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Mon ami est chinois.

Mon ami est chinois.
My friend is Chinese.
From Lesson 34:Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)·French

Breakdown of Mon ami est chinois.

être
to be
l'ami
the friend (m)
mon
my
chinois
Chinese

Questions & Answers about Mon ami est chinois.

Why isn't chinois capitalized here like it is in English?
In French, nationalities are not capitalized when they are used as adjectives to describe someone. They are only capitalized when used as a noun, like if you were saying un Chinois (a Chinese man).
How would this sentence change if the friend was female?
It would become Mon amie est chinoise. The noun ami gets an 'e' at the end, and the adjective chinois becomes chinoise. Interestingly, mon stays exactly the same because amie starts with a vowel sound, making it easier to pronounce!
chinois ends in an 's'. Does that mean it is plural?
Not in this case! The masculine singular form of chinois naturally ends in an 's'. If you wanted to say your friends (plural) are Chinese, the adjective wouldn't change at all: Mes amis sont chinois.
Since we are learning about countries, how would I say 'My friend is in China'?
Because China is a feminine country (la Chine), you would use the preposition en. The sentence would be Mon ami est en Chine.

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