Vietnamese

[ vee-et-nah-meez, -mees, -nuh-, vyet-, vee-it- ]

adjective
  1. of or relating to Vietnam or its inhabitants.

noun,plural Vi·et·nam·ese.
  1. Formerly Annamese, An·nam·ite [an-uh-mahyt] /ˈæn əˌmaɪt/ . the Austroasiatic language of Vietnam.

  2. Sometimes Offensive. a native or inhabitant of Vietnam.: See Usage note at the current entry.

Origin of Vietnamese

1
First recorded in 1945–50; Vietnam + -ese

usage note For Vietnamese

Some words that describe national or ethnic identities are acceptable as plural nouns, but are either rare or offensive in the singular. This is the case for Vietnamese. It’s sometimes acceptable as a plural noun (a candidate favored by Vietnamese ). However, it's sometimes offensive as a singular noun (the candidate who is a Vietnamese ). Such words are always perfectly appropriate as adjectives (strategies to get Vietnamese voters to the polls).

Other words from Vietnamese

  • an·ti-Vi·et·nam·ese, adjective, noun, plural an·ti-Vi·et·nam·ese.
  • pro-Vi·et·nam·ese, adjective, noun, plural pro-Vi·et·nam·ese.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for Vietnamese

Vietnamese

/ (ˌvjɛtnəˈmiːz) /


adjective
  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Vietnam, its people, or their language

noun
  1. plural -ese a native or inhabitant of Vietnam

  2. the language of Vietnam, probably related to the Mon-Khmer languages

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