Gweilo
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Template:Wiktionarypar2 Gweilo (鬼佬; Jyutping: gwai2 lou2; Cantonese IPA: Template:IPA; Pinyin: guĭlăo; sometimes also spelt Gwailo) is a derogatory Cantonese term for Caucasian people (generally men). It literally means "ghost man" or "ghost chap"Template:Ref and arose to describe the pale complexion, the sometimes "red hair and green/blue eyes" (紅鬚綠眼) of Caucasians. When the term is translated into English, it is often translated as foreign devil. It is used so commonly by Cantonese speakers to refer to white people and westerners in general that its use is not always derogatory. It came into prevalent usage when China during was carved up and occupied by foreign powers e.g. Opium Wars and suffered great humiliation.
Gwailo is the most generic term, but variations include:
- To refer specifically to Caucasian women: gweipo (鬼婆, jyutping: gwai2 po4, literally: "ghost old-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 gwai has taken on the general meaning of "foreigner" or "westerner" rather than just Caucasian. This use can be seen in the following terms:
- To refer to a white foreigner: bakgwei (白鬼, jyutping: baak6 gwai2, literally: "white ghost")
- To refer to a black foreigner: huckgwei (黑鬼, jyutping: haak1 gwai2, literally: "black ghost")
These terms may also be considered slightly pejorative though they can be used in neutral contexts.
Some Caucasians living in Hong Kong now occasionally use gweilo to jokingly refer to themselves. This reflects a transformation in which an ethnic group begins referring to itself with a term which was originally considered an ethnic slur. (Compare use of nigga by African-Americans.)
Although the term has lost much of its original pejorative connotation, prior to the 1980s, the term was commonly prefaced by sei (死, jyutping: sei2, meaning: death, damnation) as in sei gweilo meaning "damned ghost man" and was a real term of abuse. Wishing death on someone is a powerful form of abuse in Cantonese.
Related terms
Image:Boxerspamphlet.png In Mandarin, guizi (鬼子, w:pinyin: guǐzi) is a similar term to gweilo. Guizi, however, can be used to refer to either the Japanese (日本鬼子 rìběn guǐzi, "Japan ghost") or Caucasians (洋鬼子 yáng guǐzi, "ocean ghost"). Laowai (老外 lǎowài "old out" or "old outsider"), usually used for Caucasians, is a less pejorative term in Mandarin than guizi.
