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WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
-ese, suffix. 
  1. -ese is attached to nouns that refer to certain place names:
    • to form adjectives that describe things made in or relating to the place:Japan + -ese → Japanese (= of or relating to Japan or its people);
      Vienna + -ese → Viennese (= of or relating to Vienna or its people)
    • to form nouns with the meanings "the people living in (the place)'' or "the language of (the place)'':Vietnam + -ese → Vietnamese (= the people living in/the language spoken in Vietnam).
  2. -ese is also used to form nouns that describe in an insulting or humorous way the language characteristic of or typical of the base word:Brooklyn + -ese → Brooklynese (= the language characteristic of Brooklyn);journal + -ese → journalese (= the language typical of journalists).

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
-ese suffix forming adjectives , suffix forming nouns
  1. indicating place of origin, language, or style: Cantonese, Japanese, journalese
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
ESE, 
  1. Nautical, Surveying, Naval Termseast-southeast.
Also, E.S.E. 
-ese, 
  1. a suffix forming adjectival derivatives of place names, esp. countries or cities;
    frequently used nominally to denote the inhabitants of the place or their language:Faroese; Vietnamese;Viennese.By analogy with such language names, -ese occurs in coinages denoting in a disparaging, often facetious way a characteristic jargon, style, or accent:Brooklynese; journalese;computerese.
  • Latin -ēnsem -ensis
  • Italian -ese, later representing Spanish, Portuguese -es, French -ais, -ois, all
  • probably origin, originally

'-ese' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

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Look up "-ese" at Merriam-Webster
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