Kibei definition
A person born in the United States of Japanese immigrant parents and educated chiefly in Japan.
noun
A native U.S. citizen born of immigrant Japanese parents but educated largely in Japan.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun
Singular:
kibei
Plural:
kibeisOrigin of kibei
- Japanese to return to the United States, Kibei ki return (from Middle Chinese kyj) (also the source of Mandarin guī) (from Proto-Sino-Tibetan kwər) (akin Tibetan 'khor) bei the United States (from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese character meaning “rice,” pronounced mǐ) (in Mandarin, that was used to represent the syllable -me-) (in early Chinese transliterations of America)
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Japanese 帰米 (kibei, "to go home").
From Wiktionary