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Glite Dictionary
🍚 Hainan food 🌴 From Hainan 🧑 A person from Hainan 🗣️ A Chinese dialect
Hainanese

Hainanese

9.6
A Chinese dialect spoken on Hainan island
  • noun
: hainanés
  • My grandmother still speaks Hainanese at home, especially during family gatherings.

Examples

  • Many younger people in the city are learning Hainanese to connect with their heritage.

  • The documentary featured songs and stories performed in Hainanese by local artists.

  • She speaks Hainanese fluently.

  • Do you understand Hainanese?

  • My grandmother still speaks Hainanese at home, especially during family gatherings.

  • Many younger people in the city are learning Hainanese to connect with their heritage.

  • The documentary featured songs and stories performed in Hainanese by local artists.

Surface Forms

Hainanese singular
Hainanese plural

Morphology

Hainanese = Hainan (transparent) = Hainan + ese

The language/dialect sense is the standard use of '-ese' to form names of languages from place names, so it is straightforward.

Etymology

Hainanese is formed from Hainan and the ending -ese, which means 'from' or 'relating to', as in Chinese. So Hainanese can name the local language or dialect spoken by people from Hainan.