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• Vietnamese
  Vietnamese

  adjective

  of or relating to Vietnam or its inhabitants.
• vietnamese
  vietnamese

  adjective

  of, relating to, or characteristic of Vietnam, its people, or their language

Vietnamese

American  

[vee-et-nah-meez, -mees, -nuh-, vyet-, vee-it-] / viˌɛt nɑˈmiz, -ˈmis, -nə-, ˌvjɛt-, ˌvi ɪt- /

adjective

1. of or relating to Vietnam or its inhabitants.

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noun

Vietnamese plural

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

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

vietnamese British  

/ ˌvjɛtnəˈmiːz /

adjective

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

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noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Vietnam

2. the language of Vietnam, probably related to the Mon-Khmer languages

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

Derived Forms

• anti-Vietnamese
  adjective
• pro-Vietnamese
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Vietnamese
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Vietnamese

First recorded in 1945–50; Vietnam + -ese

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Vietnamese

Though she was undergoing cancer treatment, Gillison flew to Vietnam last December with her family to receive a VinFuture prize from a foundation founded by Pham Nhat Vuong, a Vietnamese billionaire.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

But a Vietnamese middle class now exists that didn’t two generations ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

Facing the threat of fresh tariffs, Vietnamese authorities pledged to increase IP violation busts by at least 20% in May compared to the same period last year.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

Tagle called Thursday's ceremony a "moment of great joy for Vietnamese Catholics" and a "truly historic day in the life of the Church".

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

The Americans agreed to halt the bombing of North Vietnam, and in exchange North Vietnamese negotiators agreed to sit down with representatives of the government of South Vietnam.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin