| How do you feel when someone calls you Lao Wai (老外)? | |
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| Jul 14, 2011 04:24 |   |
 | How do Chinese people call those foreigners, especially westerners? Lao Wai. I don’t know when it happened but Lao Wai has been widely used. But it seems that some foreigners don’t like being called Lao Wai. According to a report from Xinhua News Agency, some foreigners feel offended or angry when someone calls them Lao Wai. They think Lao Wai is a bad word. How do you feel? |
| Jul 14, 2011 07:16 | #1 |
| Everyone must be called something. The name itself do not mean a thing, the way it is said and ment matters. Carlos |
| Jul 15, 2011 07:09 | #2 |
| I'm used to now and it doesn't bother me. I believe the Cantonese "guilo" is more often used as an insult? Despite living in Guangzhou I haven't been called guilo yet. Maybe either are better than 大鼻子(big nose)?  |
| Jul 17, 2011 01:52 | #3 |
| Guilo isn't a good word. It is "鬼佬" in Chinese. But you may understand why Chinese people call foreigners as 鬼佬 after you learn about the origin of this word. According to wiki, Guilo (鬼佬) appeared when foreign troops invaded China in the 19th century. I just translated from the Wiki Chinese version. Another word is 洋鬼子(Yang Gui Zi). Most foreigners don't like it either. 大鼻子 sounds lovely to me. I think it is much better than 鬼佬 and 洋鬼子. Most westerners have big noses. That's why Chinese people call them 大鼻子. |
| Jul 17, 2011 02:42 | #4 |
| I can live with 洋鬼子. My other half often calls me a little devil |
| Jul 17, 2011 05:22 | #5 |
| I get called Lao Wei all the time and I’ve never thought of it as an insult, just a way to describe me as not being Chinese. I’ve also been called Guilo, but it has been used as a joke between friends. Dodger. |
| Jul 17, 2011 21:02 | #6 |
| Dodger and Gaffer, Both of you have been to China several times and you have known much about Chinese people and their culture. So you can accept 老外 etc. But some guys who come to China for the first time may feel they are insulted when someone calls them 老外，洋鬼子 or 大鼻子. You know what I say when I talk with my friends? I always use 外国人 instead of 老外，洋鬼子 or 大鼻子. |
| Jul 18, 2011 17:24 | #7 |
| GUEST19140 | You can call me Lao Wei. You can call me Guilo. You can call me Yang Gui Zi. You can call me Mister. You can call me Yoo Hoo. But never, never, never call me late to dinner... |
| Jul 18, 2011 21:26 | #8 |
| GUEST9462 | I prefer to be called 外国人. It is neutral. 老外，洋鬼子，鬼佬 or 大鼻子 are bad words. I think that they just mock at me. |
| Jul 30, 2011 23:29 | #9 |
| For me its all right... I have problems with it when i go into a restaurant and the staff says (in english) "Oh my god" .... what is this supposed to mean? Good, i m almost 2 meter tall but its no reason to react like this. I was really offended by this and wanted to speak the manager. But my wife talked to me and said that i should let it go.. |
| Jul 31, 2011 00:45 | #10 |
| Quote:Originally Posted by NOBODY .... what is this supposed to mean? Good, i m almost 2 meter tall but its no reason to react like this. I was really offended by this and wanted to speak the manager. But my wife talked to me and said that i sh... Maybe it was the first time that the staff had seen a foreigner personally. He/she was surprised. And you are really a tall man. Most Chinese men are less than 1.8 meters. No wonder the staff was surprised. |
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