She is (a) Chinese. She comes from Beijing.

[Winwin2011]

I read the following in a book written by a non-native speaker:

1. She is Chinese. She comes from Beijing. (Incorrect)
2. She is a Chinese. She comes from Beijing. (correct)

The writer said that 'Chinese is an countable noun, it should be preceded by an article.

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I think both of the above sentences are correct because 'Chinese' is an adjective in the sentence 1. Am I right?

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

Yes, you are right.

Although grammatically correct, I find 2. unnatural. I would use 1. myself.

 

[SoothingDave]

2 is completely wrong. We used to say "Chinaman" and that was countable. Someone could be "a Chinaman."

But that is considered politically incorrect now. So we can only say that someone is Chinese. Not "a Chinese."

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

I disagree with you. I would not use 2. but it isn't "completely wrong".

See here.

 

[SoothingDave]

I see it is in the dictionary, but I think it should be marked "obsolete."

 

[Matthew Wai]

I always say "I am Chinese", but is it correct to say "I am a Chinese who is learning English"? Should "guy" be added after "Chinese"? I sometimes say "Not a teacher, but a Chinese" in my posts, is it wrong?

 

[SoothingDave]

It may not be "dictionary wrong," but it is unnatural in modern use. Yes, you should use "Chinese" as an adjective. You are a Chinese man/guy/person/individual/etc.

("Chinese" as a noun is still good for the language.)

 

[Winwin2011]

It may not be "dictionary wrong," but it is unnatural in modern use. Yes, you should use "Chinese" as an adjective. You are a Chinese man/guy/person/individual/etc.

("Chinese" as a noun is still good for the language.)

Thanks, SoothingDave.

She is a Chinese girl/woman/lady.

If we do not know whether she is married, should we use 'She is a Chinese lady.'

 

[SoothingDave]

Marriage has nothing to do with it. "Woman" has the least connotations, but can not be used for a very young person.

"Girl" should only be used for pre-teens.

 

[Raymott]

If we do not know whether she is married, should we use 'She is a Chinese lady.'

If she's an extreme feminist, you should call her a "Chinese woman", not a lady.

 

[Winwin2011]

If she's an extreme feminist, you should call her a "Chinese woman", not a lady.

Thanks, Raymott.

When do native speakers use 'lady'?

 

[SoothingDave]

We use "lady" as a term of respect. As Raymott indicated, feminists found this offensive somehow.

"Young lady" is used to refer to teens sometimes.

 

[Barb_D]

I feel this is more urban myth than reality. I've never met a woman who objected to being called a lady. I've heard many men say "Women don't like to be called ladies." I think there is a disconenct with reality.

It's not just "Chinese" that this applies to: "He is English," but not "He is an English." "She's French" but not "She's a French."
With American, it works either way: I'm an American/I'm American. (It seems to work with many that end in -N that you can use the same form for both.)
With many others, there are different forms: He's a Finn/He's Finnish. She's a Dane/She's Danish.

 

[Winwin2011]

I feel this is more urban myth than reality. I've never met a woman who objected to being called a lady. I've heard many men say "Women don't like to be called ladies." I think there is a disconenct with reality.

It's not just "Chinese" that this applies to: "He is English," but not "He is an English." "She's French" but not "She's a French."
With American, it works either way: I'm an American/I'm American. (It seems to work with many that end in -N that you can use the same form for both.)
With many others, there are different forms: He's a Finn/He's Finnish. She's a Dane/She's Danish.

Thanks Barb_D

Are the following sentences correct?

1. "He is Japanese" but not "He is a Japanese"
2. He is a Mexican/African/Canadian/Australian/Indian/Russian. He is Mexican/African/Canadian/Australian/Indian/Russian (with many that end in -N that you can use the same form for both.)
3. "He is Filipino" but not "He is a Filipino"

 

[Barb_D]

Someone may correct me, but "a Filipino" sounds okay to me.

 

[Matthew Wai]

"There seem to be many Chinese on this forum."
Should a noun be added after "Chinese"?

 

[Winwin2011]

"There seem to be many Chinese on this forum."
Should a noun be added after "Chinese"?

Hello Mathew

Not a teacher

After goggling/searching "a Chinese" on http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/ ,I think it is more common to use "a Chinese man/woman". Please correct me if I am wong.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Hello Winwin2011

Many "Chinese are" can be found by Google https://www.google.com.hk/search?es...2.2.0....0...1c.1.42.serp..0.2.92.Ak5a3ILIRX8
I think it is also possible to use "Chinese" as a noun, although less commonly. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Not a teacher.

 

[Tdol]

Some people use Chinese as a noun, but many find this unnatural. The form many Chinese sounds OK to me,as would the Chinese. I have been in Asia for a long time and a Chinese sounds OK to me,though it sounded strange when I first came here. It's easy not to use the form and many find it odd, so why not avoid any problem?