Nisei

Or ni·sei

[nee-sey, nee-sey]

noun

plural

Nisei 

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

Nisei

/ ˈniːseɪ /

noun

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

Nisei

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Nisei¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Nisei¹

Japanese, literally: second generation

Example Sentences

Manuel Cunha, head of the Nisei Farmer’s League, was skeptical of the idea that Medicaid recipients seeking employment would be a good fit for farm labor.

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The grant funding has been a “tremendous asset,” said Manuel Cunha Jr., president of the Nisei Farmers League, and the growers he represents are worried about what will happen once the money runs out.

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Ten feet tall and made of black lacquered wood decorated with gold, the shrine was carried in the Nisei Week Festival parade in Little Tokyo in August 1960, The Times reported.

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Some Little Tokyo businesses that served Issei and Nisei — Japanese immigrants and their American-born children — have closed or are struggling, while others have found a way to evolve and thrive.

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“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.

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