Ainu

[ ahy-noo ]

noun

, plural Ai·nus, (especially collectively) Ai·nu.

1. a member of an aboriginal population of northernmost Japan.
2. the language of the Ainu.

Ainu

/ ˈaɪnuː /

noun

1. -nus-nu a member of the aboriginal people of Japan, now mostly intermixed with Mongoloid immigrants whose skin colour is more yellowish
2. the language of this people, sometimes tentatively associated with Altaic, still spoken in parts of Hokkaido and elsewhere

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ainu¹

Ainu: man

Example Sentences

The Ainu are the hairiest of races, and there is nothing which they consider so beautiful as hair.

From Project Gutenberg

On this island the aborigines of Japan, called Ainu, now live.

From Project Gutenberg

The only skull found in these heaps is dolichocephalic and reminds one of the Ainu skull.

From Project Gutenberg

These people—the Ainu—are usually spoken of as the aborigines of Japan.

From Project Gutenberg

They are not shy, and they have dropped the formalities and grand salutations of other Ainu.

From Project Gutenberg