[General] I am Chinese. vs I am a Chinese.

[TaiwanPofLee]

What are the differences between "I am Chinese." and "I am a Chinese."
Thank you.

 

[emsr2d2]

"I am a Chinese" is grammatically incorrect. "I am Chinese" is correct.

You can say "I am a Chinese boy/girl/man/woman/citizen".

Some adjectives of nationality can be used as a noun too. Some can't.

I am American. :tick:
I am an American. :tick:
I am Mexican. :tick:
I am a Mexican. :tick:
I am Argentinian. :tick:
I am an Argentinian. :tick: (I've noticed recently that "He is an Argentine" is becoming more common.)
He is Canadian. :tick:
He is a Canadian. :tick:
She is South African. :tick:
She is a South African. :tick:

(You'll notice that the ones that can be used both ways end with "-an".)

I am British. :tick:
I am a British. :cross:
I am French. :tick:
I am a French. :cross:
She is Dutch. :tick:
She is a Dutch. :cross:

 

[Matthew Wai]

I always say 'I am Chinese', but I found the following definition, which shows that 'Chinese' can be used as a noun.

'1 [countable] a person from China, or whose family was originally from China'—quoted from https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/american_english/chinese_2

 

[Raymott]

You've found it in a dictionary, Matthew, but that doesn't mean that many people say it. It sounds quite unnatural to me when used for people. The same applies to Japanese, Maltese, Burmese, Taiwanese - anything ending with -ese.

On the other hand, it's normal to use these terms for animals. My avatar cat is a Tonkinese. My friend's dog is a Pekinese, etc.

 

[bubbha]

I agree with Raymott. "I am a Chinese" sounds stilted and unnatural to me, and kind of old-fashioned.

Note also that the English word "Chinese" doesn't make the distinction between ethnicity and nationality, so a person from Taiwan can be both Chinese (華人) and not Chinese (中國人) at the same time (depending on their political stance).

 

[GoesStation]

And don't use the outdated Chinaman. For no apparent reason, that term became pejorative. "Frenchman/woman", on the other hand, is fine.

 

[Matthew Wai]

A Chinese member used 'Chinese' as a noun in the post below.
https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/...ked-the-loaf?p=1358783&viewfull=1#post1358783

 

[Roman55]

Interestingly, this dictionary, despite having the following definition of Chinese as a noun, 'A native or inhabitant of China, or a person of Chinese descent', uses it exclusively in the plural in all of its example sentences.

 

[GoesStation]

A Chinese member used 'Chinese' as a noun in the post below.
https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/...ked-the-loaf?p=1358783&viewfull=1#post1358783

Just another English oddity! For some reason, We Chinese is perfectly natural, but He is a Chinese​ isn't.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Perhaps the indefinite article 'a' is the reason. 'The Chinese', where the definite article is used, is used in many examples in the dictionary mentioned in post #8.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

The a makes it an adjective. If you said "I am a Chinese," I would ask: "A Chinese what?"

 

[Matthew Wai]

1. A Chinese is sitting there.
2. Two Chinese are sitting there.

'A Chinese' is unnatural. How about 'Two Chinese'?

 

[Tarheel]

Two Chinese are walking with each other. They are speaking Chinese, so I don't understand what they are saying.

Does that work for you, Matthew?

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think 'talking' works better than 'walking' there.

 

[Tarheel]

No, they are walking and talking. You can do both at the same time.

 

[GoesStation]

1. A Chinese is sitting there.
2. Two Chinese are sitting there.

'A Chinese' is unnatural. How about 'Two Chinese'?

Neither is natural.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Is the 'Two Chinese' in post #13 natural?

 

[GoesStation]

Is the 'Two Chinese' in post #13 natural?

Not to me.

 

[probus]

On a related note, we have recently had to abandon "oriental" here in Canada. I had always felt it was quite neutral, but Chinese-Canadians and immigrants from China decided it was pejorative, so it had to go. I still don't really understand why.

 

[GoesStation]

On a related note, we have recently had to abandon "oriental" here in Canada. I had always felt it was quite neutral, but Chinese-Canadians and immigrants from China decided it was pejorative, so it had to go. I still don't really understand why.

I learned that West Asians may find that term offensive around twenty-five years ago here in the States. It's a slippery word anyway, in that it once meant something like "Turkey and points east" and gradually shifted eastward from there, so I guess it's not too great a loss.