japanese american

/ˌdʒæp.əˈniːz əˈmer.ɪ.kən/

noun

  1. A person who is a citizen or resident of the United States and who has Japanese ancestry or origins.

    B1

    countable; usually capitalized: Japanese American; plural: Japanese Americans

    • "She is a Japanese American who grew up in California."A2
    • "Many Japanese Americans were forced to leave their homes and were held in internment camps during World War II."C1

adjective

  1. Relating to Americans of Japanese descent, or to their culture, history, or communities.

    B2

    usually before a noun; often written with a hyphen as an adjective: Japanese-Americanformal

    • "The museum has a large collection about Japanese American history."B2
    • "She grew up in a Japanese-American neighborhood in Los Angeles."B1

  2. Combining Japanese and American traditions, especially in food or culture.

    B1

    usually written with a hyphen before a noun: Japanese-American

    • "We ate at a Japanese-American restaurant that serves teriyaki burgers."A2

Common mistakes

  • Japanese-american→Japanese American

    Both words are capitalized and, as a noun, the term is normally written without a hyphen (a hyphen is only used by some writers when it is an adjective, and even then it is now discouraged).

  • Japanese Americans is a Japan citizen→Japanese Americans are U.S. citizens or residents of Japanese descent

    The term refers to Americans of Japanese ancestry, not citizens of Japan.

Collocations

Japanese American internmentJapanese American communityJapanese American National MuseumJapanese American citizenJapanese American historyJapanese American soldiers

Word family

JapaneseAmericanAsian AmericanNikkeiIsseiJapanese-American