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When the word is used as a noun, it means one of the following:

• the Chinese language, either in general or specifically Chinese written language, Chinese spoken languages or Mandarin;

• Chinese people:

• a person with Chinese nationality. The Chinese expression Zhongguo ren (中國人 or 中国人) literally means "Chinese person" but usually refers to a person of Chinese nationality. This would include someone from the People's Republic of China. Whether or not a person from the Republic of China on Taiwan has Chinese citizenship is a controversial topic;

• a person of Chinese descent (Hua ren (華人 or 华人): a descendant of Zhongguo ren, including people of any nationality (e.g., Chinese Americans). This not only refers to ethnic Han but also to any descendant of China's minorities ( Zhonghua minzu). See overseas Chinese.

See also: List of Chinese ethnic groups, List of Chinese peopleFamous Chinese or Chinese-speaking/writing people. Note In Chinese names, the family name is typically placed first (for example, the family name of "Mao Zedong" is "Mao"). For westernized names, the family name is placed last (for example, the family nam

The terms Hua ren and Zhongguo ren are generally used interchangeably within the People's Republic of China and among overseas Chinese in North AmericaNorth America is the third largest continent in area and the fourth ranked in population. It is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocea. Overseas Chinese in southeast AsiaSoutheast Asia is a subregion of Asia. It includes all of the following territories: Brunei Cambodia East Timor Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar (Burma) Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam Southeast Asia has an area of 1. 6 million sq miles (4,000,000 k (particularly in MalaysiaThe Federation of Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. It consists of two geographical regions divided by the South China Sea: Peninsular Malaysia on the Malay Peninsula is bordered to the north by Thailand and to the south by Singapore; East Malaysia and SingaporeThe Republic of Singapore ( Chinese , pinyin: Xinjiapo Gonghegu Malay Republik Singapura Tamil , Cingkappur Kudiyarasu , is an island city-state in Southeast Asia, at latitude 1°17'35"N longitude 103°51'20"E, situated on the southern tip of Malay Peninsul) and supporters of Taiwanese independence within Taiwan make a clear distinction between Hua ren (Chinese in the ethnic sense) and Zhongguo ren (Chinese in the political sense).

When used by non-Chinese, the term has also been used synonymously with the Han Chinese, which is the majority ethnicity (>92%) within China. Some Chinese reject this usage, and conflicts over this particular usage tend to come up in discussions about ethnic minorities.

Other meanings:

• Chinese room, a computer thought experiment
• Grauman's Chinese Theater
• Chinese whispers