Chinese
Pronunciation
  • (British) enPR: chī-nēzʹ, IPA: /t͡ʃaɪˈniːz/; (sometimes) enPR: chīʹnēz, IPA: /ˈt͡ʃaɪniːz/
  • (America) enPR: chī'nēzʹ, IPA: /ˌt͡ʃaɪˈniz/; (sometimes) enPR: chīʹnēz', IPA: /ˈt͡ʃaɪˌniz/
Noun

Chinese

  1. Language:
    1. (uncountable) Any of several Sinitic languages spoken in China, especially Literary Chinese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Wu or Min Nan.
      Peter is from Hong Kong and speaks Chinese.
    2. (uncountable) The class of Sino-Tibetan dialects including Mandarin, Wu, Cantonese, Min Nan and others.
      Wu and Hakka are lesser-known varieties of Chinese.
    3. (uncountable) The logographic writing system shared by this language family.
      Hong Kong uses traditional Chinese.
    4. Mandarin: an official language of the People's Republic of China
      “Nǐ hǎo” means “hello” in Chinese.
  2. People:
    1. (uncountable) The people of China.
      The Chinese have an incredible history.
    2. (uncountable) All people of Chinese descent or self-identity
      The Chinese are present in all parts of the world.
    3. (countable) A person from China or of Chinese descent.
  3. Chinese food or meal.
    1. (British, countable, informal) A Chinese meal.
      We're going out tonight for a Chinese.
    2. (British, North America, Australia, uncountable, informal) Chinese food or cuisine.
      Please don't eat the Chinese: I'm saving it for later.
Synonyms
  • (Chinese person) Han (ethnic Chinese regardless of the residence), Chinaman (properly of a man only); Chinee (archaic); chink (offensive slur); Sinese (rare)
Translations Translations
  • Italian: cinese, ideogrammi cinesi
  • Portuguese: chinês
  • Russian: китайский
  • Spanish: chino
Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • French: chinois
  • Italian: cibo cinese
  • Portuguese: comida chinesa
  • Russian: китайский
  • Spanish: comida china
Adjective

Chinese (not comparable)

  1. Of China, its languages or people
    • 1928, Otto Jespersen, An International Language, page 82
      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.
  2. Exotic; unfamiliar; unexpected; used in phrases such as Chinese whispers, Chinese handcuffs, and Chinese checkers.
Synonyms Translations


This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.004
Offline English dictionary