Broadly, Macanese refers to the people of Macao.

Macanese is also use to refer to a special ethnic group in Macao Special Administrative Region of People's Republic of China, which is a former Portuguese colony. It refers to people who have Portuguese ancestry or partial Portuguese ancestry, particularly descendants of intermarriage between Chinese and Portuguese who have settled in Macao. Many of them have settled there for generations and are fluent in both Portuguese and Cantonese. A Special Administrative Region (SAR) (Simplified Chinese: 特别行政区; Traditional Chinese: 特別行政區; pinyin: tèbié xíngzhèngqū; Cantonese IPA: /tɐk6piːt6 hɐŋ4tsɪŋ3kʰɵy1/; Jyutping: dak6bit6 hang4zing3keoi1; Yale: dahkbiht hàhngjingkeūi) is a political subdivision of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Cantonese (粵語/粤语, lit. ...

They speak a creole called Patuá or Macaista Chapado which is almost extinct, and have preserved the special Macanese cuisine. Portuguese Creole is a creole language based on the Portuguese language. ... Patuá or Macanese (Macaista Chapado) is a Creole language based on the Portuguese language spoken in Macau. ... With over 450 years of history, Macanese cuisine is unique to Macao. ...

External links

• An article on Macanese on Asia Week