sansei

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 三世 (“three generations”).

Noun

sansei (plural sanseis or sansei)

1. A grandchild of a Japanese immigrant to the Americas.

   Coordinate terms: issei, nisei, yonsei

   • 1973 October 4, Robert Trumbull, “Offspring of Japanese Settlers in U.S. Find Japan Frustrating”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Born and brought tip mostly in South America, the United States (particularly Hawaii) and Canada, the nisei and sansei have Japanese features but often speak the language imperfectly, if at all. “If you don't speak Japanese well,” one sansei said ruefully, “it's better to he white.”

   • 1978, Gordon Hirabayashi, “Japanese Heritage, Canadian Experience”, in Harold Coward, Leslie S. Kawamura, editors, Religion and Ethnicity, Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, page 66:

     Under these circumstances it may not be unexpected to have the "assimilationist Sansei" protest that he is not a Japanese-Canadian; he is a Canadian, period. None of this hyphenated stuff.

   • 1988 May 8, Marlise Simons, “Japanese Gone Brazilian: Unhurried Workaholics”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN:

     While hundreds of nisei and sansei are employed by Japanese giants like Sony, Mitsubishi and Honda, many more work with Brazilians as agronomists, artists, doctors, businessmen and engineers. Colleagues [c]all them “modest and respectful.”

References

• “sansei”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• Inessa, Saines, anesis, anises, asines, sanies

Japanese

Romanization

sansei

1. Rōmaji transcription of さんせい