List of terms for white people in non-Western cultures
Encyclopedia
Many non-Western cultures have informal words which refer to white
Westerners. Because of the current economic and political power of Europe and North America and the history of European imperialism
, the inhabitants of many countries may encounter people from these regions more than those from other regions, as tourists, businessmen and political representatives. The following is a list of words that non-Western languages use to refer to people from the West
. These words may mean "foreigner" in general, but are popularly applied to foreigners of European ancestry specifically. Some, but not all, may have a pejorative tone.
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
Westerners. Because of the current economic and political power of Europe and North America and the history of European imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
, the inhabitants of many countries may encounter people from these regions more than those from other regions, as tourists, businessmen and political representatives. The following is a list of words that non-Western languages use to refer to people from the West
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
. These words may mean "foreigner" in general, but are popularly applied to foreigners of European ancestry specifically. Some, but not all, may have a pejorative tone.
List of common words for white Westerners
- AmharicAmharic languageAmharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...
: ferenge (also used by other languages in Ethiopia) - ArabicArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
:- خواجة (khawaja) ' onMouseout='HidePop("10123")' href="/topics/Egypt">EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and "khawaja" in SudanSudanSudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
). "KhawajaKhawajaKhawaja or Khwaja is a title used in Middle East, South Asia, and Central Asia. It means Lord or Master.Khwajagan is a word often used to refer to a chains of Central Asian Naqshbandi Sufi Masters from the 10th to the 16th century A.D. In Ferdowsi's Shahnameh the word is used many times for some...
" is a PersianPersian languagePersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
title of respect
- خواجة (khawaja) ' onMouseout='HidePop("10123")' href="/topics/Egypt">Egypt
- BurmeseBurmese languageThe Burmese language is the official language of Burma. Although the constitution officially recognizes it as the Myanmar language, most English speakers continue to refer to the language as Burmese. Burmese is the native language of the Bamar and related sub-ethnic groups of the Bamar, as well as...
: Bo - CherokeeCherokee languageCherokee is an Iroquoian language spoken by the Cherokee people which uses a unique syllabary writing system. It is the only Southern Iroquoian language that remains spoken. Cherokee is a polysynthetic language.-North American etymology:...
: ᏲᏁᎦ (yonega, "white"), ᎫᎴ (gule, "pigeon") - ChineseChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 外國人, or 老外 (lǎowài) (See also Mandarin Chinese profanity#Against westerners)- Cantonese: 鬼佬 (gweiloGweiloGweilo or Gwailo is a common Cantonese slang term for foreigners, and has a long history of racially deprecatory use. If there is some racially deprecatory meaning or it is expressive of hate, it is shown by the addition of the adjective, sei or as a prefix: seigwailo...
) (used in Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and southern China) - HokkienHokkienHokkien is a Hokkien word corresponding to Standard Chinese "Fujian". It may refer to:* Hokkien dialect, a dialect of Min Nan Chinese spoken in Southern Fujian , Taiwan, South-east Asia, and elsewhere....
: 红毛 (ang mohAng MoAng mo or Ang moh is a racial epithet describing Caucasian , mainly in Malaysia and Singapore. It literally means "red-haired" and originates from Hokkien...
) (used in SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Malaysia) - Taiwanese: a-tok-a (used in TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, meaning approximately "big nose"); hóng máo fan (used in Taiwan, mandarin version of 'Ang Mo', "red bearded people", traditionally used to indicate whites of Dutch origin, who brought many Chinese to Taiwan)
- Cantonese: 鬼佬 (gweilo
- Cook Island Maori: Papa'a http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=5akbBi6sso8C&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=papa%27a+cook+islands&source=bl&ots=J9mKNN5T3Y&sig=16IoyUUqsbBJAy7x2n3Vf5PuZzI&hl=en&ei=wztxSsbbNdWSkAXop5CjDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1(used in RarotongaRarotongaRarotonga is the most populous island of the Cook Islands, with a population of 14,153 , out of the country's total population of 19,569.The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga...
n dialect, sometimes said to refer to four layers of clothing http://www.cookislands.org.uk/language.html of colonial Europeans, 'a' being the number 4 in Cook Island Maori) - FilipinoFilipino languageThis move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:...
: kanô, derived from "amerikano" (American). Another is "putî", denoting the color white. Foreigners will often hear calls of "Hey Joe!" from locals trying to get their attention. - EweEwe languageEwe is a Niger–Congo language spoken in Ghana, Togo and Benin by approximately six million people. Ewe is part of a cluster of related languages commonly called Gbe, spoken in southeastern Ghana, Togo, and parts of Benin. Other Gbe languages include Fon, Gen, Phla Phera, and Aja...
: yovo (used in TogoTogoTogo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
and BeninBeninBenin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
in various West African languages) - Haitian Creole and Mauritian CreoleMauritian CreoleMauritian Creole is a French-based creole language spoken in Mauritius. In addition to the French base of the language, there are also some words from English and from the many African and Asian languages that have been spoken on the island.- Sociolinguistic Situation :Mauritian Creole is the...
: blan (from the FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word for white, "blanc") - HawaiianHawaiian languageThe Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
: haoleHaoleHaole , in the Hawaiian language, is generally used to refer to an individual that fits one of the following: "White person, American, Englishman, Caucasian; American, English; formerly, any foreigner; foreign, introduced, of foreign origin, as plants, pigs, chickens"... - Hindi: firangi, pardesi (foreigner), gora/goreh (white or fair skinned), (the latter is also used in PunjabiPunjabi languagePunjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
and Urdu) - HopiHopi languageHopi is a Uto-Aztecan language spoken by the Hopi people of northeastern Arizona, USA, although today some Hopi are monolingual English speakers.The use of the language has gradually declined over the course of the 20th century...
: Pahana - IgboIgbo languageIgbo , or Igbo proper, is a native language of the Igbo people, an ethnic group primarily located in southeastern Nigeria. There are approximately 20 million speakers that are mostly in Nigeria and are primarily of Igbo descent. Igbo is a national language of Nigeria. It is written in the Latin...
: Onyeocha, Bèké (Used in the IgboIgbo peopleIgbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...
region of Eastern Nigeria) - Inuktituk: Qallunaat
- Inupiaq, Alaskan Eskimo: "Gussuk", originally meant "arrogant person", because they believed the white man did not know about humility.
- IndonesianIndonesian languageIndonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
: buleBuleBule is a commonly used word in Indonesia to describe a foreigner, especially Caucasians.Many dictionaries point out that the strict definition of the word is albino. However, this definition have lost usage in both spoken and written form over the English loanword, albino...
, londo ireng, anjing belanda (meaning "dutch dog" typically used for the dutch kolonials), - JapaneseJapanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
: 外人 (gaijinGaijinis a Japanese word meaning "non-Japanese", or "alien". This word is a short form of gaikokujin , which literally means "person from outside of the country". The word is composed of two kanji: , meaning "outside"; and , meaning "person". Thus, the word technically means "outsider"...
, literally "outsider, foreigner")- 白人 (hakujin, literally "white person/peopleWhite peopleWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
")
- 白人 (hakujin, literally "white person/people
- KhmerKhmer languageKhmer , or Cambodian, is the language of the Khmer people and the official language of Cambodia. It is the second most widely spoken Austroasiatic language , with speakers in the tens of millions. Khmer has been considerably influenced by Sanskrit and Pali, especially in the royal and religious...
: បារាំង (barang)- Derived from the Thai farangFarangFarang , also spelled falang, is the generic Thai word for a Westerner. A general term for foreigners is khon tang prathet . There is no expressly negative or positive implication in the word itself. However when it is used along with other words, it can bring a negative meaning depending on...
- Derived from the Thai farang
- Kinyarwanda: Umuzungu (singular), Abazungu (plural), possibly derived from Swahili; also rutuku (meaning the red ones)
- KoreanKorean languageKorean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
: 외국인 (wehgukin, literally "foreigner". Used for all non-Koreans), 백인 (baeg-in, literally "white people" - LakotaLakota languageLakota is a Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of the Sioux tribes. While generally taught and considered by speakers as a separate language, Lakota is mutually understandable with the other two languages , and is considered by most linguists one of the three major varieties of the Sioux...
: Wasi'chuWasi'chuWašíču is the Lakota and Dakota word for people of non-indigenous descent, with derogatory connotations. It expresses the native population's perception of the non-Natives' relationship with the land and the native population. Typically it refers to white people, but does not specifically mention...
, "taker of the fat" - LaoLao languageLao or Laotian is a tonal language of the Tai–Kadai language family. It is the official language of Laos, and also spoken in the northeast of Thailand, where it is usually referred to as the Isan language. Being the primary language of the Lao people, Lao is also an important second language for...
: Boksidar, literally "guava" - also see Thai "Farang" and "Khon Khao," meaning "foreigner" and "person white," respectively - MalagasyMalagasy languageMalagasy is the national language of Madagascar, a member of the Austronesian family of languages. Most people in Madagascar speak it as a first language as do some people of Malagasy descent elsewhere.-History:...
: vazaha - MalayMalay languageMalay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
: mat salleh,- "Mat salleh" refers to white males in Malaysia, derived from "mad sailor". The female version is Minah Salleh. Minah is short for Aminah, a common name for Malay girls in the post world war II era.
- "Orang Putih" refers to all white people in Malay. It just means "white person."
- "Buaya" literally 'Crocodile' used in Singapore especially for white expats, who -like the eyes of a crocodile- are always on the look out for opportunities and local girls.
- "Monyet" meaning "monkey", used in colonial SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, to greet white people. Pretending to say "Good morning Sir" they would actually say "Good monyet Sir".
- MalayalamMalayalam languageMalayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...
: "Sayippu" refers to white males in Kerala. "Madamma" is the word used for white females. "Paragi", "Landakkaran" are also used. - MāoriMaori languageMāori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
: pākehāPakehaPākehā is a Māori language word for New Zealanders who are "of European descent". They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pākehā have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry... - MapudungunMapudungunThe Mapuche language, Mapudungun is a language isolate spoken in south-central Chile and west central Argentina by the Mapuche people. It is also spelled Mapuzugun and sometimes called Mapudungu or Araucanian...
: huinca - MotuMotu languageMotu is one of many Central Papuan Tip languages, and is spoken by the Motuans, native inhabitants of Papua New Guinea...
: taukuruku - probably more accurately taukurokuro - meaning "white man" - PapiamentoPapiamentoPapiamento is the most widely spoken language on the Caribbean ABC islands, having the official status on the islands of Aruba and Curaçao. The language is also recognized on Bonaire by the Dutch government....
: Macamba. Literally: "white monkey". Used to refer to those of Dutch ancestry living in Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. - SamoanSamoan languageSamoan Samoan Samoan (Gagana Sāmoa, is the language of the Samoan Islands, comprising the independent country of Samoa and the United States territory of American Samoa. It is an official language—alongside English—in both jurisdictions. Samoan, a Polynesian language, is the first language for most...
: palagiPalagiPalagi or papaalagi is a term in Samoan culture of uncertain meaning, but sometimes used to describe foreigners or anything that does not 'belong' to Samoan culture...
or papalagi (also used in TonganTongan languageTongan is an Austronesian language spoken in Tonga. It has around 200,000 speakers and is a national language of Tonga. It is a VSO language.-Related languages:...
) - SecwepemctsinShuswap languageThe Shuswap language, known to its speakers as Secwepemctsín , is the traditional language of the Shuswap people of British Columbia. An endangered language, Shuswap is spoken mainly in the Central and Southern interior of British Columbia between the Fraser River and the Rocky Mountains...
: seme7 - ShonaShona languageShona is a Bantu language, native to the Shona people of Zimbabwe and southern Zambia; the term is also used to identify peoples who speak one of the Shona language dialects: Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika, Ndau and Korekore...
: murungu, mukiwa - Sinhala:
- "Sudda" which literally means 'whitey'
- "Thambapu Issa", which means 'boiled prawn' - as white people usually got sunburned in the tropical island of Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
- "Kiri Panuwa", which means 'milk worm' - this was primarily used as a slur during the colonial era.
- SwahiliSwahili languageSwahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
: mzungu (also used in Luganda, Kinyarwanda, KirundiKirundiKirundi, also known as Rundi, is a dialect of the Rwanda-Rundi language spoken by some 8.7 million people in Burundi and adjacent parts of Tanzania and Congo-Kinshasa, as well as in Uganda. It is the official language of Burundi...
and other languages) - TamilTamil languageTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
:- "Parangiar" possibly derived from the Arabic "faranji" via PersianPersian languagePersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and Indian languages - "Vellaiyal" literally means "white person"
- "Vellaikaran" literally means"white man"
- "Parangiar" possibly derived from the Arabic "faranji" via Persian
- ThaiThai languageThai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
: ฝรั่ง (farangFarangFarang , also spelled falang, is the generic Thai word for a Westerner. A general term for foreigners is khon tang prathet . There is no expressly negative or positive implication in the word itself. However when it is used along with other words, it can bring a negative meaning depending on...
), also literally "guava."- Possibly derived from the Arabic "faranji" via PersianPersian languagePersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and Indian languages - Possibly derived from the French "français," pronounced "Farangset" by Thai speakers
- Possibly derived from the Arabic "faranji" via Persian
- Twi: obruni (used in Ghana)
- WolofWolof languageWolof is a language spoken in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania, and is the native language of the Wolof people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Atlantic branch of the Niger–Congo language family...
: toubabToubabToubab is a Central and West African name for a person of European descent . Used most frequently in the Gambia, Senegal, and Mali, the term does not have derogatory connotations by itself, though it is also frequently associated with "wealthy traveler"...
(used in SenegalSenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, GuineaGuineaGuinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
and MaliMaliMali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
) - UrduUrduUrdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
: سفید فام (safaid-faam), lit. "white-complexioned", a politically correct and respectful term to refer to white people. - VietnameseVietnamese languageVietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
: tây (meaning West or Western) - YorubaYoruba languageYorùbá is a Niger–Congo language spoken in West Africa by approximately 20 million speakers. The native tongue of the Yoruba people, it is spoken, among other languages, in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo and in communities in other parts of Africa, Europe and the Americas...
: oyinbo (used in Nigeria)- "Oyinbo" literally means "peeled skin"
- ZuluZulu languageZulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...
: "umlungu" (used in many Nguni languages such as XhosaXhosa languageXhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa. Xhosa is spoken by approximately 7.9 million people, or about 18% of the South African population. Like most Bantu languages, Xhosa is a tonal language, that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said...
)- "Umlungu" originally referred to a person who practices magic