Chinese

noun

Chi·​nese chī-ˈnēz  -ˈnēs 

plural Chinese

1

a

: a native or inhabitant of China

b

: a person of Chinese descent

2

: a group of related languages used by the people of China that are often mutually unintelligible in their spoken form but share a single system of writing and that constitute a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family

especially : mandarin

Chinese adjective

Examples of Chinese in a Sentence

the customs of the Chinese

He is learning to speak Chinese.

Recent Examples on the Web

But Chinese mitten crabs are nothing new in North America. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 May 2025

Last October, the CIA released a text video with step-by-step instructions in Chinese on how to securely contact the agency online. —Nectar Gan, CNN Money, 2 May 2025

Lu received the best actress award for her role at the 2011 Wan Xiang Chinese Film Festival in London. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 2 May 2025

Part of a group of immigrants to Mississippi known as the Delta Chinese, the Chows are neither Black nor white and are allowed to sell to both customer bases at the same time. —Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 2 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing Chinese

• Chinese boxes
• Chinese cabbage
• Chinese checkers
• Chinese chestnut
• Chinese chive
• Chinese cinnamon
• Chinese copy
• Chinese crested
• Chinese gooseberry
• Chinese lantern
• Chinese money plant
• Chinese New Year
• Chinese parsley
• Chinese puzzle
• Chinese restaurant syndrome
• Chinese shar-pei
• Chinese wall
• Chinese whispers
• Chinese white
• Indo-Chinese
• the Chinese

Rhymes for Chinese

• agrees
• appease
• bailees
• bougies
• burmese
• chemise
• chickpeas
• cowpeas
• curies
• decrees
• degrees
• disease

Kids Definition

Chinese

noun

Chi·​nese chī-ˈnēz  -ˈnēs 

plural Chinese

1

a

: a person born or living in China

b

: a person of Chinese ancestry

2

: a group of related languages used in China

Chinese adjective