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
Sesame Chinese One of the best hole-in-the-wall local Chinese restaurants in town.
—
Vogue, 3 Apr. 2024
Speaking in the Chinese dialects of Mandarin and Cantonese, Chen demonstrated how to navigate one of the city's voting machines, which — because of a Voting Rights Act requirement — must display touch-screen menus in Chinese and Spanish in addition to English.
—Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, 2 Apr. 2024
The nests, made from the birds’ saliva, are the key ingredient in bird’s nest soup, an expensive delicacy believed by many Chinese to have health benefits.
—Muktita Suhartono Nyimas Laula, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024
While coming in at a more expensive entry point than fellow Chinese disruptor BYD, Xpeng has also been vocal about pricing, as companies like Tesla and Volkswagen get into a lengthy price war.
—Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 2 Apr. 2024
The Northeastern Chinese Basketball League, which is not limited to the Northeast, has more than a hundred teams across the U.S.
—Peter Hessler, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Competing with 42 teams from California, Hawaii, China and Chinese Taipei, Quixilver was the No. 1 seed at the end of the tournament’s 78 qualification matches.
—Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2024
As recently as Saturday, Chinese Coast Guard ships fired water cannons at a Philippine boat conducting a lawful resupply mission to a Philippine military outpost at a contested shoal in the South China Sea.
—Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
China venture capitalist Kai-Fu Lee believes Chinese AI firms are well positioned to radically narrow the gap with U.S. competitors, in part because of their open-source and more energy-efficient approach.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2024
Vogue, 3 Apr. 2024
Speaking in the Chinese dialects of Mandarin and Cantonese, Chen demonstrated how to navigate one of the city's voting machines, which — because of a Voting Rights Act requirement — must display touch-screen menus in Chinese and Spanish in addition to English.
—Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, 2 Apr. 2024
The nests, made from the birds’ saliva, are the key ingredient in bird’s nest soup, an expensive delicacy believed by many Chinese to have health benefits.
—Muktita Suhartono Nyimas Laula, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024
While coming in at a more expensive entry point than fellow Chinese disruptor BYD, Xpeng has also been vocal about pricing, as companies like Tesla and Volkswagen get into a lengthy price war.
—Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 2 Apr. 2024
The Northeastern Chinese Basketball League, which is not limited to the Northeast, has more than a hundred teams across the U.S.
—Peter Hessler, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Competing with 42 teams from California, Hawaii, China and Chinese Taipei, Quixilver was the No. 1 seed at the end of the tournament’s 78 qualification matches.
—Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2024
As recently as Saturday, Chinese Coast Guard ships fired water cannons at a Philippine boat conducting a lawful resupply mission to a Philippine military outpost at a contested shoal in the South China Sea.
—Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
China venture capitalist Kai-Fu Lee believes Chinese AI firms are well positioned to radically narrow the gap with U.S. competitors, in part because of their open-source and more energy-efficient approach.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Chinese.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Phrases Containing Chinese
Articles Related to Chinese
Dictionary Entries Near Chinese
Cite this Entry
“Chinese.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Chinese. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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