Forming nationality adjectives and nouns from country names is not always simple in English. Use the nationality adjective ending in -ese or -ish with a plural verb, to refer to all people of that nationality. The adjective listed also often refers to the language spoken in the country, although this is not always the case.
Examples
- Country: I live in Japan.
- Adjective: He likes Japanese food.
- Origins: She is a Japanese person. = She is from Japan. = She is Japanese.
- Language: She speaks Japanese.
- Describing a group: Spaniards often drink wine. = Spanish people often drink wine.
- Describing a group: The Chinese enjoy fireworks. = Chinese people enjoy fireworks.
In some cases, a nationality or regional noun may be negatively corrolated for some people, for historic or political reasons. When this is the case, many people will not use it, but will instead use a more neutral adjective + "people" formulation or "people from" + country name. This is the case for the examples with an asterisk below. Alternative formulations, less likely to give offense, are given in parentheses.
Geographic region/Continent | Adjective | Noun |
---|---|---|
Africa | African | an African* (an African person, someone from Africa) |
Asia | Asian | an Asian* (an Asian person, someone from Asia) |
Europe | European | a European |
Central America | Central American | a Central American |
Middle East | Middle Eastern | a Middle Easterner |
North Africa | North African | a North African |
South America | South American | a South American |
Southeast Asia | Southeast Asian | a Southeast Asian person |
Country or region | Adjective | Noun |
---|---|---|
Afghanistan | Afghan | an Afghan |
Algeria | Algerian | an Algerian |
Angola | Angolan | an Angolan |
Argentina | Argentine | an Argentine |
Austria | Austrian | an Austrian |
Australia | Australian | an Australian |
Bangladesh | Bangladeshi | a Bangladeshi |
Belarus | Belarusian | a Belarusian |
Belgium | Belgian | a Belgian |
Bolivia | Bolivian | a Bolivian |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnian/Herzegovinian | a Bosnian/a Herzegovinian |
Brazil | Brazilian | a Brazilian |
Britain | British | a Briton (informally: a Brit) |
Bulgaria | Bulgarian | a Bulgarian |
Cambodia | Cambodian | a Cambodian |
Cameroon | Cameroonian | a Cameroonian |
Canada | Canadian | a Canadian |
Central African Republic | Central African | a Central African |
Chad | Chadian | a Chadian |
China | Chinese | a Chinese person |
Colombia | Colombian | a Colombian |
Costa Rica | Costa Rican | a Costa Rican |
Croatia | Croatian | a Croat |
the Czech Republic | Czech | a Czech person |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | Congolese | a Congolese person (note: this refers to people from the Republic of the Congo as well) |
Denmark | Danish | a Dane |
Ecuador | Ecuadorian | an Ecuadorian |
Egypt | Egyptian | an Egyptian |
El Salvador | Salvadoran | a Salvadoran (also accepted are Salvadorian & Salvadorean) |
England | English | an Englishman/Englishwoman |
Estonia | Estonian | an Estonian |
Ethiopia | Ethiopian | an Ethiopian |
Finland | Finnish | a Finn |
France | French | a Frenchman/Frenchwoman |
Germany | German | a German |
Ghana | Ghanaian | a Ghanaian |
Greece | Greek | a Greek |
Guatemala | Guatemalan | a Guatemalan |
Holland | Dutch | a Dutchman/Dutchwoman |
Honduras | Honduran | a Honduran |
Hungary | Hungarian | a Hungarian |
Iceland | Icelandic | an Icelander |
India | Indian | an Indian |
Indonesia | Indonesian | an Indonesian |
Iran | Iranian | an Iranian |
Iraq | Iraqi | an Iraqi |
Ireland | Irish | an Irishman/Irishwoman |
Israel | Israeli | an Israeli |
Italy | Italian | an Italian |
Ivory Coast | Ivorian | an Ivorian |
Jamaica | Jamaican | a Jamaican |
Japan | Japanese | a Japanese person |
Jordan | Jordanian | a Jordanian |
Kazakhstan | Kazakh | a Kazakhstani (used as a noun, "a Kazakh" refers to an ethnic group, not a nationality) |
Kenya | Kenyan | a Kenyan |
Laos | Lao | a Laotian (used as a noun, "a Lao" refers to an ethnic group, not a nationality) |
Latvia | Latvian | a Latvian |
Libya | Libyan | a Libyan |
Lithuania | Lithuanian | a Lithuanian |
Madagascar | Malagasy | a Malagasy |
Malaysia | Malaysian | a Malaysian |
Mali | Malian | a Malian |
Mauritania | Mauritanian | a Mauritanian |
Mexico | Mexican | a Mexican* (may be offensive in the USA. Use "someone from Mexico" instead.) |
Morocco | Moroccan | a Moroccan |
Namibia | Namibian | a Namibian |
New Zealand | New Zealand | a New Zealander |
Nicaragua | Nicaraguan | a Nicaraguan |
Niger | Nigerien | a Nigerien |
Nigeria | Nigerian | a Nigerian |
Norway | Norwegian | a Norwegian |
Oman | Omani | an Omani |
Pakistan | Pakistani | a Pakistani* (may be offensive in the UK. Use "someone from Pakistan" instead.) |
Panama | Panamanian | a Panamanian |
Paraguay | Paraguayan | a Paraguayan |
Peru | Peruvian | a Peruvian |
The Philippines | Philippine | a Filipino* (someone from the Philippines) |
Poland | Polish | a Pole* (someone from Poland, a Polish person) |
Portugal | Portuguese | a Portuguese person |
Republic of the Congo | Congolese | a Congolese person (note: this refers to people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well) |
Romania | Romanian | a Romanian |
Russia | Russian | a Russian |
Saudi Arabia | Saudi, Saudi Arabian | a Saudi, a Saudi Arabian |
Scotland | Scottish | a Scot |
Senegal | Senegalese | a Senegalese person |
Serbia | Serbian | a Serbian (used as a noun, "a Serb" refers to an ethnic group, not a nationality |
Singapore | Singaporean | a Singaporean |
Slovakia | Slovak | a Slovak |
Somalia | Somalian | a Somalian |
South Africa | South African | a South African |
Spain | Spanish | a Spaniard* (a Spanish person, someone from Spain) |
Sudan | Sudanese | a Sudanese person |
Sweden | Swedish | a Swede |
Switzerland | Swiss | a Swiss person |
Syria | Syrian | a Syrian |
Thailand | Thai | a Thai person |
Tunisia | Tunisian | a Tunisian |
Turkey | Turkish | a Turk |
Turkmenistan | Turkmen | a Turkmen / the Turkmens |
Ukraine | Ukranian | a Ukranian |
The United Arab Emirates | Emirati | an Emirati |
The United States | American | an American |
Uruguay | Uruguayan | a Uruguayan |
Vietnam | Vietnamese | a Vietnamese person |
Wales | Welsh | a Welshman/Welshwoman |
Zambia | Zambian | a Zambian |
Zimbabwe | Zimbabwean | a Zimbabwean |
Cities also can be transformed into adjectives and nouns, although they are highly irregular and the nominal form is not always agreed upon (there may be several). Some examples of transformed city names are below.
City | Adjective | Noun |
---|---|---|
Paris | Parisian | a Parisian |
New York | New York | a New Yorker |
Sydney | Sydney | a Sydney-sider |
London | London | a Londoner |
São Paulo | São Paulo | a Paulistano |
New Delhi | New Delhi | a Delhiite |
Cape Town | Cape Town | a Capetonian |