Laowai

Laowai (Chinese: 老外; pinyin: lǎowài) is one of several Chinese words for foreigner. Lǎowài can be translated as "always" (lǎo 老) "foreigner" (wài 外),^{[citation needed]}(some people suggest it means "old" (lǎo 老) "foreigner" (wài 外),^{[citation needed]}). Lǎowài is an informal word that appears in both spoken and written Chinese. Most people (i.e. Most Mandarin speakers) who use the term consider laowai a casual and fairly neutral word. Recipients, on the other hand, are not unanimous in this opinion.

But "old foreigner" is a clear English structure, while in Chinese, "old foreigner" should be structured as "外国老人" or "上了年纪的外国人". So if you use "老外" as "old foreigner" in a Chinese test, you could fail it due to "confusing semantics".

Etymology and usage

Laowai is a commonly used Chinese mandarin word. It is the shortened, informal version close to wàiguórén 外国人 ("foreigner").

There is some dispute about the correct Chinese characters used to write the word. While "老外" is the more common form, some argue that the character "佬", with the addition of the rén (person) radical (人字旁) is more correct. However, this form is grammatically awkward ("佬" is a slightly derogatory noun for an adult male), and infrequently used.

lǎo 老, as the adjective "old", is more frequently used to express long-term friendship, as in lǎopéngyou 老朋友, which means "old friend"; or respect, as in lǎoshī 老师, which originally means "elder teacher". However, there are also words with negative connotations containing the character 'lao', such as lǎo dōngxi 老东西 ("old disgraceful guy"), lǎo gǔdǒng 老古董 ("old outdated guy"), where 老 here connotes "stick-in-the-mud".

However, when lǎo 老 is used as the adverb "always" or "very", it can be connected to both positive, negative, or neutral terms, to express the feeling like "too much", "overdone"; such as the positive words - Lǎohǎorén 老好人 (a too nice person), Lǎoshí 老实 (truly honest), and Lǎodào 老道 (very seasoned), or negative words - lǎohān 老憨 ("simpleton"), Lǎowángù "老顽固" ("old fogey, fuddy-duddy").

So Laowai 老外 is more of a neutral term which can refer to: "an obvious foreigner" or "alien". Since Laowai is regarded as a fairly neutral term by those who use it, whether it is viewed as derogatory or not depends largely on how the word is used (such as the context, tone, manner...etc.). To the Chinese, the term may be used in an informal, good-humored, or genial way.

Dashan expressed the view that "... the people who can't speak any Chinese are truly Laowai (...不会说汉语的外国人那才叫老外呢)"^{[citation needed]}-CCTV New Year's Gala (2011), 186 minutes 17 seconds.

On a side note, many Chinese use the word Laomei to refer to Americans. In addition, many Chinese, especially overseas Chinese also use the word Laozhong to refer to the Chinese themselves.

Within the same usage, Chinese people make jokes with each other's by giving nicknames made by their own characters with the prefix lǎo 老 as "always (or very)". Such as a famous comedy role was named as Lǎoniān "老蔫" ("always listless"). Also the fans of actor Tom Hardy in mainland China would call him Lǎoshī "老湿" ("always wet") among the discussion in Chinese BBS; because of Tom's shiny hair which make him vigorously sexy looking.

lao as Empty prefix

Lao is also used as an empty prefix in words for some animals, such as lǎohǔ 老虎 ("tiger"), lǎoyīng 老鹰 ("Accipitridae"), and lǎoshǔ 老鼠 ("rat, mouse"). (There is disagreement about this "neutral" use of lǎo in front of these animal characters.^{[citation needed]} In the prior cases mentioned, the animals are considered lucky, the rat in particular functioning as a fertility symbol. However, this term in addition to other cases (老狐狸 "lǎohúli" ("old fox") the "lǎo" indicates fear or discomfort.)^{[citation needed]}

The 2004 edition of the Chinese-language dictionary 现代汉语规范词典 (Xiàndài Hànyǔ Guīfàn Cídiǎn) states that laowai carries a bantering connotation (谐谑; xiéxuè). An indication of any negative connotations of laowai is the fact that it can sometimes mean wàiháng (外行; amateur, or lay person). Though this meaning of "amateur" or "lay person" does not really apply in this context, that is, when a Chinese person uses the term Laowai to refer to any foreigner, he/she is not thinking about that foreigner as being an amateur or a lay person. A pejorative term for foreigner, yángguǐzi 洋鬼子, which literally means foreign devil, was in frequent use early in the 20th century, but today is rarely used and is recognized by Chinese as inappropriate and racist.

Some Chinese use Laowai to refer exclusively to Caucasians. This kind of use of 老外 can cause some animosity among some Westerners who feel that they are referred to as "foreigners" on the basis on their skin colour and not on the basis of nationality. Furthermore, some of these Westerners consider it unfair that people from other countries are referred to by their respective nationalities, but Westerners are singled out with a name that can be interpreted as "outsider" (hence 外). This is exemplified in alternative terms for non-Caucasians, which include rìběnrén 日本人, the Chinese word for Japanese people. Someone who has dark skin colour and appears to be African in origin will be called hēirén 黑人, which means black person. Sometimes the term lǎohēi 老黑 is used for people of African descent, a term which can have pejorative connotations, though some people consider it to be less offensive than 老外 because many people of African descent refer to themselves as "black people", whereas Westerners do not refer to themselves as "foreigners". Furthermore, when visiting China they introduce themselves as being from their respective countries, not as 老外 or as "foreigners".

Controversy

In recent years the word Laowai has begun to stir up controversy within the expatriate community in China, due to the fact that some expats see the term as derogatory. In this way Laowai is similar to how Americans view the Spanish/Brazilian Portuguese word gringo and Westerners view the Japanese word gaijin or the Thai word farang. From time to time, some Chinese will shout out Laowai! to foreigners passing by, which may sometimes be followed up with laughter and/or taunting. While this might just be the result of curosity and/or excitement upon seeing a foreigner, many foreigners still feel uncomfortable by this kind of behavior and find it to be rude.

The official Chinese press has expressed concern about the inappropriate use of Laowai and foreign sensitivities surrounding the word. Editorials, written by foreigners and Chinese, have appeared in English and Chinese language newspapers about the subject, but generally indicate that Laowai is not intended to be a pejorative term. However, local governments have launched campaigns aimed at educating the Chinese public about the appropriate usage of laowai.

The term Laowai and also the rough English equivalent are sometimes considered offensive when used by some overseas Chinese in Western countries. The rationale for Westerners who take offense at this is associated with their belief that they are not foreigners in the country in which they are born. These Westerners feel it is not logical for themselves to be referred to as "foreigners" in their own country.

See also

• Anti-Western sentiment in China
• Ang Mo - Hokkien (Min Nan)
• Gweilo - Cantonese
• Farang - Thai
• Gaijin - Japanese
• Gringo - Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish (México)
• Mzungu - Swahili
• Haole - Hawaiian

External links

• Informative blog entry on Laowai
• How to say and write 'Foreigner' in Chinese
• Culture: Seven Ways to Say 'Foreigner'
• Laowai Is What You Make It
• A White Cultural Definition
• The "Laowai", Racism and Personal Space in China
• Chinese Culture for Aspiring Laowai