Vietnamese

American  

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

adjective

1. of or relating to Vietnam or its inhabitants.

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noun

plural

Vietnamese

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

• anti-Vietnamese adjectiveanti-Vietnamese
• pro-Vietnamese adjectivepro-Vietnamese

Etymology

Origin of Vietnamese

First recorded in 1945–50; Vietnam + -ese

Example Sentences

"Vietnam welcomes South Korean companies to make new investments and expand existing projects, with a focus on the development of infrastructure, smart cities, semiconductors, AI data centres, nuclear power, smart seaports," the Vietnamese leader said.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

Nguyen Don Tu, who’d fought in the North Vietnamese army.

From Slate • Apr. 13, 2026

The actress on her kids’ favorite Vietnamese food, her mom’s surprising life advice and meeting a pivotal colleague as a teen.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

His career was taking off after the better part of a decade doing sets at the Comedy Store, where he was the first Vietnamese American person to work as a door guy.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

On August 3, South Vietnamese boats again hit targets in the North.

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