Asian American is the proper term for people who come from Asia or descend from people who lived in Asia. Do not hyphenate. When possible, ask people how they identify (Asian American or Chinese American, Japanese American, etc.).
You may use the umbrella term South Asian to refer to Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and others would be known as East Asians.
Updated February 2021
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