Meaning

Primary

British Person

Alternative

Brit

Word Type

noun

Explanation

イギリス means "Great Britain" or "United Kingdom." So what is a "Great Britain person?" You guessed it — a British person, or Brit.

Reading

いぎりすじん
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)
イギリスじん
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Often times, when two kanji come together to form a kanji compound (or jukugo), you use the on'yomi readings. This is similar to that, though instead of another kanji it's a foreign word. This pattern works with almost any country as well. Just add to a country name and you've described the people who live there. You'll see more of these before you're finished here.

And since has two on'yomi readings, here's a mnemonic to help you remember which one to use:

As with all words for nationalities, the here is pronounced じん. All nationalities, including Brits, love jeans (じん)!

Context

Common Word Combinations

  • お母さんはイギリス人

    her mother is British

    ジェニーはイギリス人

    Jenny is British

    お父さんはイギリス人

    her father is British

Context Sentences

ジェニーさんはイギリス人です。

Jenny is British.

この本は、イギリス人とアメリカ人のチームがつくりました。

This book was created by a team of Brits and Americans.

そりゃ、イギリス人もコーヒーをのみますよ。

Well, British people also drink coffee.

Kanji Composition