Today, we’re investigating this topic further—is laowai an offensive word? Grow some balls people. I am particularly perplexed by people who say 外国人 is OK but 老外 is not. The Global Times even named me one of its People of 2012. 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. is a somewhat hollow argument, because the idea of "foreigner/洋人/外国人/老外" in their minds is clearly not based on the location being China anyway. Many foreigners eventually become desensitized to such labeling, given the frequency of its usage, or shrug it off as meaningless from the outset. 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. “Yes it means foreigner, but in a rude manner,” he said. Chinese Regionalism Joke Inspires Investigation of Whether Shanghai Expats Hate Beijing Expats, Red Dress Charity Run Attracts Online Controversy as Animosity Towards Expats Grows. OMG, so much discussion about nothing. Almost never. The components’ meanings don’t signal negativity: The prefix “lao” (老) is not offensive, either alone or in this compound. You are a foreigner here. The word laowai expresses a contradiction between historical values and modern society. The Complete A-Z For Beijing Newcomers (or Visitors). Admin, I can't believe you essentially repeated the same mantra "it doesn't matter". "Laowai' does not really mean anything in and of itself. You said "you are a laowai". This is the wrong question. Lǎowài literally translates as "always" (lǎo 老) "foreigner" (wài 外), NOT "old foreigner" like most people would misunderstand as. Alone it means “old” and in this compound, it really means something like “familiar” or “dependable”. Another thing; 'non-chinese' outside of China are also referred to as 'laowais' so it basically refers to you an 'outsider' and while I do not believe it is meant with any insult it does label you as an outsider in a place you may have chosen to make your home. 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. Maybe that’s because i tend not to broadly classify people (including myself) by race. The Fulbright Foundation posted a piece on me on its website. If someone introduces themselves as John, and I mistakenly call them Paul after that, it's an embarrassing gaffe. He’d rather not waste time quibbling about it with his Chinese friends and colleagues, explaining: “Other foreigners who haven’t spent a few years in China may get offended by the term. Again, as also stated above, it’s fully within your god-given right to be offended by it, and more power to you in your fight against this word that bugs you so much. ", 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"). And if there were a bunch of non-Asian people, what would you say to yourself? Plain and simple. Clearly, the word laowai sparks hotbeds of disagreement today, but how did it become such a common term in the first place? But all too often, "foreigner/洋人/外国人/老外" words really refer to Westerners, White people, and we all know it despite common denials to the contrary. “Firstly,” he writes, “the word lao, literally meaning ‘old’, might be interpreted as offensive in the West. Personally, to disagree that we should be referred to in the same way as we introduce ourselves suggests some kind of cultural conditioning that runs extremely deep, if not something more dangerous like neurosis or delusions. But calm down and let me explain this term in 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. “In China you never only have ‘a friend’ (朋友 péngyǒu). Laowai is a culturally complex, and often controversial, word. Got anything nice to say? Get over it. I have a name, my own nationality and my own identity. Laowai Life: Is “Laowai” An Offensive Word? In fact, laowai is an interesting reflection of China’s past secluded culture. Doubt this Admin will do that, though. The BBC responded by asking a couple of Chinese members of their staff for their opinion, and they apparently decided that the word "laowai" is not offensive, … Contentious as all this has become, it is by no means the first of such heated, laowai-related screed online. Knock your sorry selves out taking offense. That, I also find staggering. Personally, I have little time and less interest in fretting over whether complete strangers---most of them mediocre---respect me or not. Chinese is filled with terms for foreigners. With this usage, the word foreigner in say, Singapore, would refer to Western non-Singporeans, Chinese non-Singporeans and Japanese non-Singporeans etc etc alike. Jokes, people. So it's based on a misconception. If the people using the term don't mean anything offensive by it, I don't think it should be construed as offensive. Finally someone with a sense of cultural awareness and basic manners and dignity. So am I. As you previously stated, 99.5% Chinese. I'm an Australian living in Australia. And ain't no debating ever gonna change that in my lifetime, so it's nothing I get worked up about anymore. "Laowai" is a word which myself and many other non-Chinese people in China find racist and offensive. Laowai is a culturally complex, and often controversial, word. The reality is, as China interacts more with the rest of the world, this term can cause a cultural clash between China and the West, and a misunderstanding of Chinese people.”, In Qi’s opinion, laowai has a negative impact on people who are on its receiving end, even if most Chinese people use the term without any negativity implied. Astonishing how different it is to the first demographic hey? As an expat who studied Chinese at the Ideal Mandarin language center (we wrote about his story as part of last year’s Mandarin Month coverage), he attributes much of the issue to a lack of PC conditioning in China. A nationalistic … I'm not that concerned about whether the term 'laowai' includes any offensive words. --- The last time I had my clock cleaned in China was with CUCAS two years ago, but this Laowai Career Center is so much more bold with their lies. 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. Anna Z, for instance, wrote on her Lost Panda blog (which she bills as an account “about life in rural China”): “It is time to stand up against a word that not just carries a derogatory connotation, but discriminates everyone in China who is not Chinese.”. The word wasn't too reverent or serious originally. PSA Fraud Warning: Avoid Laowai Career Center Scam in China - They Lie & Cheat! on race. "Wow, what are all these people who are from an undetermined non-Asian origin doing in the subway?". Simple as that. To say these rights belong to all non-Westerners and that it's somehow PC to demand the same for Westerners is blinkered, obscurantist and bigotted in itself. Certain people didn’t mind the term at all; others saw it as hard evidence of Chinese racism. Well, one of us definitely has no balls, Bond. Some comments even snowballed into heated arguments. Copyright 2018 Baopals. A recent blog of ours, The Complete A-Z For Beijing Newcomers (or Visitors), described the term as "Chinese slang for 'foreigner,' often said out loud after having been spotted by a particularly perceptive local." It's how it's used that can make it offensive e.g. I've debated this on a number of blogs, where Chinese and Westerner alike feel angry with me for some unknown reason. 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. It may have simply been that the combination “y” and “l” in “Kyle” isn’t an easy prospect for a fellow who has yet to learn “hello” in English. It's moreso simply not fun to be constantly referred to as a foreigner. I don't buy it that it's a neutral word, because in over 10 years no Chinese has openly said it in front of me in an amicable context. “Laowai Style” made it onto the Chinese evening news. Varyingly, it is ironically embraced, begrudgingly accepted, openly resented, or not minded at all among the Western expatriate community. 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