alternative is:

• ¿De dónde sale ese ruido?

Literally, sale means comes out, but this is also commonly used for sounds, smells, light, etc.

Both are natural:

• ¿De dónde viene ese ruido?
• ¿De dónde sale ese ruido?

The version with viene is very clear and standard for learners.