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English question regarding word 'Chinese'
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md1101 -

Something that always bugs me is usage of the word 'Chinese' as in

'He is a Chinese'
or 'I am a Chinese'

To me it doesnt sound right as a noun. It must be 'He is Chinese' or 'He is from China' or 'He is
a Chinese person/guy/girl'

But in the dictionary it says it can be used as a noun but does it sound right that way to you
people? I've only heard Chinese people use it that way anyway.



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gato -

Are you not an Australian?










HashiriKata -

Does "a German", "an American", etc. sound right to you?
I think in the end it all depends on how often we hear it used in a particular way. "The poor" and
"the rich" might have started life only as adjectives...










Language Guy -

While words like "Chinese" are much more widespread as plural nouns (i.e. the Chinese are
hardworking people), as a singular noun, it still is correct, much like an American, a Norwegian,
etc.

What I always found awkward is using the noun "French" as singular... I just can't do it. I have
to instead say a Frenchman or Frenchwoman.










roddy -

I do think the blunt 'Chinese' or 'Australian' grates a little - if you're just going to make the
statement, I think you'd be more likely to say 'He is Chinese / Australian'. If I hear "He's a
Chinese" I kind of feel like I'm left hanging, thinking "But a Chinese WHAT?!" I think maybe
Chinese people use it in English because it feels closer to 我是中国人, rather than I'm
Chinese which may feel a bit like they are saying 我是中国的。

But that's all speculation.

Roddy
PS English questions, btw, go under other cultures.










wushijiao -

I agree with mickdriscoll that "Chinese" doesn't sound right as a noun describing a person. I know
it is correct according to the dictionary, but it still sounds slightly strange and a bit
offensive. (I think American racists generally refer to Asians using their noun forms: ie. He's a
Jap/He's a Chinese/He's a Vietnamese/ Look at that (insert racial slur here)). Perhaps because of
this, I have almost only heard the adective+noun construction in polite conversation. But, again,
I'm just guessing as to why it sounds odd.

So I always use it as an adj., ie, "She is a Chinese person".










md1101 -

well good to know most people agree that is sounds odd. i know german, australian, american, all
sound fine in a single noun form. thats why i thought the question was interesting.

Anyway i think the consensus is you can say it as 'He is A Chinese'... its gramatically correct.
but it sounds wrong. and i dont think many native speakers would say it like this.




Quote:

Are you not an Australian?

yes. did you know even English people study English? its dumbfounding isnt it?

Languague Guy,
Dictionary.com describes the noun of 'French' as "the people of France and their direct
descendants." So according to the definition, saying "The French think..." etc is okay. But it
does not say it can be used to describe a single inhabitant of France like it does for Chinese,
Australia etc. So at least here we know why we've never heard is spoken that way. "he is a
French"...










gato -



Quote:

did you know even English people study English? its dumbfounding isnt it?

Amazing!



Quote:

Are you not an Australian?

I guess I should have put the "an" in caps.










md1101 -

lol.. I thought there was a possibility you meant that Gato. ummm... anyway its your fault for not
being clear so you'll just have to take my earlier sarcastic response.










in_lab -

The situtation for the words French and Chinese is similar. It used to be you could say "he's a
Frenchman/Chinaman." The dictionary lists "Chinaman" as "usally offensive" but doesn't have any
warning about Frenchman. The dictionary lists "Frenchwoman," but I don't think I've ever seen that
(there's no way of knowing if I've heard it). But there is no entry for Chinawoman.












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