Sansei
/sænˈseɪ/noun
A person of Japanese ancestry who is a third-generation immigrant or descendant, especially in North America.
Did you know?Sansei belongs to a Japanese American generational vocabulary that also includes Issei, Nisei, and Yonsei, terms whose importance grew sharply during and after World War II.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Chinese
Chinese
三世
“Three generations, or in Buddhist usage, the three periods of existence”
Early Japanese
Japanese
三世
“A Sino-Japanese expression meaning three generations or three worlds”
Late 19th–Early 20th Century
Japanese
三世 (sansei)
“A third-generation person, formed alongside generational labels for Japanese emigrants and their descendants”
Early 20th Century
Japanese American English
sansei
“A third-generation Japanese American or Canadian”
Modern English
English
Sansei
“An established English loanword used especially in discussions of Japanese American and Japanese Canadian identity”