Japanese

American  

[jap-uh-neez, -nees] / ˌdʒæp əˈniz, -ˈnis /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Japan, its people, or their language.

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noun

plural

Japanese

1. Often Offensive. a native or inhabitant of Japan or a person of Japanese descent.

2. the language of Japan. Japn., Japn

Japanese British  

/ ˌdʒæpəˈniːz /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Japan, its people, or their language

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noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Japan or a descendant of one

2. the official language of Japan: the native language of approximately 100 million people: considered by some scholars to be part of the Altaic family of languages

Sensitive Note

In the past, the word Japanese has been used as a noun to describe a person or people (the store owner is a Japanese ). This usage is dated and often considered offensive today.

Other Word Forms

• anti-Japanese
  adjective
• non-Japanese
  adjective
• pro-Japanese
  adjective
• pseudo-Japanese
  adjective
• quasi-Japanese
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Japanese

First recorded in 1580–90; Japan + -ese

Example Sentences

Impact Japan is highly exposed to oil and gas disruptions: imports meet more than 85% of its energy consumption, and in 2025, nearly all of Japanese crude oil imports transited through Hormuz.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026

Kioxia itself has jumped 1,901% in the past year in Japanese trading.

From Barron's • May 15, 2026

In 2020, Nebraska hosted 13 Americans who had been exposed to the then-novel COVID-19 on a Japanese ship.

From Slate • May 14, 2026

In 2024, a Japanese lawmaker died while snorkelling in Lhaviyani Atoll.

From BBC • May 14, 2026

More than 75 percent of that stored water still carried more radioactive isotopes than the Japanese government considered safe, and the need for water storage continued to grow.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland