Tibetan

American  

[ti-bet-n] / tɪˈbɛt n /

Or Thibetan

adjective

1. of or relating to Tibet, its inhabitants, or their language.

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noun

1. a member of the people native to or inhabiting Tibet.

2. the Sino-Tibetan language of Tibet, especially in its standard literary form.

Tibetan British  

/ tɪˈbɛtən /

adjective

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

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noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Tibet

2. the language of Tibet, belonging to the Sino-Tibetan family

Etymology

Origin of Tibetan

First recorded in 1740–50; Tibet + -an

Example Sentences

On the other side of the barricades, one of the largest groups of anti-Xi demonstrators in recent American memory countered with megaphones, black-and-white protest banners and flags bearing snow lions, a symbol of Tibetan identity.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

Earlier research showed that animals living on the Tibetan Plateau, which has an average elevation of 14,700 feet, carry a mutation in a gene known as Retsat.

From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026

When the BBC visited a monastery that had been at heart of Tibetan resistance in July last year, monks spoke of living under fear and intimidation.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

Like previous uprisings, this too was crushed - Beijing says 22 people died, but Tibetan groups in exile estimate it was around 200.

From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026

But Tendai might have been talking Tibetan for all Hodza understood.

From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer