Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 美國的 / 美国的 | Měiguó de |
| 美 | měi |
This term is used to describe things or culture pertaining to the United States. While 美國的 / 美国的 is the standard way to form the adjective, you may see the shortened form 美 used in certain contexts. When describing a specific style such as American-style food or American-style English, the pattern 美式 is often used instead.
What does it mean word for word?
The particle 的 is added to the noun 美國 to turn it into the adjective 美國的 / 美国的.
Which one should you use?
To refer specifically to an American person, you should add the character for person to the country name to get 美國人 / 美国人, rather than using the adjective 美國的 / 美国的. If you wish to refer to an inhabitant of the Americas (the continent) generally, use 美洲人.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Taiwan, the term for an American person is written using traditional Chinese characters as 美國人.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The particle 的 functions as an adjective marker or possessive particle that allows the noun 美國 to modify other nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
Měiguó de
What mistakes should you avoid?
洋人 (yáng rén) is an informal term meaning "foreigner" that can be used to refer to people from various Western countries, including America.
Did you know?
- The character 美 in 美國 means 'beautiful'. This makes the official name for the United States translate literally as 'Beautiful Country'.
- The term 洋人 used for foreigners literally translates to 'ocean person', implying someone who has come from across the sea.
- The character 美 began as a pictogram of a person wearing a headdress made of feathers or ram's horns.
Examples in context
- 你們是美國人嗎？Are you American?This sentence is useful for asking if someone is an American person using the character 美.Tatoeba #9238127 by xjjAstrus, translation #1977734 by Spamster
- 美国的医疗费很高。American medical fees are very high.This sentence is useful for describing American medical fees using the character 美.Tatoeba #684721 by GlossaMatik, translation #7782300 by sharris123
- 她有很多美国朋友。She has many American friends.This sentence is useful for mentioning American friends using the character 美.Tatoeba #1424225 by sadhen, translation #8727109 by krrk
- 他是 美国人 ( tā shì měi guó rén )He is an American.
- 我喜欢和 美国友人 一起旅行 ( wǒ xǐ huān hé měi guó yǒu rén yī qǐ lǚ xíng )I enjoy traveling with American friends.
- 89 more sentences on Tatoeba
Sources
- Wiktionary, “american” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 美, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
