View source for Gweilo

{{Short description|"Ghoul person"; Cantonese vulgar and rude slang for white people, sometimes as a racial slur}}
{{redirect|Foreign devil|other uses|Foreign Devil (disambiguation){{!}}Foreign Devil (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Use American English|date = February 2019}}
{{Infobox Chinese
|c=鬼佬
|p=guǐlǎo
|j=gwai<sup>2</sup> lou<sup>2</sup>
|y=gwái-lóu
|gd=guei<sup>2</sup> lou<sup>2</sup>
}}
{{italic title}}
'''''Gweilo''''' or '''{{transliteration|zh|gwailou}}''' ({{lang-zh|c={{linktext|鬼佬}}|cy=gwáilóu}}, pronounced {{IPA|yue|kʷɐ̌i lǒu||Yue-鬼佬.oga}}) is a common [[Cantonese slang|Cantonese slang term]] for [[white people]]. The term can be literally translated as "ghoul man" or "ghost man" and has a history of racially deprecatory and pejorative use, though its modern usage is often in a general and non-derogatory context. The appropriateness of the term and whether it constitutes as an offensive [[ethnic slur]] are disputed among both Cantonese speakers and Westerners.<ref name=yu>{{cite web|last=Yu|first=Irene|title=MP shouldn't generalize|url=http://www.richmond-news.com/issues06/112106/opinion/112106le1.html|publisher=Richmond News|access-date=12 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312140025/http://www.richmond-news.com/issues06/112106/opinion/112106le1.html|archive-date=12 March 2007|date=7 November 2006}}</ref><ref>Brown, Jules. Gardner, Dinah. ''Hong Kong and Macau'', 2002. Rough Guides publishing. {{ISBN|978-1-85828-872-7}}. p. 399</ref>
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==Etymology and history==
''Gwái'' ({{linktext|鬼}}, ''gui'' in Mandarin) means "ghoul”, "ghost" or "devil",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdrst=0&wdqb=%E9%AC%BC&email= |title=鬼 |work=MDBG }}</ref> and ''lóu'' ({{linktext|佬}}) means "man" or "guy". The literal translation of ''gwáilóu'' would thus be "ghoul man" or “ghost man".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e5AQTRptrk0C&pg=PA69 |title=A Dictionary of Hong Kong English: Words from the Fragrant Harbor |author= Patrick J. Cummings |author2= Hans-Georg Wolf |page=69 |publisher= Hong Kong University Press |year=2011 |isbn=9789888083305 }}</ref> It is sometimes translated into English as "foreign devil".<ref name="Lafay">{{cite book |title=The Chinese Have a Word for It: The Complete Guide to Chinese Thought and Culture |last=Lafayette De Mente |first=Boyé |year=2000 |publisher=[[McGraw-Hill Professional|McGraw-Hill]] |isbn=978-0-658-01078-1 |page=145 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yx8AC_d3lWgC&q=Lafayette+De+Mente,+Boy%C3%A9.+The+Chinese+Have+a+Word+for+It:+The+Complete+Guide+to+Chinese+Thought+and+Culture,&pg=PR1 |access-date=28 October 2016 |archive-date=21 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221201006/https://books.google.com/books?id=Yx8AC_d3lWgC&pg=PR1&dq=Lafayette+De+Mente,+Boy%C3%A9.+The+Chinese+Have+a+Word+for+It:+The+Complete+Guide+to+Chinese+Thought+and+Culture,&cd=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> In many [[Sinitic languages]], {{lang|mul-Hant|鬼}} ''gwai'' and its local equivalents can be a derogatory term used as a curse or an insult.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Wph7HEm958C&pg=PA4 |title=The Phantom Heroine: Ghosts and Gender in Seventheenth-century Chinese Literature |author=Judith T. Zeitlin |page=4 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0824830915 |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-date=7 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307145704/https://books.google.com/books?id=8Wph7HEm958C&pg=PA4 |url-status=live }}</ref>  The term ''鬼'' gwai has also been used to describe other ethnic groups, for example, a 17th-century writer from [[Guangdong|Canton]], {{ill|Qu Dajun|zh|屈大均|zh-yue|屈大均}}, wrote that Africans "look like ghouls", and ''gwáinòuh'' ({{lang-zh|c={{linktext|鬼|奴}}|l=ghoul slave}}) was once used to describe African slaves.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LP9q1dzVRYQC&pg=PA86 |title=Macau History and Society |author= Zhidong Hao |page=86|publisher=Hong Kong University Press |year= 2011 |isbn= 978-9888028542 }}</ref>

==Usage==
The term ''gwái'' ({{linktext|鬼}}) 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]] with the same ''gwái''. It conveys a general bad and negative feeling but is a somewhat obsolete and archaic/old-fashioned term nowadays and other more modern terms have largely replaced ''gwái'' for similarly negative meanings. Cantonese people sometimes call each other ''sēui gwái'' ({{linktext|衰鬼}}), which means ''bad person'', though more often than not it is applied affectionately, similar to "[[Bitch (slang)|Hey, bitch]]!" in English when used affectionately. Nowadays, Cantonese speakers often refer to non-Chinese people by their ethnicity.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

''Gwáilóu'' is often considered to be an acceptable generic racial term for Westerners.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781848361881 |url-access=registration |title= The Rough Guide to Hong Kong & Macau|author= David Leffman|author2= Jules Brown |page= [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781848361881/page/338 338] |publisher=Rough Guides |edition= 7th |year= 2009 |isbn= 978-1848361881 }}</ref>  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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cantonese.hk/wp/2007/11/28/on-the-radio-again/|title=SBS Radio – I'm on the radio again! » Cantonese.hk: The views and experiences of an Australian learning Cantonese|first=Ajay|last=D'Souza|access-date=3 February 2017|archive-date=18 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318043918/http://cantonese.hk/wp/2007/11/28/on-the-radio-again/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Gwailóu'' has, in some instances, been recognised as simply referring to white foreigners in South East Asia and now appears on [[Oxford Dictionaries (website)|Oxford Dictionaries]] defined as such,<ref name="oxforddictionaries.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/gweilo|title=gweilo – definition of gweilo in English – Oxford Dictionaries|access-date=3 February 2017|archive-date=21 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160621153039/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/gweilo|url-status=dead}}</ref> although non-white foreigners are not ''gwáilóu''. While ''gwáilóu'' is used by some Cantonese speakers in informal speech, another alternative term the sound of which has several meanings ''sāi yàhn'' ({{lang-zh|c=西人|l=Western person|labels=no}}) is now used as well, particularly if the conversation involves a non-Chinese person. Homonyms - ie words that sound the same or almost the same depending on the tone - to ''sai yan'' include references to female genitalia or boasting so ''sai yan'' is not necessarily a polite alternative to ''gwai lou''. A neutral alternative would be ‘foreign person’, pronounced ''ngoi gwok yan''.<ref name="IntermediateCantonese"/>

[[CFMT-TV]] in [[Toronto]], 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".<ref>[http://www.cbsc.ca/english/decisions/2000/000809appendix.pdf Appendix to 'CFMT-TV re ''Gwai Lo Cooking'' '] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528114456/http://www.cbsc.ca/english/decisions/2000/000809appendix.pdf|date=28 May 2008}}, CBSC Decision 99/00-0220. Decided 6 July 2000</ref> In response to some complaints, the [[Canadian Broadcast Standards Council]] ruled that:

{{blockquote|While historically, ''gwai lo''' may have been used by Chinese people as a derogatory remark concerning foreigners, particularly European Westerners, the persons consulted by the Council indicate that it has since lost much of its derogatory overtone. The Council finds that the expression has also lost most of its religious meaning, so that "foreign devil" no longer carries the theological significance it once did. Based on its research, the Council understands that the expression has gone from being considered offensive to, at worst, merely "impolite".<ref>[http://www.cbsc.ca/english/decisions/2000/000809.php "CFMT-TV re ''Gwai Lo Cooking''"], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807090728/http://www.cbsc.ca/english/decisions/2000/000809.php|date=7 August 2011}}, CBSC Decision 99/00-0220. Decided 6 July 2000</ref>}}

== Related terms ==
''Gwai'' is one of a number of terms to referring to non-Chinese people that can be considered controversial and potentially offensive; a list of such terms is given below:<ref name="IntermediateCantonese">{{cite book|last=Yip|first=Virginia|author2=Matthews, Stephen|title=Intermediate Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook|url=https://archive.org/details/intermediatecant00yipv|url-access=limited|publisher=Routledge|year=2001|location=London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/intermediatecant00yipv/page/n184 168]–70|isbn=0-415-19387-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e5AQTRptrk0C&pg=PA68 |title=A Dictionary of Hong Kong English: Words from the Fragrant Harbor |author=Patrick J. Cummings |author2=Hans-Georg Wolf |pages=67–68 |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |year=2011 |isbn=9789888083305 |access-date=14 May 2020 |archive-date=7 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307145731/https://books.google.com/books?id=e5AQTRptrk0C&pg=PA68 |url-status=live }}</ref>

* '''''gwaijai''''' ({{linktext|鬼仔}}; {{lang-zh|cy=gwáijái|l=ghost boy}}) for a white boy.
* '''''gwaimui''''' ({{linktext|鬼妹}}; {{lang-zh|cy=gwáimūi|l=ghost girl}}) for a white girl.
* '''''gwaipo''''' ({{linktext|鬼婆}}; {{lang-zh|cy=gwáipòh|l=ghost woman}}) for white woman.
* '''''baakgwai''''' ({{linktext|白鬼}}; {{lang-zh|cy=baahkgwái|l=white ghost}}) for white people.
* '''''haakgwai''''' ({{linktext|黑鬼}}; {{lang-zh|cy=hāakgwái|l=black ghost}}) for [[black people]].
* '''''sai yan''''' ({{linktext|西人}}; {{lang-zh|cy=sāi yàhn|l=western person}}) for [[Western world|Westerner]]s.
* '''''yeung yan''''' ({{linktext|洋人}}; {{lang-zh|cy=yèuhng yàhn|l=overseas person}}) for [[Western world|Westerner]]s.
* '''''ngoigwok yan''''' ({{linktext|外國人}}; {{lang-zh|cy=ngoihgwok yàhn|l=foreign country person}}) for [[foreign national]]s.
* '''''acha''''' ({{linktext|阿差}}; {{lang-zh|cy=achā}}; from "acchā" meaning "good" in [[Hindi]]) for [[South Asia]]ns. This term is considered offensive to South Asians local to Hong Kong, e.g., Hong Kong locals of Indian and/or Pakistani descent, and is not widely used. 
* '''''molocha''''' ({{lang|zh|摩囉差}}; {{lang-zh|cy=mōlōchā|l=[[Moors|Mouro]] Indian}}) for [[South Asia]]ns.

=== Mandarin Chinese ===
[[File:Boxerspamphlet.png|thumb|200px|A [[Boxer Rebellion]] pamphlet, circa 1899, that refers to foreigners as ''guizi''.]]

''[[Guizi]]'' ({{linktext|鬼子}}; {{lang-zh|p=guǐzi}}) is a [[Mandarin Chinese]] slang term for foreigners, and has a long history of being used as a racially deprecating insult.
* '''''Riben guizi''''' ({{linktext|日本鬼子}}; {{lang-zh|p=rìběn guǐzi|l=Japanese devil}}) or '''''dongyang guizi''''' ({{linktext|東洋|鬼子}}; {{lang-zh|p=dōngyáng guǐzi|l=east ocean devil}}) – used to refer to [[Japanese people|Japanese]]. 
* '''''Er guizi''''' ({{linktext|二鬼子}}; {{lang-zh|p=èr guǐzi|l=second devil}}) – used to refer to the [[Korean people|Korean]] soldiers who were a part of the Japanese army during the Sino-Japanese War in World War II.<ref name="people20111216">[http://dangshi.people.com.cn/BIG5/16632423.html 第一滴血──從日方史料還原平型關之戰日軍損失 (6)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203102443/http://dangshi.people.com.cn/BIG5/16632423.html|date=3 February 2014}}. [[People's Daily]]. 16 December 2011</ref>
* '''''Yang guizi''''' ({{linktext|洋鬼子}}; {{lang-zh|p=yáng guǐzi|l=Western/overseas devil}}) or '''''xiyang guizi''''' ({{linktext|西洋|鬼子}}; {{lang-zh|p=xiyáng guǐzi|l=west ocean devil}}) – used to refer to [[Western world|Westerners]].

However, ''xiaogui'' ({{linktext|小鬼}}; {{lang-zh|p=xiǎoguǐ|l=little ghost}}) is a common term in Mandarin Chinese for a child. Therefore, some argue that ''gui'' ({{lang|zh|鬼}}) in Mandarin is just a neutral word that describes something unexpected or hard to predict.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}}

''[[Laowai]]'' ({{lang|zh|老外}}; {{lang-zh|p=lǎowài|l=old foreigner/outsider}}) 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.

==See also==
{{Portal|China}}

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*[[Bule (term)|Bule]]
*[[Chinaman (term)|Chinaman]]
*''[[Devils on the Doorstep]]'' (''Guizi lai le'') by Jiang Wen 
*''[[Gweilo: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood]]''
*[[Graphic pejoratives in written Chinese]]
*[[Farang]]
*[[Gaijin]]
*[[Gringo]]
*[[Guizi]]
*[[Gweilo Beer]]
*[[Haole]]
*[[Laowai]]
*[[List of ethnic slurs]]
*[[Mat Salleh]]
*''[[Round Eyes in the Middle Kingdom]]'' (documentary)
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary pipe|鬼佬|gwailou}}
* {{cite web|url=https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/perspectives-events/publications/2022/02/is-using-the-term-gweilo-discriminatory-in-the-hong-kong-workplace|title=Is Using the Term "Gweilo" Discriminatory in the Hong Kong Workplace? |newspaper=[[Mayer Brown]]|date=2022-02-17}} 
* {{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/video/hong-kong/2163920/gweilo-racist-word-our-editors-discuss|title=Is 'gweilo' a racist word? Our editors discuss |newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]]|date=2018-09-12}} 
* {{cite web|last=Fafata|first=Brett|url=https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/your-voice/opinion/article/3070389/are-cantonese-terms-gweilo-outdated-and-offensive|title=Are Cantonese terms like "gweilo" outdated and offensive in Asia's World City?|newspaper=[[Young Post]]|date=2018-03-08}} - Opinion
{{White people terms}}
{{Ethnic slurs}}

[[Category:Anti-Western sentiment]]
[[Category:Boxer Rebellion]]
[[Category:Chinese slang]]
[[Category:Cantonese words and phrases]]
[[Category:Culture of Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Pejorative terms for European people]]
[[Category:Racism in China]]
[[Category:Xenophobia in Asia]]
[[Category:Discrimination in Hong Kong]]