''Gweilo'' or (, pronounced ) is a common Cantonese slang term for

Westerners The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

. In the absence of modifiers, it refers to

white people White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...

and has a history of racially deprecatory and pejorative use. Cantonese speakers frequently use to refer to Westerners in general use, in a non-derogatory context, although whether this type of usage is offensive (i.e., an

ethnic slur The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or ot ...

) is disputed by both Cantonese and Westerners.

Etymology and history

''Gwái'' () means "ghost" or "devil", and ''lóu'' () means "man" or "guy". The literal translation of ''gwáilóu'' would thus be "ghostly man" or "devil man". It is sometimes translated into English as "foreign devil". In Chinese, "ghost" can be a derogatory term used as a curse or an insult. The term ''ghost'' has also been used to describe other ethnic groups, for example, a 17th-century writer from

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

, , wrote that Africans "look like ghosts", and ''gwáinòu'' () was once used to describe African slaves.

Usage

The term ''gwái'' () is an adjective that can be used to express hate and deprecation, an example being the locals' expression of their hatred towards the Japanese during their occupation of Hong Kong in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

with the same ''gwái''. It conveys a general bad and negative feeling but is a somewhat obsolete and archaic/old-fashioned term now days and other more modern terms have largely replaced ''gwái'' for similarly negative meanings. Cantonese people sometimes call each other ''sēui gwái'' (), which means ''bad person'', though more often than not it is applied affectionately, similar to " Hey, bitch!" in English when used affectionately. Nowadays, Cantonese speakers often refer to non-Chinese people by their ethnicity. ''Gwáilóu'' is often considered to be an acceptable generic racial term for Westerners. Also, some members of the Hong Kong community with European ancestry (particularly those with limited or zero Cantonese fluency) are indifferent to the term, and those who believe that the best way to defang a word intended as a "slur" is to embrace it, and use gweilo to refer to non-Chinese in Hong Kong. ''Gwailóu'' has, in some instances, been recognised as simply referring to white foreigners in South East Asia and now appears on

Oxford Dictionaries Oxford dictionary may refer to any dictionary published by Oxford University Press, particularly: Historical dictionaries * ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') * ''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'', abridgement of the ''OED'' Single-volume d ...

defined as such, although non-white foreigners are not ''gwáilóu''. While ''gwáilóu'' is used by some Cantonese speakers in informal speech, the more polite alternative ''sāi yàn'' () is now used as well, particularly if the conversation involves a non-Chinese person in order to avoid offense. CFMT-TV in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Canada had a cooking show named ''Gwai Lo Cooking'' (1999) hosted by a Cantonese-speaking European chef, who was also the show's producer and the person who named the show. According to CFMT-TV, ''"Gwei Lo"'' was used as "a self-deprecating term of endearment". In response to some complaints, the

Canadian Broadcast Standards Council The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) is an industry funded self-regulating organization created by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters to administer standards established by its own members, Canada's private broadcasters. The coun ...

ruled that:

Related terms

''Gwai'' is one of a number of terms to referring to non-Chinese people than can be considered controversial and potentially offensive; a list of such terms is given below: * ''gwaijai'' (; ) for a white boy. * ''gwaimui'' (; ) for a white girl. * ''gwaipo'' (; ) for white woman. * ''baakgwai'' (; ) for white people. * ''haakgwai'' (; ) for

Black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...

. * ''sai yan'' (; ) for Westerners. * ''yeung yan'' (; ) for Westerners. * ''ngoigwok yan'' (; ) for

foreign national A foreign national is any person (including an organization) who is not a national of a specific country. ("The term 'person' means an individual or an organization.") For example, in the United States and in its territories, a foreign nationa ...

s. * ''acha'' (; ; from "acchā" meaning "good" in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

) for

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

ns. * ''molocha'' (; ) for

ns.

Mandarin Chinese

Guizi ''Guizi'' () is a pejorative Chinese slang term for foreigners. It has had a history of containing xenophobic connotations. History Starting with the arrival of European sailors in the sixteenth century, foreigners were often perceived in China ...

'' (; ) is a

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...

slang term for foreigners, and has a long history of being used as a racially deprecating insult. * ''Riben guizi'' (; ) or ''dongyang guizi'' (; ) – used to refer to Japanese. * ''Er guizi'' (; ) – used to refer to the

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

soldiers who were a part of the Japanese army during the Sino-Japanese War in World War II.第一滴血──從日方史料還原平型關之戰日軍損失 (6)
News of the Communist Party of China December 16, 2011 * ''Yang guizi'' (; ) or ''xiyang guizi'' (; ) – used to refer to

Westerners The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

. However, ''xiaogui'' (; ) is a common term in Mandarin Chinese for a child. Therefore, some argue that ''gui'' () in Mandarin is just a neutral word that describes something unexpected or hard to predict. ''

Laowai ''Laowai'' is the Pinyin pronunciation/transliteration of (pinyin: ''lǎowài'', lit. "old foreign"), an informal term or slang for "foreigner" and/or non-Chinese national, usually neutral but possibly impolite or loose in some circumstances. ...

'' (; ) is the word most commonly used for foreigners and is a less pejorative term than ''guizi''. Although ''laowai'' literally means "old foreigner", depending on context, "old" can be both a term of endearment and one of criticism.

References

External links