In
Japanese, literally means "
2nd generation." In the
US, this term is most commonly used to denote a person
born to a Japanese couple that
immigrated to the
US. Compare to "
issei" (1st generation) and "
sansei" (third generation).
Nisei (and issei, sansei, so forth) can also be used to mean 'the 2nd' - e.g. as in Queen Elizabeth II.