Skip to main content
PlainSpell

Chinese

/ˌt͡ʃaɪˈniz/adjective, noun

Chinese is spelled C-H-I-N-E-S-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 102 times per million words in written English, the 1,048th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, Chinese means “Of, from, or related to China, particularly now the People's Republic of China” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in Chinese?

Letters7: C-H-I-N-E-S-E
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing102 times per million words; the 1,048th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is Chinese?

Chinese appears 102 times per million words in written English, the 1,048th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce Chinese?

  • UK /t͡ʃaɪˈniːz/
  • UK /ˈt͡ʃaɪniːz/
  • US /ˌt͡ʃaɪˈniz/

Chinese has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-Chinese.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with Chinese?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as Chinese from its last stressed vowel (/iz/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of Chinese

  • more Chinese comparative
  • most Chinese superlative
  • Chineses plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does Chinese mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    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.

  2. 2

    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.

  3. 3

    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.

  4. 4

    offensiveAs exotic, unusual, backwards, or unorganized as someone or something from China.

    It's all Chinese to me.

  5. 5

    offensiveUsed 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

  6. 6

    datedoffensiveHaving barn doors with a horizontal orientation.

noun

  1. 1

    A native, inhabitant, or citizen of China, particularly of the People's Republic of China.

    The Chinese have an incredible history.

  2. 2

    A member of the Han Chinese ethnic group, whether in China or overseas.

    The Chinese are present in all parts of the world.

  3. 3

    Ellipsis of Chinese cuisine.

    Please don't eat the Chinese. I'm saving it for later.

  4. 4

    UKcolloquialEllipsis of Chinese meal (“meal consisting of Chinese cuisine”).

    We're going out tonight for a Chinese.

  5. 5

    UKcolloquialEllipsis of Chinese restaurant (“restaurant serving Chinese cuisine”).

    Want to go to the Chinese after work?

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Chinese in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchchinois (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its…), Chinois, Chinoise (person from China or of Chinese descent), les Chinois (the people of China (to be merged into the…)
Germanchinesisch (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its…), Chinese, Chinesin, Chinesen, Chinesinnen (person from China or of Chinese descent), die Chinesen (the people of China (to be merged into the…)
Portuguesechinês, sino (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its…), chinesa (person from China or of Chinese descent), os chineses (the people of China (to be merged into the…), comida chinesa (Chinese food)
Spanishchino (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its…), china (person from China or of Chinese descent), los chinos (the people of China (to be merged into the…), comida china (Chinese food)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does Chinese come from?

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.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after Chinese