I started learning Chinese last week.
Source: tatoeba (1883)
Chinese
/ˌt͡ʃaɪˈniz/
Synonyms for "chinese" (36 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (8)
Strong matches (10)
Related words (18)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: cathayan, cathayan, chinaman, chinean, chinee.
- Sentence evidence is available for chinese, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wiktionary, opengloss, derived_reverse, wordnet, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "chinese".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "chinese"
Keep "chinese" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "chinese" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "chinese", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "chinese" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
10 entriesMore specific
4 entriesCollocations
8 entriesChinese cuisineChinese cultureChinese diasporaChinese economyChinese governmentChinese languageChinese policyChinese population
Inflections
2 entriesmore Chinesemost Chinese
Derivations
1 entriesTranslations
137 translations across 97 languages.
Afrikaans
1 entries- sjinese adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Albanian
1 entries- kinez adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Arabic
2 entries- صيني adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- صِينِيّ adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Aragonese
2 entries- chino adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- chinés adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Armenian
1 entries- չինական adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Assamese
1 entries- চীনা adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Asturian
1 entries- chinu adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Azerbaijani
1 entries- çin adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Basque
1 entries- txinatar adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Belarusian
1 entries- кіта́йскі adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Bengali
2 entries- চীনদেশীয় adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- চীনা adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Breton
1 entries- sinaat adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Bulgarian
1 entries- кита́йски adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Burmese
1 entries- တရုတ် adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Catalan
1 entries- xinès adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Chinese Cantonese
2 entries- 中國 /中国 adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- 中華 /中华 adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Chinese Mandarin
4 entries- 中- adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- 中國 /中国 adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- 中國的 /中国的 adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- 中華 /中华 adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Classical Mongolian
1 entries- ᠬᠢᠲᠠᠳ adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Czech
1 entries- čínský adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Danish
1 entries- kinesisk adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Daur
1 entries- niaken adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Dutch
2 entries- Chinees adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- Chinese adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Esperanto
2 entries- hano adj (related to the Han ethnic group)
- ĉina adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Estonian
1 entries- hiina adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Faroese
2 entries- kinesiskur adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- kinverskur adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Finnish
1 entries- kiinalainen adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
French
1 entries- chinois adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Friulian
1 entries- cinês adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Galician
2 entries- chino adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- chinés adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Georgian
1 entries- ჩინური adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
German
1 entries- chinesisch adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Greek
2 entries- κινέζικος adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- κινεζικός adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Hawaiian
2 entries- Kina adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- Pākē adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Hebrew
2 entries- סִינִי adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- סִינִית adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Hindi
1 entries- चीनी adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Hungarian
1 entries- kínai adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Icelandic
1 entries- kínverskur adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Ido
1 entries- china adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Indonesian
2 entries- Tionghoa adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- Tiongkok adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Interlingua
1 entries- chinese adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Irish
1 entries- Síneach adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Italian
1 entries- cinese adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Japanese
3 entries- 中国 adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- 中国の adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- 中華 adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Kazakh
1 entries- қытай adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Khmer
1 entries- ចិន adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Korean
2 entries- 중국 adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- 중화 adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Kyrgyz
1 entries- кытай adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Lao
1 entries- ຈີນ adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Latin
1 entries- Sinensis adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Latvian
2 entries- ķīniešu adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- ķīnisks adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Lithuanian
2 entries- kiniška adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- kiniškas adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Lushootseed
1 entries- čaydi adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Macedonian
1 entries- кине́ски adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Malay
1 entries- Cina adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Manchu
2 entries- ᠨᡳᡴᠠᠨ adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- ᡩᡠᠯᡳᠮᠪᠠᡳ ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ ᡳ adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Mirandese
1 entries- chinés adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Mongolian
1 entries- хятад adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Nanai
1 entries- ника̄н adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Negidal
1 entries- никан adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Northern Sami
1 entries- kiinnálaš adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- kinesisk adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Norwegian Nynorsk
1 entries- kinesisk adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Occitan
1 entries- chinés adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Ottoman Turkish
2 entries- سینی adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- چینی adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Pashto
3 entries- چينايي adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- چيني adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- چینایی adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Persian
1 entries- چینی adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Piedmontese
1 entries- cinèis adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Polish
1 entries- chiński adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Portuguese
2 entries- chinês adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- sino adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Romanian
1 entries- chinezesc adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Russian
2 entries- кита́йский adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- ха́ньский adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Scottish Gaelic
1 entries- Sìonach adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Serbo-Croatian
2 entries- kìnēskī adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- кѝне̄скӣ adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Slovak
1 entries- čínsky adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Slovene
1 entries- kitájski adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Spanish
1 entries- chino adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Sranan Tongo
1 entries- Sneisi adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Swahili
1 entries- Kichina adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Swedish
1 entries- kinesisk adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Tagalog
3 entries- Intsik adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- Tsekwa adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- Tsino adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Tajik
1 entries- чинӣ adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Tamil
2 entries- சீன adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- சீன adj (related to the Han ethnic group)
Thai
1 entries- จีน adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Tibetan
3 entries- ཀྲུང་གོའི adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- རྒྱ་ནག་གི adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- རྒྱ་མིའི adj (related to the Han ethnic group)
Turkish
1 entries- Çinli adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Turkmen
1 entries- çin adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Udihe
1 entries- ниӈка adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Ukrainian
1 entries- кита́йський adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Urdu
1 entries- چینی adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Uyghur
2 entries- جۇڭگو adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- خىتاي adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Uzbek
1 entries- xitoy adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Vietnamese
4 entries- Hoa adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- Hán adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- Trung adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
- Trung Hoa adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Walloon
1 entries- chinwès adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Welsh
1 entries- Tsieineaidd adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Xibe
1 entries- ᡪᡠᡢᡬᠣ ᡞ adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Yiddish
1 entries- כינעזיש adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Zhuang
1 entries- Cunghgoz adj (of, from, or relating to China, its people, its culture, or its language)
Sample sentences
38 total sentences available.
Have you ever read any Chinese poems?
Source: tatoeba (16229)
You study Chinese history.
Source: tatoeba (20114)
Almost no students get full marks in Chinese classics.
Source: tatoeba (21024)
Showing 4 of 38 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "chinese"?
Closest matches include cathayan, cathayan, chinaman, chinean, chinee.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "chinese"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.