Talk:老外

Pinyin

Please add pinyin with tone marks, as in other similar articles on Chinese words. Badagnani 03:46, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

usage notes

Perhaps more should be said about where this term stands in the food chain of Chinese words for foreigner. I have always thought of 老外 in the same way as the Hawaiian word haole. That is to say, it can be neutral or offensive depending on the context. To my ears, from positive to negative:

1. 外国朋友 (wàiguó péngyou) very diplomatic
2. 外国人 (wàiguórén) somewhat neutral
3. 老外 (lǎowài) neutral (slightly humorous) or offensive depending on context
4. 洋鬼子 (yángguǐzi) literally "foreign devils"

A-cai 08:18, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

especially

@Justinrleung Hey, I saw your edit here [1] and I wanted to ask: how can we objectively decide whether or not "especially white people" applies here? Is there an established methodology? Baidu Baike [2] has: "中国人对外国人的称呼，从“夷—洋人—洋鬼子—外国人—老外”的变化过程，". Not necessarily white people? Yes. Not necessarily especially white people? Not sure- see 洋鬼子 (yángguǐzi) definition. Same source: "另外，老外的头发常常是白色或花白的，看着显老，所以我们称呼这些显老的头发发白的欧美人为“老外”。" --Geographyinitiative (talk) 00:53, 15 July 2020 (UTC)

Can you see where I'm coming from here? Is there any room for honest disagreement on my part, or am I clearly objectively mistaken? --Geographyinitiative (talk) 00:59, 15 July 2020 (UTC)

Asking native speakers about their perception of the word 老外? —Suzukaze-c (talk) 01:00, 15 July 2020 (UTC)

@Geographyinitiative: I just felt that it would not be weird to call non-white foreigner, e.g. a Black person, 老外. Not specifying is probably the best for this entry. — justin(r)leung _{{ (t...) | c=› }} 01:02, 15 July 2020 (UTC)

It is interesting question I think. I just don't want to accidentally sanitize the dictionary of useful content for political reasons especially without giving sources. Sensitive topic! An objective analysis or scholarly paper on this is needed. --Geographyinitiative (talk) 01:02, 15 July 2020 (UTC)

Definitely. Unless we find a reliable source, being less specific is the best option imo. — justin(r)leung _{{ (t...) | c=› }} 01:11, 15 July 2020 (UTC)

@Geographyinitiative, Justinrleung: Rejoice, for in about 30 seconds of searching I found an academic article (now added to the entry). It's not hard... —Μετάknowledge^{discuss/deeds} 01:24, 15 July 2020 (UTC)

@Metaknowledge: Nice, thanks! — justin(r)leung _{{ (t...) | c=› }} 01:26, 15 July 2020 (UTC)

"A white foreigner is likely to be called laowai, or "old foreigner," while a black foreigner is more likely to be described as heiren, or "black person."" The Atlantic --Geographyinitiative (talk) 16:14, 8 November 2020 (UTC)