Vietnamese

[vee-et-nah-meez, -mees, -nuh-, vyet-, vee-it-]

adjective

1. of or relating to Vietnam or its inhabitants.

noun

plural

Vietnamese 

1. Formerly Annamite. Formerly Annamese. the Austroasiatic language of Vietnam.

2. Sometimes Offensive.,  a native or inhabitant of Vietnam.

Sensitive Note

Some words that describe national or ethnic identities are acceptable as plural nouns, but are either rare or offensive in the singular. This is the case for Vietnamese. It’s sometimes acceptable as a plural noun (a candidate favored by Vietnamese ). However, it's sometimes offensive as a singular noun (the candidate who is a Vietnamese ). Such words are always perfectly appropriate as adjectives (strategies to get Vietnamese voters to the polls).

Other Word Forms

• anti-Vietnamese adjective anti-Vietnamese
• pro-Vietnamese adjective pro-Vietnamese

Word History and Origins

Origin of Vietnamese¹

First recorded in 1945–50; Vietnam + -ese

Example Sentences

The Vietnamese government says 186,000 homes have been damaged across the country, with more than three million livestock swept away.

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In the ‘80s and ‘90s, the federal government resettled tens of thousands of Hmong, Lao, Cambodian and Vietnamese refugees in California after the Vietnam War, the Cambodian genocide and the Laotian civil war .

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Vietnamese government officials have vocally supported the project.

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Vietnam Veterans Memorial that would also recognize South Vietnamese armies that were allied with the U.S. during the war.

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The unnamed narrator of “The Sympathizer” is a veteran of two armies: the North Vietnamese whom he served as spy and the South Vietnamese whose uniform he wore as aide-de-camp to a high-ranking general.

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