Chinese
- of, about, or relating to China and its inhabitants
proper noun
- family of languages
- ethnic group
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /t͡ʃaɪˈniːz/ / /ˈt͡ʃaɪniːz/ / /ˌt͡ʃaɪˈniz/
adj
Etymology: From China + -ese under influence of Portuguese chinês, replacing older Chinish. Doublet of chinois. In its orientalist sense of "generically exotic, backwards, or poorly organized", sometimes a deliberate marketing strategy to increase sales, as with the German Chinese checkers. In its sense related to the orientation of stage lighting's barn doors, a reference to a supposed resemblance to East Asian eyes.
- Of, from, or related to China, particularly now the People's Republic of China.
“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.”
- Of, from, or related to the people of China, particularly the Han Chinese and their culture whether in China or overseas.
“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.”
- 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.
“There are four Chinese tones... five, if you count the neutral one.”
“The construction of a verbal system which is fairly regular and at the same time based on existing languages is a most difficult task, because in no other domain of the grammar do languages retain a greater number of ancient irregularities and differ more fundamentally from one another. Still an attempt will be made here to conciliate the two points of view and to bring about something which resembles the simple Chinese grammar without, however, losing its European character or the power of expressing nuances to which we are accustomed in our own languages.”
- As exotic, unusual, backwards, or unorganized as someone or something from China.
“It's all Chinese to me.”
- Used with a noun to indicate a referent different from, and seemingly more exotic or unusual than, the base noun's referent.
“Chinese apple, Chinese checkers, Chinese snooker”
- Having barn doors with a horizontal orientation.
name
Etymology: From China + -ese under influence of Portuguese chinês, replacing older Chinish. Doublet of chinois. In its orientalist sense of "generically exotic, backwards, or poorly organized", sometimes a deliberate marketing strategy to increase sales, as with the German Chinese checkers. In its sense related to the orientation of stage lighting's barn doors, a reference to a supposed resemblance to East Asian eyes.
- The Standard Chinese language, written in Chinese characters and spoken and spelled using Standard Mandarin pronunciation.
“你好 is read “Nǐ hǎo” and means “Hello” in Chinese.”
“The resulting Belter creole is a crazy mix of English, Chinese, romance languages like French, German, Persian, Hebrew, Zulu, and a few other surprises. Farmer says he has over 1,000 Belter words in his personal dictionary, and he keeps adding more as the show’s producers and fans request them.”
- The branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family including Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, Southern Min, and other closely related language varieties and dialects.
“Suzhounese and Hakka are lesser-known varieties of Chinese.”
- The logographic writing system shared by most Sinitic languages.
“Hong Kong still uses traditional Chinese.”
noun
Etymology: From China + -ese under influence of Portuguese chinês, replacing older Chinish. Doublet of chinois. In its orientalist sense of "generically exotic, backwards, or poorly organized", sometimes a deliberate marketing strategy to increase sales, as with the German Chinese checkers. In its sense related to the orientation of stage lighting's barn doors, a reference to a supposed resemblance to East Asian eyes.
- A native, inhabitant, or citizen of China, particularly of the People's Republic of China.
“The Chinese have an incredible history.”
“If the Chinese were a people like the Russians, the Germans or the French, we (I address chiefly American and British readers) would observe any marked increase in their industrial activity or in their national aggressiveness with some misgiving, possibly, but […]”
- A member of the Han Chinese ethnic group, whether in China or overseas.
“The Chinese are present in all parts of the world.”
“And the Iaponians, are longer liv’d, than the Chineſes; […]”
- Ellipsis of Chinese cuisine.
“Please don't eat the Chinese. I'm saving it for later.”
“"Do you like to eat Chinese?”
- Ellipsis of Chinese meal (“meal consisting of Chinese cuisine”).
“We're going out tonight for a Chinese.”
- Ellipsis of Chinese restaurant (“restaurant serving Chinese cuisine”).
“Want to go to the Chinese after work?”