kibei

K5I1B3E1I1

noun

A Japanese-American who is born in the United States but primarily educated in Japan.

“Most kibei were not fluent in English because of their upbringing in Japan.”

OriginJapanese 帰米 →
Scrabble 11
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Meanings

nounkibei (plural kibeis or kibei)

plural kibeis

  1. USA Japanese-American who is born in the United States but primarily educated in Japan.

    Most kibei were not fluent in English because of their upbringing in Japan.

Origin

  1. Japanese帰米“returning to the United States”
  2. Englishkibei

Borrowed from Japanese 帰米 (kibei, “returning to the United States”).

More words from Japanese

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

bikie
Cite this entry
APA

kibei. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kibei

MLA

“kibei.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kibei. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kibei,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kibei.

Source: kibei on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.