Chinese

American  

[chahy-neez, -nees] / tʃaɪˈniz, -ˈnis /

noun

plural

Chinese

1. the standard language of China, based on the speech of Beijing; Mandarin.

2. a group of languages of the Sino-Tibetan family, including standard Chinese and most of the other languages of China. Chin., Chin

3. any of the Chinese languages, which vary among themselves to the point of mutual unintelligibility.

4. Chinese food.

   We usually order Chinese from a place across the street.

5. Often Offensive. a native or descendant of a native of China.

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adjective

1. of or relating to China, its inhabitants, or one of their languages.

2. noting or pertaining to the partly logographic, partly phonetic script used for the writing of Chinese, Japanese, and other languages, consisting of thousands of brushstroke characters written in vertical columns from right to left.

Chinese British  

/ tʃaɪˈniːz /

adjective

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

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noun

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

2. any of the languages of China belonging to the Sino-Tibetan family, sometimes regarded as dialects of one language. They share a single writing system that is not phonetic but ideographic. A phonetic system using the Roman alphabet was officially adopted by the Chinese government in 1966 See also Mandarin Chinese Pekingese Cantonese

Sensitive Note

In the past, the word Chinese has been used as a noun to describe a person or people (the CEO is a Chinese ). This usage is dated and almost always considered offensive today. The adjective Chinese is found in a few set phrases ( Chinese copy, Chinese fire drill, Chinese money, and Chinese tour ) in which it represents inferiority—implying that something is less good, useful, or effective, or that it is not authentic. In other set phrases ( Chinese checkers, Chinese tag ), the word represents that something is exotic or unusual. These uses are usually considered offensive.

Other Word Forms

• anti-Chinese
  adjective
• non-Chinese
  adjective
• pro-Chinese
  adjective
• pseudo-Chinese
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Chinese

First recorded in 1570–80; Chin(a) + -ese

Example Sentences

Shein faces competition from Temu, a Chinese e-commerce company offering goods including bathing suits and dog collars at ultra-low prices.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

China and the United States "should work together to promote the development and governance of AI", Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday.

From Barron's • May 19, 2026

Three-month copper futures on the LME fall 0.3%, with analysts at ING saying that the drop in copper is due to inflation concerns linked to the Iran war, and weaker Chinese data.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

The announcement comes as the company is reportedly exploring deals with Chinese automakers to sell them underused European factories.

From Barron's • May 19, 2026

They are all examples of Western music, and are all more like each other than they are like a Navajo lullaby, a Chinese opera, or a west African praise song.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones