在英文中，要根据国家名称来形成国籍的形容词和名词，并不是所有规则都一致。论及某国的所有国民时，大部分是用 ese 或 ish 结尾的国籍形容词，再接动词的复数型态。此处的形容词有时也可以是该国语言的名词，并不是所有情况都如此。
举例
- 国家：I live in Japan.
- 形容词：He likes Japanese food.
- 出身：She is a Japanese person. = She is from Japan. = She is Japanese.
- 语言：She speaks Japanese.
- 描述一群人：Spaniards often drink wine. = Spanish people often drink wine.
- 描述一群人：The Chinese enjoy fireworks. = Chinese people enjoy fireworks.
在某些情况下，由于历史或政治上的因素，有些国籍或民族的名词对某些人来说可能会有负面的联想。在这种情况，多数人就不会去使用它，而是改用较为中立的「形容词 + people」或 「people from + 国家名称」来表示。以下带星号的字词就是这个情况的例子，而括号里的写法则是避免冒犯的说法。
| 地理区域/大洲 | 形容词 | 名词 |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | African | an African* (an African person, someone from Africa) |
| Asia | Asian | an Asian* (an Asian person, someone from Asia) |
| Europe | European | a European |
| Central America | Central American | a Central American |
| Middle East | Middle Eastern | a Middle Easterner |
| North Africa | North African | a North African |
| South America | South American | a South American |
| Southeast Asia | Southeast Asian | a Southeast Asian person |
| 国家或地区 | 形容词 | 名词 |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Afghan | an Afghan |
| Algeria | Algerian | an Algerian |
| Angola | Angolan | an Angolan |
| Argentina | Argentine | an Argentine |
| Austria | Austrian | an Austrian |
| Australia | Australian | an Australian |
| Bangladesh | Bangladeshi | a Bangladeshi |
| Belarus | Belarusian | a Belarusian |
| Belgium | Belgian | a Belgian |
| Bolivia | Bolivian | a Bolivian |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnian/Herzegovinian | a Bosnian/a Herzegovinian |
| Brazil | Brazilian | a Brazilian |
| Britain | British | a Briton（非正式：a Brit） |
| Bulgaria | Bulgarian | a Bulgarian |
| Cambodia | Cambodian | a Cambodian |
| Cameroon | Cameroonian | a Cameroonian |
| Canada | Canadian | a Canadian |
| Central African Republic | Central African | a Central African |
| Chad | Chadian | a Chadian |
| China | Chinese | a Chinese person |
| Colombia | Colombian | a Colombian |
| Costa Rica | Costa Rican | a Costa Rican |
| Croatia | Croatian | a Croat |
| the Czech Republic | Czech | a Czech person |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Congolese | a Congolese person（注：这也指来自刚果共和国的人） |
| Denmark | Danish | a Dane |
| Ecuador | Ecuadorian | an Ecuadorian |
| Egypt | Egyptian | an Egyptian |
| El Salvador | Salvadoran | a Salvadoran（Salvadorian 和 Salvadorean 也被接受的写法） |
| England | English | an Englishman/Englishwoman |
| Estonia | Estonian | an Estonian |
| Ethiopia | Ethiopian | an Ethiopian |
| Finland | Finnish | a Finn |
| France | French | a Frenchman/Frenchwoman |
| Germany | German | a German |
| Ghana | Ghanaian | a Ghanaian |
| Greece | Greek | a Greek |
| Guatemala | Guatemalan | a Guatemalan |
| Holland | Dutch | a Dutchman/Dutchwoman |
| Honduras | Honduran | a Honduran |
| Hungary | Hungarian | a Hungarian |
| Iceland | Icelandic | an Icelander |
| India | Indian | an Indian |
| Indonesia | Indonesian | an Indonesian |
| Iran | Iranian | an Iranian |
| Iraq | Iraqi | an Iraqi |
| Ireland | Irish | an Irishman/Irishwoman |
| Israel | Israeli | an Israeli |
| Italy | Italian | an Italian |
| Ivory Coast | Ivorian | an Ivorian |
| Jamaica | Jamaican | a Jamaican |
| Japan | Japanese | a Japanese person |
| Jordan | Jordanian | a Jordanian |
| Kazakhstan | Kazakh | a Kazakhstani（用为名词，「a Kazakh」指的是民族而非国籍） |
| Kenya | Kenyan | a Kenyan |
| Laos | Lao | a Laotian（用为名词，「a Lao」指的是民族而非国籍） |
| Latvia | Latvian | a Latvian |
| Libya | Libyan | a Libyan |
| Lithuania | Lithuanian | a Lithuanian |
| Madagascar | Malagasy | a Malagasy |
| Malaysia | Malaysian | a Malaysian |
| Mali | Malian | a Malian |
| Mauritania | Mauritanian | a Mauritanian |
| Mexico | Mexican | a Mexican*（在美国可能会有冒犯性，改称「someone from Mexico」较好。） |
| Morocco | Moroccan | a Moroccan |
| Namibia | Namibian | a Namibian |
| New Zealand | New Zealand | a New Zealander |
| Nicaragua | Nicaraguan | a Nicaraguan |
| Niger | Nigerien | a Nigerien |
| Nigeria | Nigerian | a Nigerian |
| Norway | Norwegian | a Norwegian |
| Oman | Omani | an Omani |
| Pakistan | Pakistani | a Pakistani*（在英国可能会有冒犯性，改称「someone from Pakistan」较好。） |
| Panama | Panamanian | a Panamanian |
| Paraguay | Paraguayan | a Paraguayan |
| Peru | Peruvian | a Peruvian |
| The Philippines | Philippine | a Filipino* (someone from the Philippines) |
| Poland | Polish | a Pole* (someone from Poland, a Polish person) |
| Portugal | Portuguese | a Portuguese person |
| Republic of the Congo | Congolese | a Congolese person（注：这也指来自刚果民主共和国的人） |
| Romania | Romanian | a Romanian |
| Russia | Russian | a Russian |
| Saudi Arabia | Saudi, Saudi Arabian | a Saudi, a Saudi Arabian |
| Scotland | Scottish | a Scot |
| Senegal | Senegalese | a Senegalese person |
| Serbia | Serbian | a Serbian（ 用为名词，「a Serb」指的是民族而非国籍） |
| Singapore | Singaporean | a Singaporean |
| Slovakia | Slovak | a Slovak |
| Somalia | Somalian | a Somalian |
| South Africa | South African | a South African |
| Spain | Spanish | a Spaniard* (a Spanish person, someone from Spain) |
| Sudan | Sudanese | a Sudanese person |
| Sweden | Swedish | a Swede |
| Switzerland | Swiss | a Swiss person |
| Syria | Syrian | a Syrian |
| Thailand | Thai | a Thai person |
| Tunisia | Tunisian | a Tunisian |
| Turkey | Turkish | a Turk |
| Turkmenistan | Turkmen | a Turkmen / the Turkmens |
| Ukraine | Ukranian | a Ukranian |
| The United Arab Emirates | Emirati | an Emirati |
| The United States | American | an American |
| Uruguay | Uruguayan | a Uruguayan |
| Vietnam | Vietnamese | a Vietnamese person |
| Wales | Welsh | a Welshman/Welshwoman |
| Zambia | Zambian | a Zambian |
| Zimbabwe | Zimbabwean | a Zimbabwean |
城市名称也可改为形容词和名词，但改写的规则很不一定，而且有些名词并不全然被认同（可能有几个是）。以下为您示范几个城市名称改写成形容词和名词：
| 城市 | 形容词 | 名词 |
|---|---|---|
| Paris | Parisian | a Parisian |
| New York | New York | a New Yorker |
| Sydney | Sydney | a Sydney-sider |
| London | London | a Londoner |
| São Paulo | São Paulo | a Paulistano |
| New Delhi | New Delhi | a Delhiite |
| Cape Town | Cape Town | a Capetonian |