A person or thing from a country has a nationality word. From the USA is American, from the UK is British, and from Canada is Canadian.
North America and the UK
American /əˈmɛr.ɪ.kən/ — from the USA
British /ˈbrɪt.ɪʃ/ — from the UK
Canadian /kəˈneɪ.di.ən/ — from Canada
Try it: A person from Canada is ___. (Canadian / American / British) Answer: Canadian — Someone from Canada is Canadian.
European nationalities
From France is French, from Germany is German, from Italy is Italian, and from Spain is Spanish.
French /frɛntʃ/ — from France
German /ˈdʒɜːr.mən/ — from Germany
Italian /ɪˈtæl.jən/ — from Italy
Spanish /ˈspæn.ɪʃ/ — from Spain
Try it: A car made in Germany is a ___ car. (German / French / Spanish) Answer: German — Something from Germany is German.
Nationalities in Asia
From China is Chinese, and from Japan is Japanese. Some nationality words end in -ese.
Chinese /ˌtʃaɪˈniːz/ — from China
Japanese /ˌdʒæp.əˈniːz/ — from Japan
Try it: Food from Japan is ___ food. (Japanese / Chinese / Italian) Answer: Japanese — Something from Japan is Japanese.
More nationalities
From Brazil is Brazilian, from Mexico is Mexican, and from Australia is Australian.
Brazilian /brəˈzɪl.jən/ — from Brazil
Mexican /ˈmɛk.sɪ.kən/ — from Mexico
Australian /ɔːˈstreɪl.jən/ — from Australia
Try it: A person from Mexico is ___. (Mexican / Brazilian / Australian) Answer: Mexican — Someone from Mexico is Mexican.
Nationalities in Africa
Egypt and South Africa are two countries in Africa. From Egypt is Egyptian, and from South Africa is South African.
Egyptian — from Egypt
South African — from South Africa
Try it: A person from Egypt is ___. (Egyptian / South African / Australian) Answer: Egyptian — Someone from Egypt is Egyptian.
Look at the ending
Most nationality words add -an to the country: Italy is Italian, Mexico is Mexican. Some add -ese: China is Chinese, Japan is Japanese. Some add -ish: Spain is Spanish, the UK is British.
Italy - Italian, Mexico - Mexican, Brazil - Brazilian
China - Chinese, Japan - Japanese
Spain - Spanish, the UK - British
Two words that just change
France and Germany do not add an ending. The whole word changes: France is French, and Germany is German. Careful with German - it looks like the -an group, but nothing is added to Germany.
France - French
Germany - German
Try it: Lars is from Germany. He is ___. (German / Germanian / Germanish) Answer: German — Germanian is a good guess, because most countries take -an. But Germany is one of the two special words: nothing is added, and the word simply changes to German.