Look up 鬼佬, gweilo in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Gweilo (鬼佬; Jyutping: gwai2 lou2; Cantonese IPA: kwɐɪ₃₅ ləʊ₃₅; sometimes also spelled Gwailo) is a Cantonese term for Caucasian people (generally men). It literally means "ghost", "ghost man" or "ghost chap"^[1] and arose to describe the pale complexion, the sometimes "red hair and green/blue eyes" (紅鬚綠眼; Jyutping: hung4 seoi1 luk6 ngaan5) of Caucasians. When the term is translated into English, it is often translated as foreign devil. The term arose in the 19th century and is associated with the demonization of Europeans during the occupation of China by foreign powers. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... Jyutping (sometimes spelled Jyutpin) is a romanization system for Standard Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) in 1993. ... This article is about all of the Cantonese (Yue) dialects. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... This article is about all of the Cantonese (Yue) dialects. ... For the peoples actually from the Caucasus, see Peoples of the Caucasus. ... For other uses, see Ghost (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Ghost (disambiguation). ... Jyutping (sometimes spelled Jyutpin) is a romanization system for Standard Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) in 1993. ...

Gweilo is the most generic term, but variations include:

• To refer specifically to Caucasian women: gweipor (鬼婆; jyutping: gwai2 po4, literally: "ghost woman") which is also often spelt "gwai-poh"
• To refer specifically to Caucasian boys: gweijai (鬼仔; jyutping: gwai2 zai2, literally: "ghost boy")
• To refer specifically to Caucasian girls: gweimui (鬼妹; jyutping: gwai2 mui1, literally: "ghost younger-sister")

Due to its widespread use, the term gwei has taken on the general meaning of "foreigner" or "westerner" rather than just Caucasian. This use can be seen in the following terms: Jyutping (sometimes spelled Jyutpin) is a romanization system for Standard Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) in 1993. ... Jyutping (sometimes spelled Jyutpin) is a romanization system for Standard Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) in 1993. ... Jyutping (sometimes spelled Jyutpin) is a romanization system for Standard Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) in 1993. ...

• To refer to a white foreigner: bakgwei (白鬼; jyutping: baak6 gwai2, literally: "white ghost")
• To refer to a black foreigner: hakgwei (黑鬼; jyutping: haak1 gwai2, literally: "black ghost")

In 1999, CFMT-TV in Toronto had a cooking show named Gwai Lo Cooking. It featured a Cantonese-speaking Caucasian chef as the host, who was also the show's producer and the person who named the show. In response to some complaints, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled ^[2] that This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Jyutping (sometimes spelled Jyutpin) is a romanization system for Standard Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) in 1993. ... Look up black in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Jyutping (sometimes spelled Jyutpin) is a romanization system for Standard Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) in 1993. ... CFMT-TV is a Canadian television station, which broadcasts multicultural programming in Toronto, Ontario. ... The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council is an independent, non-governmental organization created by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters to administer standards established by its members, Canadas private broadcasters. ...

... While historically, "gwai lo" may have been used by Chinese people as a derogatory remark concerning foreigners, particularly Caucasian 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".

According to CFMT-TV, "Gwei Lo" was used as "a self-deprecating term of endearment". ^[3] Others, however, particularly foreigners living in Hong Kong, find the term demeaning and/or racist. However, it is also used by some non-Chinese (sometimes jocularly) to address themselves.

While "gwailo" is commonly used by Cantonese speakers in informal speech, in formal usage the more polite alternative sai yan (西人; jyutping: sai1 jan4, literally: "western person") is often preferred. Jyutping (sometimes spelled Jyutpin) is a romanization system for Standard Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) in 1993. ...

The term is often considered racist by non-Cantonese people.^[4] Many Cantonese speakers, however, frequently use the term to refer to white people and westerners in general and they consider the term non-derogatory, a controversial notion.^[5]. The term was commonly prefaced by sei (死; jyutping: sei2, meaning: death^[6], damned) as in sei gweilo, meaning "damned ghost man", and used pejoratively with sei as the pejorative suffix. Jyutping (sometimes spelled Jyutpin) is a romanization system for Standard Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) in 1993. ... “Dammit” redirects here. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with pejoration. ... A pejorative suffix is a suffix which attaches a negative meaning to the word or word-stem preceding it. ...

Related terms

A Boxer Rebellion pamphlet, circa 1899, that refers to foreigners as guizi.

In Mandarin, guizi (Chinese: 鬼子; pinyin: guǐzi) is a similar term to gweilo. Guizi, however, can be used to refer to either the Japanese (specifically, 日本鬼子 rìběn guǐzi "Japan ghost" or 东洋鬼子 dōngyáng guǐzi "east ocean ghost") or Caucasians (洋鬼子 yáng guǐzi "foreign ghost"). Laowai (老外 lǎowài "old out" or "old outsider") is a word usually used for Caucasians, and is a less pejorative term in Mandarin than guizi. "Ang Mo" (Hokkien) meaning 'red haired devil' Image File history File links Download high resolution version (744x1002, 654 KB) A pamphlet that promotes the Boxers during the Boxer Rebellion in China, circa 1899. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (744x1002, 654 KB) A pamphlet that promotes the Boxers during the Boxer Rebellion in China, circa 1899. ... Combatants Eight-Nation Alliance (ordered by contribution): Empire of Japan Russian Empire British Empire France United States German Empire Kingdom of Italy Austro-Hungarian Empire Righteous Harmony Society Qing Dynasty (China) Commanders Edward Seymour Alfred Graf von Waldersee Ci Xi Strength 20,000 initially 49,000 total 50,000-100... This article is on all of the Northern and Southwestern Chinese dialects. ... Pinyin, more formally called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... Look up laowai in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

See also

• Farang
• Gaijin
• Chinaman
• List of ethnic slurs

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The characters for Gaikokujin. ... A wrist spin ball bowled by a left handed bowler in cricket. ... A slur can be anything from an insinuation or critical remark to an insult. ...

References and external links

• Guizi lai le by Jiang Wen
• Is the term 'Gweilo' derogatory? - A discussion by expatriates