Nationality Words | Words From the Name of a Country

1. We form nationality words from the name of a country: Italy, Italian, France, French, Japan, Japanese. We can use them in different ways.

NOTE Some of these words do not refer to a political nation, e.g., European, Jewish.

a. As an adjective

• Italian food, a French town, Japanese technology, and a Russian novel.

b As the name of a language

• I learnt Italian at evening classes.
• Do you speak Russian?
• I don’t know any Greek.

c. Referring to a specific person or group of people

• Debbie is married to an Italian.
• There are some Russians staying at the hotel.
• The Japanese were looking round the cathedral.

d. Referring to a whole people

• Italians are passionate about football.
• The French are proud of their language.

These expressions take a plural verb.

We can also say, e.g. Italian people, Russian people.

2. There are different kinds of nationality words.

a. Many end in an: Italian, American, Mexican. We can add s to form a plural noun.

• Three Italians are doing the course.
• (The) Americans think they can see Europe in a week.

NOTE

• a To this group also belong Greek, Czech, Thai, Arab, and words ending in i, e.g., Pakistani, Israeli.
• The Greeks invented democracy.
• b The language of the Arabs is Arabic.

b. Some end in ese: Chinese, Portuguese. We cannot add s.

• Several Chinese (people) were waiting in the queue.

When we talk about a whole people, we must use the or people.

• The Chinese welcome/Chinese people welcome western tourists.

c. With some words, the adjective is different from the noun.

• She’s Danish./She’s a Dane.
• I like Danish people./I like (the) Danes.

Also: Swedish/a Swede, Finnish/a Finn, Polish/a Pole, Spanish/a Spaniard, Turkish/a Turk, Jewish/a Jew.

NOTE

From Britain we form the adjective British.

• There are a lot of British people in this part of Spain.

The nouns Brit and Briton are not very usual in spoken British English.

• There are a lot of Brits/Britons in this part of Spain.

This usage is rather journalistic. Brit is informal. The Americans say Britisher. For the whole people, we say the British.

• The British prefer houses to flats.

d. With some words, the noun has the suffix man.

• He’s English. /He’s an Englishman.
• Englishmen are reserved.

Also: Welsh/a Welshman, Irish/an Irishman, French/a Frenchman, Dutch/a Dutchman.

For a whole people, we can use the adjective with the or people.

• The English are/English people are reserved.

Here is an overview of nationality words: