English · Word Candidate

Asian

/ˈeɪʒən/

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Also seen as: Asians

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

A person from the continent of Asia, or a descendant thereof - especially: — A person from or with ancestry in East or Southeast Asia, occasionally South Asia.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Người từ châu Á hoặc là hậu duệ của người châu Á

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

NounRegister: US

Examples

Hate crimes and attacks on Asians have captured the local news and the national attention since 2020, producing a stream of content that showed innocent people being attacked and belittled in never-ending variations on the same violent theme.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

A person from the continent of Asia, or a descendant thereof - especially: — A person from or with ancestry in South Asia.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Người từ châu Á hoặc là hậu duệ của người châu Á

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

NounRegister: UK

Examples

We call upon you to be ready to take over from the non-citizens who are leaving the country. As you are aware, I, on Wednesday the 9th August, 1972, signed a Decree revoking with effect from that date, all entry permits and certificates of residence which had been granted to British citizens of Asia

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 3

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Of, relating to or from Asia.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Liên quan đến hoặc từ châu Á

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Adjective

Examples

There are white, black, Asian and Chinese Britons, just as there are any number of different sorts of Americans.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “Asian” mean?

A person from the continent of Asia, or a descendant thereof - especially: — A person from or with ancestry in East or Southeast Asia, occasionally South Asia.

Is “Asian” formal or informal?

Asian is generally US.