what do u think of words like gaijin, farang, oegugin, laowai?

[Khaza-R]

Not offensive. Faranji (same root word as Farang) generally means westerner in syrian arabic. Its not used a derogatory sense

[The One Percent]

I don't try to control the words people say. I will avoid socializing with people who hold ideas I find distasteful, however, other than to debate them and try to change their minds. The words listed can have a neutral connotation even though they can be used as a derogatory as well, so you can't make a blanket judgement

[PC2]

do u think they are harmless words or u think they are bad words to use?

Idk about all of those words but I was watching this one channel, Laowhy86. He basically said that he was constantly called "foreigner" even after being there for 8 years, but it was rarely ever derogatory. It's just a way of saying "somebody from outside of China". In the West it would be considered offensive.

[Monster Hunter]

do u think they are harmless words or u think they are bad words to use?

depends if you mean offense or not, a word to me is nothing but noise unless theres some intent behind it. as a Brit i understand all to well how you can say the most crass things with joy and jest and yet cut the most bloody insults with politeness.

[Independent voter]

Gringo has a negative connotation.

It's what people in Mexico call Americans.

[Linkedblade]

do u think they are harmless words or u think they are bad words to use?

They are only offensive to people that actually live in the country they are being called that in. Calling any Hispanic person an alien, etc.

Are they bad to use? Depends on who's listening.

[Elite Peon]

They are evil words all of them ...none of them mean anything positive so if you use them you are a racist and a hater...I live in Hawaii and natives hate white people and call us Haoles which is a hateful term but Hawaiians are hateful people so ...

[Minikin]

i wonder how many people are familiar with gaijin cuz of tokyo drift, and had to google the others.

[Atrea]

It all depends on context.

The word "foreigner" or "immigrant" on its own isn't offensive, but put "fuckin'" in front of it and it takes on a slightly different, xenophobic, tone.

They're neutral words; neither good nor bad - it's the context in which they are used that determines that.

[Dakhath]

Gaijin has some negative connotations which is why the Japanese introduced gaikokujin during the Meiji period as a neutral way of address people that were not Japanese. That said, being called a Gaijin is whatever, nothing to lose sleep over.

[RussianGoblin]

i dont see anything wrong with using gaijin 外人and laowai/guilao 老外/鬼佬
Asian countries dont have many non-asians living there and they just use those words to refer to foreigners/different race.

sometimes kids on the street will call me a waiguoren 外國人 when they see me - ”hey, look theres a waiguoren（foreigner)“
my friend calls me guilao sometimes.

[vindicatorx]

Yes? I'm annoyed by how lenient we treat foreigners who act like assholes, people excuse them because They don't know our culture, we have to be understanding.

Nah, it's not that they don't know your culture. They are just assholes, they are assholes here as well. Not all of us are ridiculously loud and obnoxious it's not a culture thing it's a their parents didn't teach them how to act in public

[Forgettable]

I don't know what any of those words mean, so.

[The King in Yellow]

Gaijin... literally meaing person from outside... or "person from another country"

How can you even remotely think it's a bad word.. seriously.

Gaijin has some negative connotations which is why the Japanese introduced gaikokujin during the Meiji period as a neutral way of address people that were not Japanese. That said, being called a Gaijin is whatever, nothing to lose sleep over.

It's basically the same word, one just being more formal than the other. To be fair, Gaijin is more aimed at westerners, gaikokujin towards all foreigners; including people from other Asian countries. But, the use of both words just gets tiresome after a while. Gaijin is just the general word for foreigner or outsider.

[kasuke06]

... it's now wrong to call a foreigner a foreigner?

[Beerbill Society]

It's not bad, in my country we have 'gringo' like all others it had a historical stigma with it, but today it's just a easy word to address foreigners.

Most people that use it don't use in a pejorative way.

[Mormolyce]

Well like any words it depends on intent. And of course, we can't read each others' minds so intent is always interpreted.

Use words like that at your own risk I suppose.

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Gaijin... literally meaing person from outside... or "person from another country"

It has historically been used as a pejorative.

Words mean more than simply their etymological roots. They have a context.

Gaijin in particular has a mixed usage in the modern world, I think. So how people regard you if you use it depends on the audience and what they think of you.

[Sunseeker]

Well, like a lot of words, it depends on the context they are used.

Mmm post 7 and we were done already. Clearly we need at least 5 more pages of discussion.

[The King in Yellow]

Well like any words it depends on intent. And of course, we can't read each others' minds so intent is always interpreted.

Use words like that at your own risk I suppose.

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It has historically been used as a pejorative.

Words mean more than simply their etymological roots. They have a context.

Gaijin in particular has a mixed usage in the modern world, I think. So how people regard you if you use it depends on the audience and what they think of you.

No it really has not... it literally means outsider... it is also used towards Japanese people not born in Japan, as there is no other word for foreigner or non-native Japanese person. It was perceived as pejorative by western people, the word itself is not.

[Flarelaine]

Gaijin just means foreigner, so I don't see anything degratory in it.

And yet the Japanese government is recommending using gaikokujin instead.