"American Chinese" means "American-born Chinese".
"Chinese American" means "Chinese-born American".
Are my understandings correct?
In American English, a Chinese-American person is an American who was born in China or, more commonly, who has Chinese ancestors. We don't say American Chinese to describe a person.
If China allows dual citizenship and May is a Chinese citizen, you can describe her in American English as an American-born Chinese person. If you're just considering her ethnicity, she's Chinese-American.Can I say "American-born Chinese" to describe a person?
Eg. May is an American-born Chinese.
If China allows dual citizenship and May is a Chinese citizen, you can describe her in American English as an American-born Chinese person. If you're just considering her ethnicity, she's Chinese-American.
No. If you're American-born, you're American (unless your parents are diplomats), not Chinese. If you're American-born and your ancestors came from China, you can be described as Chinese-American — but you're still American."American-born Chinese person", the ethnicity is "Chinese-American".
"Chinese-born American person", the ethnicity is "American-Chinese".
Am I right?
The term American-born Chinese is a commonly used term for natural-born US citizens of Chinese descent.