Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

Okinawan

American  
[oh-kuh-nah-wuhn, oh-kuh-nau-uhn] / ˌoʊ kəˈnɑ wən, ˌoʊ kəˈnaʊ ən /

noun

  • Okinawans
    plural
  1. a person from Okinawa.

  2. a Ryukyuan language, spoken primarily in the southern Okinawa islands.


adjective

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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Five elderly people suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Okinawan prefectural government.

From BBC Aug. 8, 2026

After clambering up three flights of a dark apartment-building stairwell, I entered Higatei, which celebrates all things awamori, an Okinawan rice-based spirit.

From The Wall Street Journal Oct. 25, 2025

In September, Mr. Tamaki took his case against Tokyo’s support for the U.S. troop presence on Okinawan before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, generating a wave of criticism back home.

From Washington Times Dec. 29, 2023

The Mediterranean and Okinawan diets have consistently been shown to contribute to better health, including lower rates of obesity and other metabolic diseases.

From Salon Aug. 24, 2023

The Okinawan people had always been peaceful and had no history of ever going to war.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac

And for Okinawans, it is a homeland, a place with its own language, culture and cuisine separate from the rest of Japan.

From The Wall Street Journal Oct. 25, 2025

Opinion polls show that Okinawans under 40, accustomed to U.S. bases, are less fervently opposed to them than their elders.

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 28, 2024

Tokyo and Washington say the relocation within Okinawa, instead of moving it elsewhere as demanded by many Okinawans, is the only solution.

From Seattle Times Sep. 4, 2023

It was taken to relieve Okinawans long unhappy with with the American military presence, which is denser and more intrusive than in mainland Japan.

From Washington Times Feb. 19, 2023

I supervised twenty-one Okinawans in a machine shop and rose in rank from private first class to corporal.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training