chinese

US /ˌtʃaɪˈniz/ UK /ˌtʃaɪˈniːz/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
relating to China, its people, or its languages

She is studying Chinese literature at university.

Thesaurus

Word family

Related forms chinasino

Etymology

From China + -ese (from Old French -eis, from Latin -ensis, denoting origin). China itself comes via Persian and Sanskrit, probably from the Qin dynasty name.

-ensis Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# chinese

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌtʃaɪˈniz/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌtʃaɪˈniːz/

## Meanings
1. relating to China, its people, or its languages

## Examples
- She is studying Chinese literature at university.

## Related Forms
- china
- sino

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: -ensis
- Affix: -ese - from a place

## Etymology
From China + -ese (from Old French -eis, from Latin -ensis, denoting origin). China itself comes via Persian and Sanskrit, probably from the Qin dynasty name.

## AI Etymology
Chinese comes from China + -ese (from Old French -eis, from Latin -ensis, denoting origin). China itself comes via Persian and Sanskrit, probably from the Qin dynasty name. The historical trail runs through Latin -ensis. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. In modern use it means relating to China, its people, or its languages. Related forms include china, sino.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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