Nisei

American  

[nee-sey, nee-sey] / ˈni seɪ, niˈseɪ /

Or nisei

noun

1. a person of Japanese descent, born and educated in the U.S. or Canada.

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Nisei British  

/ ˈniːseɪ /

noun

1. a native-born citizen of the United States or Canada whose parents were Japanese immigrants

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Nisei Cultural  

1. Persons whose parents were born in Japan but who were themselves born outside Japan. Many Nisei were moved by force in the internment of Japanese Americans in World War II.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• Nisei
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Nisei

1940–45, < Japanese: literally, second generation; earlier ni-seĩ < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese èr two, second + shēng birth

Example Sentences

Manning is Nisei and Choctaw and her husband, Antonio, is African American, and she found Altadena to reflect the community she wanted to be a part of.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026

“I understand you’ve got to protect the border,” said Manuel Cunha Jr., president of Nisei Farmers League, which represents agricultural employers and their workers.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2025

Army, Okada served in an air unit known as The Flying Nisei, whose mission was to translate intercepted Japanese communication.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 21, 2023

“John wanted to write the great American novel. This is the great Japanese American novel, the great Nisei novel,” Abe said, referring to the term for Japanese Americans born in the U.S. to immigrant parents.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 21, 2023

Fred Korematsu, a young Nisei living in Oakland, had ignored the evacuation to stay with his Caucasian girlfriend.

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston