A 19th century children's book informs its readers that the Dutch are a very industrious race, and that Chinese children are very obedient to their parents.

An ethnic stereotype may be either an overly-simplified representation of the typical characteristics of members of an ethnic group or a falsehood that has been repeated so many times that is accepted by many people as generally true. The use of stereotypes often leads to misunderstanding and hurt feelings. Ethnic stereotypes appear in what appears to be an early nineteenth century childrens book, A Peep at the World. ... Ethnic stereotypes appear in what appears to be an early nineteenth century childrens book, A Peep at the World. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... // Basic characteristics There is some debate as to what constitutes childrens literature. ...

Some stereotypes, based on unbiased observations of actual behavior, can be accurate and useful:

• Japanese often bow when meeting others.
• Some ethnic groups have a different conception of "personal space" from Westerners. (Latinos and peoples from the Middle East exhibit a similar lack of conscientiousness of the notion of 'personal space'.) They often move in close and speak nearly in someone's face. This is often considered offensive among Westerners and Japanese, but in some countries it actually denotes conversational intimacy and respect.
• Germans (including Austrians & Swiss Germans) are punctilious, particularly about time. It is considered an insult to be even a few minutes late for an appointment.

Ethnic stereotypes are often described as either positive or negative. Negative stereotypes present inaccurate negative generalization of a group and thus are usually viewed as offensive — in many cases, negative stereotypes are expressed in the form of jokes: Perhaps the best example of this phenomenon are the "Polish jokes" that have gained a certain level of proverbiality in American popular culture, virtually all of which characterize Poles or Polish-Americans as either being invariably deficient intellectually, possessed of poor hygenic habits, or both. Personal space is the region surrounding each person, which if violated makes them feel uncomfortable. ... // Etymology Latino, feminine Latina derives from Latin (the adjectives latinus, latina), originally referring to Latium, the area of Rome, by aitiology derived from a king of the name Latinus. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... A joke is a short story or short series of words spoken or communicated with the intent of being laughed at or found humorous by the listener or reader. ...

There are many other examples, lists of which can be found at the following articles:

• List of common phrases based on stereotypes
• List of ethnic slurs
• Stereotype

Positive stereotypes describe inaccurate positive generalizations of a group. They may also be viewed as offensive as they may be viewed as putting an unfair burden or expectation on the members of the group in question, especially those who do not fit the stereotype. This is a list of common American and British Commonwealth words and phrases based on racial, ethnic, religious, regional or other stereotypes. ... The following is a list of ethnic slurs that are, or have been, used to refer to members of a given ethnicity (or in some cases, nationality, region or religion) in a derogatory or pejorative manner. ... Stereotypes are considered to be a group concept, held by one social group about another. ...

Examples of positive stereotypes:

• All Asian people are intelligent (Model minority).
• All Jews are good at handling money.
• All blacks are good at rapping or sports, especially basketball and football

These 'positive' stereotypes can also subtly play into negative stereotypes of the same group. For example in the case of blacks, the positive stereotype of athletic ability plays into the negative stereotype of not being intellectually advanced; it can also play into various sexual stereotypes about the African American male. In the case of Jews, the positive stereotype of being good with money plays into the negative stereotype of being greedy or acquisitive. As for the Asians, their positive intellectual stereotype is often associated with the socially awkward nerd image, a negative stereotype in Western society. The term Asian in a geographical sense simply refers to something or someone from Asia. ... Intelligence is a general mental capability that involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn. ... Cover of Newsweek featuring an article on the success of Asian American students Model minority refers to a minority ethnic, racial, or religious group whose members stereotypically achieve a higher degree of success than the population average. ... The term Blacks is often used in the West to denote race for persons whose progenitors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa. ... Basketball is very popular in U.S. colleges. ... Football is the name given to a number of different team sports. ... Nerd, as a stereotypical or archetypal designation, refers to people of above-average intelligence whose interests (often in science and mathematics) are not shared by mainstream society. ...

See also

• Racism
• Ethnic stereotypes in American media
• Ethnic stereotypes in popular culture
• Ethnic stereotypes in pornography