List of xenophobic terms
Encyclopedia
An ethnic exogroup is a group of people which does not belong to a particular ethnic group. Many cultures have terms referring to all outsiders, but in practice this often becomes narrowed to the largest outsider group. In particular, exogroup terms used by minorities in a particular country often become specific to the majority in that country rather than applying to other minorities as well. Exogroup terms are sometimes considered to be derogatory
, depending on the word and the context and manner in which it is used. They may be distinguished from ethnic or religious slurs in that they do not necessarily designate a specific group, and instead target all who do not belong to a specific group.
Literally: mumbler, a person who cannot speak proper Arabic. A traditional term for non-Arabs (literally as those who cannot speak, or cannot be understood), often specifically applied to Persians
. Derogatory implications depend on context.
Allochtoon
Ausländer
:Ausländer (Auslaender) is a German word meaning Alien (law)
.
A generic term for foreigner, typically used to refer to those of European
ancestry, but also black Africans
, and can be used to refer to plants or animals that are foreign in origin. The word Farang derives from "Français" because French people are among, if not, the first white people presented in Thailand. May be derogatory depending on context.
Farangi
Literally 'out person', usually used in context to refer someone who is ethnically not Japanese. Considered politically incorrect and often derogatory by those it refers to. The politically correct term for a foreigner is “Gaikokujin”. Because Japanese is a highly contextual language, it is possible to use the word "Gaijin" without derogatory intent; however, "Gaikokujin" is highly preferred to remain politically correct and avoid misunderstanding.
Gentile
Giaour
Also spelled Ghiaour or Gavur, a generic term for a non-Muslim or non-Turk, often used specifically for Christians, particularly the local Greeks and Armenians. Modern use is widespread, and not always considered derogatory.
Gorgio A Romany term meaning "house dweller," used to refer to a non-gypsy.
Goy
A term for a Gentile
or non-Jew. The exact meaning and pejorative implications of the term are heavily debated. While still used in Yiddish
and Hebrew as a synonym for gentile, the word is now often avoided.
Gringo
A Spanish and Portuguese
term used to refer to foreigners in Latin America
n countries, typically used to refer to those from English-speaking countries. It can be used, depending on country of origin, to mean any non-Spanish speaker, an Anglo-Saxon
person, a light-haired or light skinned person, or a non-Iberian
European.
Gweilo
A Cantonese term literally meaning "ghost man" though often translated to english as foreign devil used to refer to Europeans in a derogatory manner.
A universal term for foreigner, can be used for people, plants or animals that are non-Hawaiian in origin. The phrase has been linked to anti-foreigner hate crimes in Hawaii.
Heathen
The word kaffir, sometimes spelled kaffer or kafir, is an offensive term for a black person, most common in South Africa and other African countries. Generally considered a racial or ethnic slur. Derived from the Arabic "Kafir".
Kafir
An non-Muslim or infidel
, may include People of the Book
depending on context. In Islam
ic sharia
doctrine, Kafir are divided into dhimmi
, harbi
and musta'min
. May be considered derogatory in modern usage.
Kala
Kawaja
A classical term for a non-Arab Muslim. Fell out of use after the Abbasid revolution.
A term used throughout the South Pacific
to refer to (typically Caucasian
) non-Polynesian foreigners.
Pākehā
A Maori term for non-Polynesians living in New Zealand
, usually used for those of European
descent specifically, though also used for non-Maori in general. In its narrower definition, acceptance of the term varies amongst those it describes. It is commonly used by a range of journalists and columnists from The New Zealand Herald
, New Zealand's largest-circulation daily newspaper. It is accepted wholeheartedly by some of the people it describes, but others object to the term, considering it to be racist or otherwise offensive. It was dropped as a descriptive term from the 2001 census
because of potential offence.
Pejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
, depending on the word and the context and manner in which it is used. They may be distinguished from ethnic or religious slurs in that they do not necessarily designate a specific group, and instead target all who do not belong to a specific group.
A
AjamAjam
Ajam is a word used in Persian and Arabic literature but with different concepts. Ajam in Arabic has two primary meanings: "non-Arab" and "Persian".literally it has other meaning "one who is illiterate in language", "silent", or "mute", and refers to non-Arabs in general, or people of Southern...
Literally: mumbler, a person who cannot speak proper Arabic. A traditional term for non-Arabs (literally as those who cannot speak, or cannot be understood), often specifically applied to Persians
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
. Derogatory implications depend on context.
Allochtoon
Allochtoon
Allochtoon is a Dutch word , literally meaning "originating from another country"...
- A DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
term (from the Greek ἀλλος-allos) that literally means "originating from another country". Refers to both immigrants and their descendants. Officially refers to any person with at least one immigrant parent. Not usually considered offensive.
Ausländer
Ausländer
- People with surname Auslander or Ausländer :* Joseph Auslander, Poet* Leora Auslander* Louis Auslander, mathematician* Maurice Auslander, mathematician, who introduced:** Auslander algebra** Auslander–Buchsbaum formula** Auslander–Buchsbaum theorem...
:Ausländer (Auslaender) is a German word meaning Alien (law)
Alien (law)
In law, an alien is a person in a country who is not a citizen of that country.-Categorization:Types of "alien" persons are:*An alien who is legally permitted to remain in a country which is foreign to him or her. On specified terms, this kind of alien may be called a legal alien of that country...
.
F
FarangFarang
Farang , 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...
A generic term for foreigner, typically used to refer to those of European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
ancestry, but also black Africans
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
, and can be used to refer to plants or animals that are foreign in origin. The word Farang derives from "Français" because French people are among, if not, the first white people presented in Thailand. May be derogatory depending on context.
Farangi
- 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...
term for foreigner. The word may derive from FranksFranksThe Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
. May have derogatory connotations.
G
GaijinGaijin
is 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 'out person', usually used in context to refer someone who is ethnically not Japanese. Considered politically incorrect and often derogatory by those it refers to. The politically correct term for a foreigner is “Gaikokujin”. Because Japanese is a highly contextual language, it is possible to use the word "Gaijin" without derogatory intent; however, "Gaikokujin" is highly preferred to remain politically correct and avoid misunderstanding.
Gentile
Gentile
The term Gentile refers to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible....
- In the King James and other translations of the BibleBibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and elsewhere, the term Gentile is used to denote non-Jewish people. The word often has the more narrow meaning of 'Christian'.
Giaour
Giaour
Giaour, Gawur or Ghiaour written gâvur in modern Turkish, is an offensive ethnic slur used by Muslims in Turkey and the Balkans to describe all who are non Muslim, with particular reference to Christians like Greeks, Armenians, Bulgarians, Serbs and Assyrians...
Also spelled Ghiaour or Gavur, a generic term for a non-Muslim or non-Turk, often used specifically for Christians, particularly the local Greeks and Armenians. Modern use is widespread, and not always considered derogatory.
Gorgio A Romany term meaning "house dweller," used to refer to a non-gypsy.
Goy
Goy
is a Hebrew biblical term for "nation". By Roman times it had also acquired the meaning of "non-Jew". The latter is also its meaning in Yiddish.-In Biblical Hebrew:...
A term for a Gentile
Gentile
The term Gentile refers to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible....
or non-Jew. The exact meaning and pejorative implications of the term are heavily debated. While still used in Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
and Hebrew as a synonym for gentile, the word is now often avoided.
Gringo
Gringo
Gringo is a slang Spanish and Portuguese word used in Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries in Latin America, to denote foreigners, often from the United States. The term can be applied to someone who is actually a foreigner, or it can denote a strong association or assimilation into...
A Spanish and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
term used to refer to foreigners in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n countries, typically used to refer to those from English-speaking countries. It can be used, depending on country of origin, to mean any non-Spanish speaker, an Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
person, a light-haired or light skinned person, or a non-Iberian
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
European.
Gweilo
Gweilo
Gweilo 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...
A Cantonese term literally meaning "ghost man" though often translated to english as foreign devil used to refer to Europeans in a derogatory manner.
H
HaoleHaole
Haole , 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"...
A universal term for foreigner, can be used for people, plants or animals that are non-Hawaiian in origin. The phrase has been linked to anti-foreigner hate crimes in Hawaii.
Heathen
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
- Refers to those who follow no religion, or those who are polytheisticPolytheismPolytheism is the belief of multiple deities also usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals....
, animisticAnimismAnimism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
or shamanicShamanismShamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
. It is usually considered pejorative.
K
KaffirKaffir (racial term)
The word kaffir, sometimes spelled kaffer or kafir, is an offensive term for a black person, most common in South Africa and other African countries...
The word kaffir, sometimes spelled kaffer or kafir, is an offensive term for a black person, most common in South Africa and other African countries. Generally considered a racial or ethnic slur. Derived from the Arabic "Kafir".
Kafir
Kafir
Kafir is an Arabic term used in a Islamic doctrinal sense, usually translated as "unbeliever" or "disbeliever"...
An non-Muslim or infidel
Infidel
An infidel is one who has no religious beliefs, or who doubts or rejects the central tenets of a particular religion – especially in reference to Christianity or Islam....
, may include People of the Book
People of the Book
People of the Book is a term used to designate non-Muslim adherents to faiths which have a revealed scripture called, in Arabic, Al-Kitab . The three types of adherents to faiths that the Qur'an mentions as people of the book are the Jews, Sabians and Christians.In Islam, the Muslim scripture, the...
depending on context. In Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
doctrine, Kafir are divided into dhimmi
Dhimmi
A , is a non-Muslim subject of a state governed in accordance with sharia law. Linguistically, the word means "one whose responsibility has been taken". This has to be understood in the context of the definition of state in Islam...
, harbi
Harbi
Harbi is a term of classical islamic law, which refers to a non-Muslim, who does not live under the condition of the dhimma. Harbi is counterterm to dhimmi. Sometimes the terms appear in the combination "kafir harbi" resp. "kafir dhimmi".The harbi is the inhabitant of the dar al-harb...
and musta'min
Musta'min
Al-mustaʾmīn is an Islamic classification for a non-Muslim foreigner that enters Muslim lands for less than a year and is legally protected by the Muslim authority. This would include merchants, messengers, and students and other groups that could be given an amaan, or pledge of security...
. May be considered derogatory in modern usage.
Kala
Kala
Kala may refer to:In Hinduism:*Kāla , a Sanskrit word for "time"*Kalā: 64 arts*Kala Bo, a Hindu consort goddess*Kirtimukha: a fierce guardian faceIn culture*Kala , a character in the Tarzan novels*Kala , a 2007 Indonesian film...
- The nonspecific racist slur of "kala" is used against Muslims and Indians in Myanmar alleging as migrants gained negative implication especially when referring to Myanmar Muslims.
Kawaja
- (Sudanese DinkaDinka languageThis article is about the language, for the ethnic group see Dinka.Dinka, or , is a Nilotic dialect cluster spoken by the Dinka people, the major ethnic group of South Sudan. There are five main varieties, Ngok, Rek, Agaar, Twic / Tuic East, and Bor, which are distinct enough to require separate...
) Used to refer to a purely white person with no black ancestry. Not derogatory in any usage.
M
MawaliMawali
Mawali or mawālá is a term in Classical Arabic used to address non-Arab Muslims.The term gained prominence in the centuries following the early Arab Muslim conquests in the 7th century, as many non-Arabs such as Persians, Egyptians, and Turks converted to Islam...
A classical term for a non-Arab Muslim. Fell out of use after the Abbasid revolution.
P
PalagiPalagi
Palagi 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...
A term used throughout the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
to refer to (typically Caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
) non-Polynesian foreigners.
Pākehā
Pakeha
Pākehā 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...
A Maori term for non-Polynesians living in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, usually used for those of European
New Zealand European
The term New Zealand European refers to New Zealanders of European descent who identify as New Zealand Europeans rather than some other ethnic group...
descent specifically, though also used for non-Maori in general. In its narrower definition, acceptance of the term varies amongst those it describes. It is commonly used by a range of journalists and columnists from The New Zealand Herald
The New Zealand Herald
- External links :* * *...
, New Zealand's largest-circulation daily newspaper. It is accepted wholeheartedly by some of the people it describes, but others object to the term, considering it to be racist or otherwise offensive. It was dropped as a descriptive term from the 2001 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
because of potential offence.