chinese
/ˌt͡ʃaɪˈniz/
Frequency: 5.01 in modern English
Meaning
adj
Of, from, or related to China, particularly now the People's Republic of China.
adj
Of, from, or related to the people of China, particularly the Han Chinese and their culture whether in China or overseas.
adj
Of, from, or related to a language native to Han Chinese persons, often used generally of Chinese characters or particularly to refer to Standard Mandarin.
adj
Used with a noun to indicate a referent different from, and seemingly more exotic or unusual than, the base noun's referent.
Offensive
name
The Standard Chinese language, written in Chinese characters and spoken and spelled using Standard Mandarin pronunciation.
Uncountable
name
The branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family including Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, Southern Min, and other closely related language varieties and dialects.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "China has been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party since 1949."
- "In this instance, when the Chairman of the "Accuracy in Media" spoke out strongly against the Chinese Communist system of "pin yin" spelling, he was not criticizing any bias or unreliability of news presentation but specifically the inconvenience and confusion caused by the "pin yin" spelling of Chinese names."
- "Experts told CNN it could take weeks to address the vulnerabilities and that suspected Chinese hackers are already attempting to exploit it."
- "Important Chinese holidays celebrated around the world include the Chinese New Year ("Spring Festival"), Tomb Sweeping Day, and the Mid-Autumn Festival."
- "In the early 1870’s anti-Chinese agitation in California became organized and focused under the leadership of Denis Kearney, who was, ironically, an immigrant from Ireland. A campaign of organized violence against Chinese communities took form, and the hysteria led to political pressure too violent to be resisted. President Hayes vetoed an act of Congress restricting Chinese immigration, but he did force renegotiation of the Burlingame Treaty under which the government of China agreed to restrict emigration voluntarily."
- "There are four Chinese tones... five, if you count the neutral one."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌt͡ʃaɪˈniz/
- British English: /t͡ʃaɪˈniːz/
Usage
- Offensive
- Dated
- Uncountable
- Countable
- British usage
- Colloquial