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

City Councilmember Kevin de León, whose district includes Little Tokyo, said several locals approached him about the shrine’s removal during a Nisei Week event on Monday night.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 15, 2024

Both his parents were Nisei — second-generation Japanese Americans — and both graduated from UCLA.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2023

Participants will gather at the Nisei War Memorial Monument in Lake View Cemetery for prayers and meditations from Christian and Buddhist faiths, a keynote speech and a presentation of floral wreaths. 10-11 a.m.

From Seattle Times • May 25, 2023

It was there that he developed his checkerboard model, examining the interactions among various groups at the internment camps: the “clannish” Nisei; children of Japanese immigrants; more reclusive detainees; and camp administrators.

From New York Times • May 8, 2023

He’d also, he said, been at Livorno and Luciana and seen the 442nd—the Nisei regiment to which the defendant had been attached—in action along the Gothic Line.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson