Meanings
plural sanseis
- A grandchild of a Japanese immigrant to the Americas.
Under these circumstances it may not be unexpected to have the "assimilationist Sansei" protest that he is not a Japanese-Canadian; he is a Canadian, period. None of this hyphenated stuff.
1978, Gordon Hirabayashi, “Japanese Heritage, Canadian Experience”, in Harold Coward, Leslie S. Kawamura, editors, Religion and Ethnicity, Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, page 662 more examples
Born and brought tip mostly in South America, the United States (particularly Hawaii) and Canada, the nisei and sansei have Japanese features but often speak the language imperfectly, if at all. “If you don't speak Japanese well,” one sansei said ruefully, “it's better to he white.”
1973 October 4, Robert Trumbull, “Offspring of Japanese Settlers in U.S. Find Japan Frustrating”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 17 Feb 2022While hundreds of nisei and sansei are employed by Japanese giants like Sony, Mitsubishi and Honda, many more work with Brazilians as agronomists, artists, doctors, businessmen and engineers. Colleagues [c]all them “modest and respectful.”
1988 May 8, Marlise Simons, “Japanese Gone Brazilian: Unhurried Workaholics”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 17 Feb 2022
Origin
- Japanese三世“third generation”
- Englishsansei
Borrowed from Japanese 三世 (“third generation”), from 三 (san, “third”) + 世 (sei, “generation”).
More words from Japanese
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
sansei. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sansei
“sansei.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sansei. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sansei,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sansei.
Source: sansei on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.