nisei; second-generation immigrant
Refers to a person born in a new country to immigrant parents, especially of Japanese descent, but also used for other ethnicities. Often used in sociological or historical contexts.
He was born as a second-generation Japanese immigrant.
He was born and raised in the United States as a second-generation Japanese-American.
noun, noun, used as a suffix, noun, used as a prefix
the second; II
Used as a suffix or prefix after names of monarchs, popes, or other titled figures to indicate 'the second'. Also used in product names or sequels.
Elizabeth II reigned for a long time.
The second installment of this game will be released next year.
Colloquial use, often in compounds like 二世議員 (second-generation politician) or 二世タレント (celebrity child following a parent's career). Can imply inheriting a parent's role or status.
He is the son of a famous actor.
Elizabeth II ruled Britain for a long time.
一世 refers to the first-generation immigrant, while 二世 refers to their child born in the new country, so the two are easy to mix up when talking about immigrant generations.
三世 is the third generation (grandchild of the original immigrant), one step further than 二世, so learners must keep the generation numbers straight.
Standard kanji spelling; high news frequency.
Numerical variant, common in headlines and compact writing.
From 二 (ni, 'two') + 世 (sei, 'generation, world'). The immigrant-generation sense is a loan translation from English 'second generation', popularized in the context of Japanese diaspora.