Chinatown

American  

[chahy-nuh-toun] / ˈtʃaɪ nəˌtaʊn /

noun

1. the main Chinese district in any city outside China.

---

Chinatown British  

/ ˈtʃaɪnəˌtaʊn /

noun

1. a quarter of any city or town outside China with a predominantly Chinese population

---

Etymology

Origin of Chinatown

China + town

Example Sentences

Videos of runway shows put on by the art-fashion collective Women’s History Museum reveal a series of unique venues—an abandoned Wall Street bank, an East Village church, a dying shopping mall in Chinatown.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

To learn Hong Kong mahjong, I visited a warmly lit community space in Chinatown one Tuesday night.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

“I found a little place in Chinatown with no sign on the doors,” Ausman says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

These days, the group is making furniture for a show at electric vehicle brand Rivian’s space in Venice on April 19 and at Gallery 945 in Chinatown from May 1 to 31.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

We’d been in Los Angeles for just a couple of months, and the only times I’d ventured out of Chinatown were for school and piano.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu