Chinese

American  

[chahy-neez, -nees] / tʃaɪˈniz, -ˈnis /

noun

Chinese plural

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

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

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

4. Chinese food.

   We usually order Chinese from a place across the street.

5. Often Offensive. a native or descendant of a native of China.

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adjective

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

2. 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.

Chinese British  

/ tʃaɪˈniːz /

adjective

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

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noun

1. a native or inhabitant of China or a descendant of one

2. 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

• anti-Chinese
  adjective
• pro-Chinese
  adjective
• non-Chinese
  adjective
• pseudo-Chinese
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• Chinese
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Chinese

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

Example Sentences

Find insight on Chinese airline stocks, Volvo, Seres Group and more in the latest Market Talks covering Auto and Transport.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026

See said she expects the Chinese Massacre memorial will be unveiled ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026

Nvidia recently announced External link plans to accelerate development of humanoid robots in a collaboration with Chinese start-up Unitree.

From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026

Ship tracking data shows Settebello has sailed from the Gulf to the Chinese port cities of Zhoushan and Lianyungang over the past six months.

From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026

But Abe said that he was a special breed from Asia, trained by the Chinese army, and that his jaw was strong enough to bite through metal.

From "I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005" by Lauren Tarshis