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Posts: 1084

Shifu

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Q: Don't be offended by the term 'Laowai'

It doesn't even mean foreigner.

 

It basically means 'non-Chinese'.

 

I've heard the stories like the guy who's lived in China well over 30 years has a green card stayed in the same neighbourhood knew all the people etc, then when somebody was looking for him one day, his neighbours referred to where the 'laowai' lived.

 

Any Chinese living abroad will still refer to anybody not Chinese as laowai. Even if they are talking about the local people of the country they are guests in.

 

What is the problem? You want to be accepted as their own?

 

I say; Never forget where you came from...

11 years 16 weeks ago in  Culture - China

 
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Posts: 1968

Emperor

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It is not the use of the words that I find offensive ... not at all ... it's the pointing, the gesticulating, the grimaces, the hand over nose to cover up perceived offensive laowai body odors and the tone used sometimes with "that laowai over there".  I can't help but think how quickly I would be slapped down back home if I found a Chinese person, pointed him or her out and said something like "that chink over there".  The reaction would be swift and probably not nice. 

kchur:

In years and years in China I never had anyone do the body odors thing, or mention that I smell bad.

 

Maybe you just smell, and they're doing that independently of your race.

11 years 16 weeks ago
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981977405:

kchur, read the post carefully and cease to extrapolate.

11 years 16 weeks ago
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JustinF:

The term "laowai" doesn't involve race. A laowai can be white, black, yellow or brown.

 

What you are doing is just finding an excuse to express your racism. (ref "chink")

10 years 47 weeks ago
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11 years 16 weeks ago
 
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How do you feel about gui lao?

dharma86:

Then it dawns on me I'm in Guangdong province.

11 years 16 weeks ago
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11 years 16 weeks ago
 
Posts: 7204

Emperor

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Dam

If I haven't seen another foreigner in a while I even  point and say  Laowai

GuilinRaf:

Lol!

Me too!

 

11 years 16 weeks ago
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dharma86:

I think we are free to call people laowai ourselves.

11 years 16 weeks ago
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11 years 16 weeks ago
 
Posts: 227

Shifu

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no matter the meaning of laowai, foreigners in general DO NOT like the term so it is highly recommended for Chinese to avoid it as much as possible, either with gestures or without any gesture, we all have names, call me a general term of pengyou, and then ask for my name, you should by no means call any foreigner laowai, we all know we are not Chinese nationals, we do not need to be reminded over and over again, this term expresses a great dissatisfaction towards foreigners, please if you are Chinese, be an exception and avoid this horror term as much as possible, others can learn from you

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11 years 16 weeks ago
 
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it not so much finding the term offensive but ask yourself this question. if a chinese person was walking around in usa and people would point at them and say "visitor!" ... "visitor" .... "visitor... hahaha!" EDIT: would you think that is appropriate to do? i would would find that to be rude and ignorant. and i'm pretty sure they would be offended. i'm a person , a human being. it is not the word it is the retarded morons who abuse the word for the sake of their own entertainment. 

LAR:

Yes, and crimo you've got the same ****** Chinese,etc. that will live in a Western country and still call the American citizen or Canadian citizen or Australian citizen,etc. foreigner!!!!!!!! TYPICAL DISRESPECT!!!!!!!!!! :(

11 years 16 weeks ago
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TedDBayer:

Years ago before I ever knew anything about China, I learned to pick out Chinese drivers at home. They just point the car and drive where they feel, often cutting off other cars, just like in China. I used to hate Chinese as many do, now I try to understand and excuse them, but that's not right either. Chinese never learn consideration. I had one Chinese lady cut me off and force me to make a severe right on my motorcycle. I ended up just missing her car and driving against her Mercedes door. I gave her a nice door dent with my boot for her trouble. When I go to Toronto I notice who drives the nicer cars, expensive cars are driven by easterners, rusty Fords by Canadians. This country allows 250,000 people every year, which I think is too much. Maybe we should get even at home, pointing and yelling ''foreigner''. My sister works at Toronto airport, don't know how she got the job, she's caucasian (too much reverse discrimination in this country). She hates the Chinese. She says they burp and fart, smell and are rude as hell. But I do try to understand , cause I've been to China.

11 years 16 weeks ago
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crimochina:

that has to suck, working in an industry where you have to interact with chinese tourist. i've read blogs where chinese who have grown up in the uk, us, can, etc. are asking why chinese people are so rude and disgusting? it is really funny to read. 

thanks nevermind (i think it was him) google " why are chinese so rude?" and you will come up with some interesting readings. 

11 years 16 weeks ago
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11 years 16 weeks ago
 
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Anytime I heard it was said kinda snarky, so I looked surprised and said "Kàn zhòng guó rén'', then looked bored and walked away. 

 

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11 years 16 weeks ago
 
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I don't get offended, and here's why: I have good Chinese friends who use it in front of me. If they thought it was a bad word, they would not use it. 

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11 years 16 weeks ago
 
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If someone knows me and hence my name and calls me laowai, I will be surprised, (it hasn't happened yet in 2 years),if someone doesn't know me and shouts laowai I would be offended, but if they are 'just' pointing me out to a friend of their's no problem. If however they are pointing and using an offensive tone and adding a pejorative then yes it's racist and offensive but, to me, it's the tone and / or the pejorative that I would find offensive not the word itself.

 

However, having said that, I have only come across this once in the two years I've lived here and that was three 10 year old (at a guess) kids in the street last week I was on my e-bike and one said "waigouren" and pointed me out to his friends. I wasn't offended as there didn't appear to be any offense in the tone of voice. So once in 2 years, hardly a common event in my life. Now I don't know whether you all live in a different China than me or if Nanning is some kind of paradise that is totally different to the rest of China, but tbh, I only really 'hear' waigouren' and 'laowai'  on this site, in 2 years I cannot say I've heard the terms more than 10 times in Nanning.

 

Edit; thinking about those three kids the one kid didn't say "waigouren" (foreigner) he said "weigou" (foreign), don't know if that was just for speed or some other reason.

seanpodge:

I would actually be a bit offended by waigou since one possible translation would be foreign dog. Waiguo on the other hand would be rather more acceptable. wink

11 years 14 weeks ago
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11 years 16 weeks ago
 
Posts: 52

Governor

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I dislike the term. But it's up to me to deal with it. They are entitled to say or do what they please. They are probably just in awe.

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11 years 16 weeks ago
 
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Governor

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I don't think the actual word is offensive, certainly not in the same way as the n word or chi*k are. The context of its use is what makes it acceptable or offensive. Pretty much all the examples of offensive use of the word laowai would still be just as offensive if they used the formal term waiguoren. It's really more the way people act and the attitudes they have. Basically, if someone seems to be acting as though you're an exhibit at the zoo rather than a person, then it doesn't matter what word they use, they're being offensive.

 

My worst example had nothing to do with language I think (I was listening to my iPhone at the time). I was walking down the street in summer when someone patted my armhair like a dog before walking on giggling. If I wasn't so shocked, that person may well have become the victim of an event that would have led to my swift deportation from China.

981977405:

Sean, you would not have been deported.  You would, however, have been forced to pay a fine, probably a good one, and then to apologize.  Just my take but I surely 10,000% understand your feelings.  This happens all the time!

11 years 14 weeks ago
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11 years 14 weeks ago
 
Posts: 1084

Shifu

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lao shi, lao ban, lao gong, lao po, lao ma, lao ba don't offend anybody in China, why should it offend us? A lack of understanding.

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11 years 14 weeks ago
 
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