East Asia

American  

[eest ey-zhuh, ey-shuh] / ˈist ˈeɪ ʒə, ˈeɪ ʃə /

noun

1. the countries and land area of easternmost Asia, most commonly classified as comprising China, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao.

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Other Word Forms

• East Asian
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of East Asia

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Dusky farmerfish in East Asia grow “crops” of red algae by assiduously “weeding out less palatable foods” and have effectively domesticated a type of shrimp whose waste fertilizes the algae and boosts yields.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026

Ray Yu, the company's co-owner, said one housing development was so popular with customers in East Asia it was known as "mini-China".

From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026

But across Europe, East Asia and South Asia, the turn is toward nuclear power.

From Salon • May 21, 2026

The mosque served as a polling station and drew worshippers from the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

From Barron's • May 19, 2026

We can use several types of reasoning to try to reconstruct the linguistic map of East Asia as of several thousand years ago.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond