Chinese
Americannoun
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the standard language of China, based on the speech of Beijing; Mandarin.
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a group of languages of the Sino-Tibetan family, including standard Chinese and most of the other languages of China. Chin., Chin
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any of the Chinese languages, which vary among themselves to the point of mutual unintelligibility.
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Chinese food.
We usually order Chinese from a place across the street.
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Often Offensive. a native or descendant of a native of China.
adjective
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of or relating to China, its inhabitants, or one of their languages.
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noting or pertaining to the partly logographic, partly phonetic script used for the writing of Chinese, Japanese, and other languages, consisting of thousands of brushstroke characters written in vertical columns from right to left.
adjective
noun
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a native or inhabitant of China or a descendant of one
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any of the languages of China belonging to the Sino-Tibetan family, sometimes regarded as dialects of one language. They share a single writing system that is not phonetic but ideographic. A phonetic system using the Roman alphabet was officially adopted by the Chinese government in 1966 See also Mandarin Chinese Pekingese Cantonese
Sensitive Note
In the past, the word Chinese has been used as a noun to describe a person or people (the CEO is a Chinese ). This usage is dated and almost always considered offensive today. The adjective Chinese is found in a few set phrases ( Chinese copy, Chinese fire drill, Chinese money, and Chinese tour ) in which it represents inferiority—implying that something is less good, useful, or effective, or that it is not authentic. In other set phrases ( Chinese checkers, Chinese tag ), the word represents that something is exotic or unusual. These uses are usually considered offensive.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Chinese
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The volume of Iran-flagged cargo ships visiting Chinese ports dropped after the start of the war, and jumped after the U.S. blockade paused in mid-June, the data show.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The competitive threat posed by cheaper Chinese substitutes has once again assailed semiconductor stocks, leading to dramatic falls in some of the biggest memory chip makers in Asia on Tuesday.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Chinese companies are very innovative and they move extremely fast and, while the U.K. drugmaker collaborates with them, it will increasingly compete with them as they expand globally, he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Luria said in emailed comments that concerns about China’s advanced technology developments “may be more relevant to the Korean companies,” because most U.S. companies are prohibited from selling to Chinese customers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
They are all examples of Western music, and are all more like each other than they are like a Navajo lullaby, a Chinese opera, or a west African praise song.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
