Het vormen van bijvoeglijke naamwoorden en zelfstandige naamwoorden van landennamen is niet altijd eenvoudig in het Engels.Gebruik het bijvoeglijke naamwoord van nationaliteit dat eindigt op -ese of -ish bij een meervoudig werkwoord om naar alle mensen van die nationaliteit te verwijzen. Het vermelde bijvoeglijk naamwoord verwijst vaak naar de gesproken taal in het land, hoewel dat niet altijd het geval hoeft te zijn.
Voorbeelden
- Land: I live in Japan.
- Bijvoeglijk naamwoord: He likes Japanese food.
- Afkomst: She is a Japanese person. = She is from Japan. = She is Japanese.
- Taal: She speaks Japanese.
- Een groep beschrijven: Spaniards often drink wine. = Spanish people often drink wine.
- Een groep beschrijven: The Chinese enjoy fireworks. = Chinese people enjoy fireworks.
In sommige gevallen kan een zelfstandig naamwoord dat nationaliteit of regio aangeeft voor sommige mensen negatief gecorreleerd worden om geschiedkundige of politieke redenen. Als dat zo is, zullen veel mensen het niet gebruiken. In plaats daarvan zullen ze een neutraler bijvoeglijk naamwoord + "mensen" formulering gebruiken, of "mensen uit" + landnaam. Dit geldt voor de onderstaande voorbeelden met een asterisk. Alternatieve formuleringen, die minder beledigend zijn, worden tussen haakjes aangegeven.
| Geografische regio/Continent | Bijvoeglijk naamwoord | Zelfstandig naamwoord |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Land of regio | Bijvoeglijk naamwoord | Zelfstandig naamwoord |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Steden kunnen ook worden omgezet in bijvoeglijke naamwoorden en zelfstandige naamwoorden, hoewel zij zeer onregelmatig zijn en er niet altijd overeenstemming is over de nominale vorm (er kunnen er verschillende zijn). Enkele voorbeelden van omgezette stadsnamen staan hieronder.
| Stad | Bijvoeglijk naamwoord | Zelfstandig naamwoord |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |