A member of an ethnic group on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Used in a Sentence
ainu
Definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for ainu.
Editorial note
You could call the brutal repression of the Ainu and native Okinawans a kind of xenophobic/racist ultra nationalism.
Examples15
Definitions4
Parts of speech2
Quick take
A member of an ethnic group on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of ainu gathered in one view.
The endangered language spoken by the Ainu ethnic group, generally considered a language isolate with no known relation to other languages.
Synonym of Hokkaido (“a dog breed”).
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for ainu.
noun
A member of an ethnic group on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
noun
The endangered language spoken by the Ainu ethnic group, generally considered a language isolate with no known relation to other languages.
noun
Synonym of Hokkaido (“a dog breed”).
adjective
Of or pertaining to the Ainu ethnic group or their language.
Example sentences
You could call the brutal repression of the Ainu and native Okinawans a kind of xenophobic/racist ultra nationalism.
Look up Ainu and Okinawan languages - Japanese is the dominant language that drove its neighbors' cultures to extinct.
Japan is a settler society, they colonized and displaced the indigenous Ainu and Okinawans.
There is a small population of Ainu living in far east of modern Russia.
And it wouldn't be wrong to criticize its subjugation of the indigenous Ainu people.
They don’t exclude the Ainu nor the Ryukyu from any parts of Japan.
Extensive research and data now point to the Ainu having lived on those islands from long before Chinese people first sailed to Japan and populated it - making the despised Ainu the true, actual Native Japanese.
Today Japan recognizes the Ainu as a distinct indigenous minority group.
Where does your logic fall when it comes to Japan erasing and replacing the various indigenous groups like the Ainu for not being Japanese enough?
Japan is or isn't homogeneous depending on who and when you ask, and I'm not even counting the Ainu or other not-of-Japanese-race.
Also, the Ainu were there before the Japanese.
Japan: Ainu (but maybe not for much longer).
Proper noun examples
Besides the Southern and Western influences, Japanese was also affected by a Northern influence, from people related to Ainu.
Japan is (and was) a pretty ethnically homogeneous place; the largest indigenous minorities are the Ryukyuans and the Ainu.
It always reminds me of the Japanese attempts to diminish the status and history of the Ainu, a caucasoid racial group from their northernmost islands.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use ainu in a sentence?
You could call the brutal repression of the Ainu and native Okinawans a kind of xenophobic/racist ultra nationalism.
What does ainu mean?
A member of an ethnic group on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
What part of speech is ainu?
ainu is commonly used as noun, adjective.