Chinese

[ chahy-neez, -nees ]

noun

, plural Chi·nese.

1. the standard language of China, based on the speech of Beijing; Mandarin.
2. a group of languages of the Sino-Tibetan family, including standard Chinese and most of the other languages of China. : Chin., Chin
3. any of the Chinese languages, which vary among themselves to the point of mutual unintelligibility.
4. Chinese food:

   We usually order Chinese from a place across the street.

5. Often Offensive. a native or descendant of a native of China.

adjective

1. of or relating to China, its inhabitants, or one of their languages.
2. noting or pertaining to the partly logographic, partly phonetic script used for the writing of Chinese, Japanese, and other languages, consisting of thousands of brushstroke characters written in vertical columns from right to left.

Chinese

/ tʃaɪˈniːz /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of China, its people, or their languages

noun

1. -nese a native or inhabitant of China or a descendant of one
2. any of the languages of China belonging to the Sino-Tibetan family, sometimes regarded as dialects of one language. They share a single writing system that is not phonetic but ideographic. A phonetic system using the Roman alphabet was officially adopted by the Chinese government in 1966 See also Mandarin Chinese Pekingese Cantonese

Sensitive Note

In the past, the word Chinese has been used as a noun to describe a person or people (the CEO is a Chinese ). This usage is dated and almost always considered offensive today. The adjective Chinese is found in a few set phrases ( Chinese copy, Chinese fire drill, Chinese money, and Chinese tour ) in which it represents inferiority—implying that something is less good, useful, or effective, or that it is not authentic. In other set phrases ( Chinese checkers, Chinese tag ), the word represents that something is exotic or unusual. These uses are usually considered offensive.

Other Words From

• an·ti-Chi·nese adjective noun plural antiChinese
• non-Chi·nese adjective noun plural nonChinese
• pro-Chi·nese adjective noun plural proChinese
• pseu·do-Chi·nese adjective noun plural pseudoChinese

Word History and Origins

Origin of Chinese¹

First recorded in 1570–80; Chin(a) + -ese

Example Sentences

Hsiao grew up in Laguna Beach, where her parents, Taiwanese immigrants, ran a farm specializing in Chinese fruits and vegetables such as bok choy and bamboo shoots.

From Los Angeles Times

Removing the safeguard would thus help advance Biden’s climate ambitions, while leaving Chinese solar cells and modules subject to several other, more targeted U.S. trade restrictions.

From Los Angeles Times

The auction house says Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun outbid six other rivals to get the "Comedian" installation of the Italian visual artist on Wednesday.

From BBC

Speakers of languages including Estonian and Finnish had the highest match rate of 100%, with the lowest at 70% for speakers of languages including Albanian and Mandarin Chinese.

From Science Daily

Yuan creates football content for the Chinese media market and was filming with celebrating Madrid fans who were - unknown to him - singing a racially offensive chant in Spanish about Chinese women, aimed at his colleague.

From BBC