Chinese

[chahy-neez, -nees]

noun, plural Chi·nese.

the standard language of China, based on the speech of Beijing; Mandarin.

a group of languages of the Sino-Tibetan family, including standard Chinese and most of the other languages of China. Abbreviation: Chin., Chin

any of the Chinese languages, which vary among themselves to the point of mutual unintelligibility.

a native or descendant of a native of China.

adjective

of or relating to China, its inhabitants, or one of their languages.

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.

Origin of Chinese

First recorded in 1570–80; Chin(a) + -ese

Related formsnon-Chi·nese, noun, plural non·-Chi·nese, adjectivepre-Chi·nese, adjective, noun, plural pre·-Chi·nese.pro-Chi·nese, adjective, noun, plural pro·-Chi·nese.pseu·do-Chi·nese, adjective, noun, plural pseu·do-Chi·nese.

Usage note

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. Although insulting a particular person or nationality may be unintentional, it is best to be aware that use of these terms is usually perceived as offensive to or by the Chinese.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for chinese

byzantine, Korean, Asian, Chinese, Japanese

Examples from the Web for chinese

Contemporary Examples of chinese

The family was taking some private moments for a closing of the coffin in keeping with Chinese ritual.
Funeral Protest Is Too Much for NYPD Union Boss
Michael Daly
January 5, 2015
Monitoring Chinese social-media platforms has paid off for the Chinese government.
China’s Internet Is Freer Than You Think
Brendon Hong
December 27, 2014
HONG KONG—Last year, I met a Chinese graduate student on a tour of the northeastern United States before his first day at Harvard.
China’s Internet Is Freer Than You Think
Brendon Hong
December 27, 2014
We ought to seek Chinese cooperation in a response to this North Korean act of aggression.
Obama Could Hit China to Punish North Korea
Shane Harris, Tim Mak
December 20, 2014
Some experts suggest that other parties, perhaps Iranian or Chinese, may have played some role.
Inside the ‘Surprisingly Great’ North Korean Hacker Hotel
Michael Daly
December 20, 2014

Historical Examples of chinese

We have exacted from him what is at variance with the fixed Chinese policy of ages.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
The Chinese visitors were received at the door by Mr. Henry Gladstone.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
And next a Chinese mandarin, who nods his head at Annie and myself.
Little Annie's Ramble (From "Twice Told Tales")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
She can do anything—sing, talk modern Greek and Chinese—Cadge is wonderful.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
His language has the richness and sententious fullness of the Chinese.
The Last of the Mohicans
James Fenimore Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for chinese

Chinese

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of China, its people, or their languages

noun

plural -nese a native or inhabitant of China or a descendant of one

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 1966See also Mandarin Chinese, Pekingese, Cantonese

Related formsRelated prefix: Sino-

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for chinese

Chinese

adj.

1570s, from China + -ese. As a noun from c.1600. Chinee (n.) is a vulgar back-formation from this word on the mistaken notion that the word is a plural. As an adjective, Chinish also was used 16c. Chinese fire-drill "chaotic situation of many people rushing around futilely" is attested by 1962, U.S. military slang. The game Chinese checkers is attested from 1938.