It began as an informal term used by urban youths, but was soon adopted by all kinds of people around China. As you previously stated, 99.5% Chinese. Here on the mainland, you have 老外 laowai and 外国人 waiguoren. But if I then insist on calling him Paul, my insistence on "Paul" with total disregard for his own wishes, transforms "Paul" into a derogatory word, because the guy is rightfully called John. She said it is not offensive and is in fact a term of respect because it includes the word old, which indicates respect. Really? Simple as that. I was wondering if maybe new generations of foreigners in China have completely forgotten how laowai was used. OMG, so much discussion about nothing. Laowai Life: Is “Laowai” An Offensive Word? You might have a young friend (小朋友 xiǎopéngyǒu), old friend (老朋友 lǎo péngyǒu), Shanghai friend (上海朋友 shànghǎi péngyǒu), or foreign friend (外国朋友 wàiguó péngyǒu) … Now, I know Chinese people don’t see it as racist. Do i think people who have called me “laowai” did so with a racist intention? “In China you never only have ‘a friend’ (朋友 péngyǒu). I’ve never really had feelings one way or the I was very relieved to read your comment. Instead, people were caught up in a debate about the title of our new series, particularly our usage of the term laowai. The idea that clarity is needed when Chinese communicate with each other, so the "foreigner/洋人/外国人/老外" terms are needed is simply rubbish. This is the wrong question. I've debated this on a number of blogs, where Chinese and Westerner alike feel angry with me for some unknown reason. Most people (i.e. 老外 (lǎowài) is the most common Chinese word for "foreigner." "Lao" means "old," and is a respectful way to address someone, while "wai" means "outsider" or "foreigner." A nationalistic … I wouldn’t imagine racism has anything to do with it, going with the flow of probability seems more appropriate. You did not acknowledge nor take any of my points into account (which is really bad debating, btw), for example 老外/外国人 continuing to be used by Chinese migrant communities OUTSIDE China of locals in the countries they move to, nor did you address the fact that Da Shan doesn't particularly like the word, despite being the poster boy for this article. Well, one of us definitely has no balls, Bond. I have a spine and a backbone. Are there racists in China? Just like Japanese call foreigners "gaijin" (外人 … If you’re being called a laowai a lot by people whose behavior is antagonistic (or maybe you read their minds in advance), perhaps you should consider whether you are an asshole, regardless of your ethnic origin. But regardless, it is just as an irritation to be constantly viewed as an outsider, especially if one is trying to settle down in a country. I'm an Australian living in Australia. Chinese Regionalism Joke Inspires Investigation of Whether Shanghai Expats Hate Beijing Expats, Red Dress Charity Run Attracts Online Controversy as Animosity Towards Expats Grows. No backbone. But if the question is: "Am I causing harm by using the term 'laowai'?" Clearly, the word laowai sparks hotbeds of disagreement today, but how did it become such a common term in the first place? So it's based on a misconception. One commonly comes across racial concepts in China like "foreigners/洋人/外国人/老外 have big noses/sunburn easily/often have freckles/have red hair" etc, again demonstrating that the defence for these terms on simply "Oh but you are technically a foreigner" doesn't wash. Today, we’re investigating this topic further—is laowai an offensive word? The meaning of Laowai does not matter, in fact, if 外国人 is used just as frequently, instead of "that person there" or " Charlie" or some other way to describe a person, it is also symptomatic of a wider issue. Similarly I saw in a graded reader of the Chinese language, written by Chinese "academics", a Westerner actually introduces themselves by saying "我是外国人". A final common term in China will be 美国人 (meiguoren) which is just American, but it will often be said to British, German, and other white laowais much to their chagrin. But if the question is: "Am I causing harm by using the term 'laowai'?" This is a rule of thumb that pretty much guarantees safety in any social situation. Miraculously, it labels foreigners as both friends and outsiders, as both respected and condescended upon at the same time. He thinks it’s “ridiculous” to be outraged by being called laowai because “at the end of the day I don’t think anyone means it in an offensive way,” though he admits it does annoy him on rare occasions. This high moral grounds of political correctnes that has sweapt the west today makes me sick. I personally taught the owner English and now he allows me to drink for free. You have a self-contempt of which I do not wish to take part. Ive been both called laowai, waiguoren, in both situations, for good or for bad but i dont see it as an offense. Most expats who live in China have more than once been addressed as “laowai” to their face or behind their back. May 5, 2018. in News. “lao” is literally translated as “old”, “wai” is for “abroad”. I am particularly perplexed by people who say 外国人 is OK but 老外 is not. Written as "洋鬼子“。 Compared to laowai, this is actually pretty offensive. I, however, as I stated above, choose not to pound my head against brick walls over such things as attempting to instruct 1 billion+ Chinese the proper use of their own language. Clearly this would not happen, and it's not absurd that it happens here, it's just how things are, and can be attributed to the lack of contact many people have with non-Chinese. An admin also commented on this same page, providing a long list of words which include the word 老, none of which would be offensive and then s/he goes on to then state on this basis that it's crazy to think that 老外 could be offensive. ", Meanwhile Makowski's friend Felix Liu, School Bar's owner and a former Chinese language teacher, recalls with a laugh: "I'd always explain to my foreign students: laowai is a term that originated in Beijing's local dialect, it means: 很亲切的外国人 (hěn qīnqiè de wàiguó rén, "very kind foreigner") or 很有意思的外国人 (hěn yǒuyìsi de wàiguó rén, "very interesting foreigner"). 4) Finally, when I mentioned to a Chinese colleague recently that many in the foreign community here in China loathe “Da Shan,” he was shocked. And while the whole thing may seem pedantic, it spoke volumes about the differences in our sensibilities. Steiner’s friend Jiaming Xing – who interacts with plenty of foreign and Chinese patrons as the owner of the Gewa Qinghai noodle restaurant and the manager of Gongti hip-hop club Room 79 – agrees that there's no reason to take umbrage with the term. Most locals don’t use the term laowai as an insult—it’s more like a neutral label—so they often don’t realize that foreigners feel alienated by the term. What this admin and others don't seem to realise is that, perversely, Chinese continue to refer to Westerners as "foreigner/洋人/外国人/老外" even when they are visiting Western countries. “Laowai Style” made it onto the Chinese evening news. Certain people didn’t mind the term at all; others saw it as hard evidence of Chinese racism. So if a Westerner lives in Australia, s/he's a "racist colonialist oppressor maybe", and if s/he lives in China, they're a laowai? The Fulbright Foundation posted a piece on me on its website. Why is "Beijing" Now Shown in Red in the Travel Pass App? Others agreed, saying that the term makes them feel like outsiders while living in China. Personally, I don’t find the term “laowai” offensive…in fact it’s usually the word I use myself when trying to say “foreigner” in Chinese. Where it is so devastatingly powerful is that it is a blanket term to which a social status quo can be upheld by … As device for rationalization, it's a narrow-minded perspective that hurts both Chinese and everyone else, and its legitimization is simply confounding. However, when I meet Westerners who rush to the defense of these words and argue in favour of their use and calling themselves such terms, I see little hope for Westerners to be respectable in any way to the Chinese people. After seeing such a clash of opinions for this story, I couldn’t help but consider how dramatically my stance on the issue has changed during my time in China. Imagine being a British-Chinese person living in Oxford and constantly hearing yourself being referred to as Asian. However, simply calling everyone non-Chinese a foreigner robs us of an identity and simply designates us as non-belongers. "Laowai" is a word which myself and many other non-Chinese people in China find racist and offensive. He’s drinking. Yes, all of us foreighers here are laowai. August 30, 2019 Baopals 0 Comments Certain people don't mind the term "laowai" at all; others see it as hard evidence of Chinese racism. ^ i've been here far longer than 10 years, and i rarely hear it used in a hostile or disparaging context. The term Laowai and its frequent use as the first point of discussion about a non-Chinese is just a symptom of a wider issue. Laowai In China. It's moreso simply not fun to be constantly referred to as a foreigner. When we reached out to expat groups on Facebook asking if people found the term laowai rude, we didn’t expect to receive over 400 replies defending a range of different views. Nothing derogatory at all.”, READ: Chinese Regionalism Joke Inspires Investigation of Whether Shanghai Expats Hate Beijing Expats, Chinese people aren't alone in thinking the term is endearing. Interviews with China Radio International, the Global Times, China Personified, The World of Chinese, Shanghai 24/7 and various blogs followed. on race. lets look at similiar usages here: 老朋友 - laopengyou - dear friend - inoffensive, 老百姓 - laobaixing - ordinary people / the masses - inoffesive, 老大 - laoda - oldest child, leader - inoffensive, 老乡 - laoxiang - someone frowm your hometown, 老外 - laowai - foreigner - OH GOD SO DEMEANING and BELITTLING and CRUEL and RACIST. "Laowai' does not really mean anything in and of itself. Varyingly, it is ironically embraced, begrudgingly accepted, openly resented, or not minded at all among the Western expatriate community. "Effing lao wai!" Laowai is a culturally complex, and often controversial, word. That, I also find staggering. In China, there's a tradition of using the word "lao" in front of a family name. This is the wrong question. Waiguoren 外国人 is the standard term for “foreigner” or “foreign national”. Grow some balls people. Among the Chinese, the term is informal and may be used in a neutral, genial, or even good-humored way;. Because it is neutral, it might turn to either side - positive or negative. So go on, I guess. The Complete A-Z For Beijing Newcomers (or Visitors). Yet most people, such as Chris from Shanghai, thought it depended on the context. Don't think that Chinese tourists in Canada would appreciate being called foreigners, even though when they are approach, they have no qualms about carrying on with calling non-Chinese laowai, despite the inaccuracy, given geography. Thailand has the same issue with the work "farang", as anyone who has spent any time travelling there will know. But wait! Knock your sorry selves out taking offense. Personally, if people absolutely must refer to my based on my appearance alone, I could settle for being called a 'white person' in the language of their choosing, as that would be an accurate description of who I am, no matter where I am. Mandarin Month: Global Mandarin School Provides Budget,... Mandarin Month: Get a Special Mandarin Month Discount From... Mandarin Month: How to Order a Refreshing, Cold Beer in... Mandarin Monday: Your Summer Essentials Chinese Phrases. Here on the mainland, you have 老外 laowai and 外国人 waiguoren. If someone Chinese treats me like an asshole, i think “asshole”, not “Chinese asshole”. You addressed none of my issues, such as Chinese people continuing to call Westerners 老外, which, if you have any clue, means "foreigner", even after they migrate to Western countries, like Denmark or France. I have a name, my own nationality and my own identity. It doesn’t mean “bad” or “lousy” or anything like that. The idea of anyone in their right mind going around INTRODUCING THEMSELVES as foreigners is so unlikely, not to mention grotesque, that it caused me to go back and put quotation marks around that word academics a few lines up. I might add something I didn't mention in my previous post, Da Shan, photographed above said something along the lines of "the only real laowai are those who can't speak Chinese". And if we really want to go down the dictionary definition path, "foreigner/洋人/外国人/老外" should really mean ANYONE in ANY country who doesn't hold a passport for that country (or similar definition). (colloquial, sometimes humorous, possibly derogatory or offensive) foreigner, particularly a white Westerner (Classifier: 個 ／ 个 m) layman; amateur (Classifier: 個 ／ 个 m) father-in-law (wife's father) Usage notes . In another post Admin is angry at me about disliking the word "laowai", which lumps all white-looking people in the same pot. Admittedly, Da Shan isn't really saying here "laowai is derogatory" nor "we shouldn't use this term", but he's definitely implying "I'd rather not be called that". Personally, I have little time and less interest in fretting over whether complete strangers---most of them mediocre---respect me or not. Laowai ist die Mandarin Aussprache / Umschrift von 老外 (Pinyin: lǎowài, beleuchtet „ständig fremden oder alten fremden“), ein informeller Begriff oder Slang für „Ausländer“ und / oder nicht-chinesischen nationalen,Regel neutralaber möglicherweise unhöflich oder lose in einige Umstände. Laowai (Chinese: 老外; pinyin: lǎowài) is one of several Chinese words for foreigner. Some comments even snowballed into heated arguments. Laowai, is the term offensive? We need to be referred to in a similar way as the Chinese themselves, with a term which denotes a specific location, background and cultural identity. A hostile or disparaging context embraced, begrudgingly accepted, openly resented, or?. 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