Vietnamese

American  

[vee-et-nah-meez, -mees, -nuh-, vyet-, vee-it-] / viˌɛt nɑˈmiz, -ˈmis, -nə-, ˌvyɛt-, ˌvi ɪt- /

adjective

1. of or relating to Vietnam or its inhabitants.

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noun

plural

Vietnamese

1. Formerly Annamite.  Formerly Annamese.  the Austroasiatic language of Vietnam.

2. Sometimes Offensive. a native or inhabitant of Vietnam.

Sensitive Note

Some words that describe national or ethnic identities are acceptable as plural nouns, but are either rare or offensive in the singular. This is the case for Vietnamese. It’s sometimes acceptable as a plural noun (a candidate favored by Vietnamese ). However, it's sometimes offensive as a singular noun (the candidate who is a Vietnamese ). Such words are always perfectly appropriate as adjectives (strategies to get Vietnamese voters to the polls).

Other Word Forms

• anti-Vietnamese adjectiveanti-Vietnamese
• pro-Vietnamese adjectivepro-Vietnamese

Etymology

Origin of Vietnamese

First recorded in 1945–50; Vietnam + -ese

Example Sentences

The Vietnamese have a long tradition of holding their wealth in gold, and a parallel practice of borrowing the asset from relatives to build homes, rather than cash from a bank.

From Barron's

Bé Ù, a Vietnamese restaurant in Virgil Village, will be open Friday, but owner Uyên Lê said that’s because she does her community organizing work through the business.

From Los Angeles Times

He served for three years as a military police officer, including a stint guarding the Da Nang Air Base with the South Vietnamese army.

From The Wall Street Journal

Late last year, I visited a pop-up at HAIBAYÔ, a Vietnamese coffee shop and community space in my Chicago neighborhood.

From Salon

In the last Fortune 500 list of top companies in South East Asia only eight of the 100 largest were Vietnamese, and of those only half were privately-owned.

From BBC