====================================================================== = List of ethnic slurs = ====================================================================== Introduction ====================================================================== The following is a list of ethnic slurs, ethnophaulisms, or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnic, national, or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or otherwise insulting manner. Some of the terms listed below (such as "gringo", "yank", etc.) can be used in casual speech without any intention of causing offense. The connotation of a term and prevalence of its use as a pejorative or neutral descriptor varies over time and by geography. For the purposes of this list, an 'ethnic slur' is a term designed to insult others on the basis of race, ethnicity, or nationality. Each term is listed followed by its country or region of usage, a definition, and a reference to that term. Ethnic slurs may also be produced as a racial epithet by combining a general-purpose insult with the name of ethnicity, such as "dirty Jew" or "Russian pig". Other common insulting modifiers include "dog" and "filthy"; such terms are not included in this list. A ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Abbie, Abe, Abie |United States, Canada |Jewish men |Originated before the 1950s. From the proper name 'Abraham.' | |ABC |East Asia |'American-born Chinese', Han or other Chinese (including Taiwanese) born and raised in the United States. |The term implies an otherness or lack of connection to their Chinese identity and (usually) Chinese language; however, it has been reappropriated by many Chinese Americans and used to convey positive connotations. | |ABCD |South Asians in the US |'American-Born Confused Desi', Indian Americans or other South Asian Americans, (desi) who were born in the United States. |Used chiefly by South Asian immigrants to imply confusion about cultural identity | |Abid/Abeed (plural) |Middle East and North Africa |Black people Arabic for slave, associated with the Arab slave trade | |Abo/Abbo |Australia |Australian Aboriginal person |Originally, this was simply an informal term for 'Aborigine', and was in fact used by Aboriginal people themselves (such as in the Aboriginal-run newspaper 'Abo Call') until it started to be considered offensive in the 1950s. Although 'Abo' is still considered quite offensive by many, the pejorative 'boong' is now more commonly used when the intent is deliberately to offend, as that word's status as an insult is unequivocal. | |Afro engineering, African engineering or nigger rigging |United States |African Americans |Shoddy, second-rate or unconventional, makeshift workmanship. Indirectly refers to black American people as worse or lower-valued than white American people when associating anything bad with them. | |Ah Chah |Hong Kong |South Asian people |From ; ; from "acchā" meaning "good" or "OK" in Hindi. | |Ali Baba |United States |Iraqi people |An Iraqi suspected of criminal activity. | |Alligator bait, 'gator bait |United States (chiefly southern U.S.) |Black people, especially black children |Dates from early 20th century or before; implies that African Americans are good for nothing except being used to bait alligators | |Alpine Serb |Serbo-Croatian: Alpski Srbin (ex-Yugoslavia) |People of Slovenian origin. | |AmaLawu, AmaQheya |South Africa |Khoisans and Cape Coloureds or Coloureds |Xhosa words for Hottentot | |Ang mo |Malaysia, Singapore |European people, especially the Dutch |Hokkien for "red hair" referring to Dutch people from the 17th century and expanded to encompass other Europeans by the 19th century. It has become a neutral term, though is sometimes seen as derogatory. | |Ann |United States, Canada |White women, "white-acting" black women |While Miss Ann, also just plain 'Ann', is a derisive reference to white women, it is also applied to any black woman who is deemed to be acting as though she is white. | |Annamite, mites |French, English |Vietnamese people | |Ape |United States |Black people |Referring to outdated theories ascribing cultural differences between racial groups as being linked to their evolutionary distance from chimpanzees, with which humans share common ancestry. | |Apple |United States, Canada |Native Americans |First used in the 1970s. Someone who is "red on the outside, white on the inside". Used primarily by other Native Americans to indicate someone who has lost touch with their cultural identity. | | / () |Israel |Arabs |Arabs, derived from Hebrew "Aravi" (Arab). | |Argie / Argies (plural) |United Kingdom |Argentine people |Extensively used by the British soldiers during the Falklands War in 1982. | |Armo |United States |Armenian/Armenian American |Especially used in Southern California. | |Asing, Aseng |Indonesia |Non-Indonesian people, especially Chinese people |Insult to non-Indonesian citizen, from "[orang] asing" (foreigner) that rhymed with "Aseng" (Chinese name). This word is often directed at Chinese people due to Indonesia's relationship with the PRC. | |Pronounced like "AshkeNa**tz**i". Used mostly by Mizrachi Jews. | () |Israel |Ashkenazi Jews | |Aunt Jemima/Aunt Jane/Aunt Mary/Aunt Sally |United States |Black women |A black woman who "kisses up" to whites, a "sellout", female counterpart of 'Uncle Tom'. | B ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Bachicha |Chile |Italian people |Possibly derived from the Italian word 'Baciccia', a nickname for 'Giambattista'. | |Baiano |Brazil |Northeastern Brazilian people |A person born in Bahia, one of the 9 states in the Northeast Region of Brazil. As a slur, it refers generically to any Northeastern person. Used mainly in São Paulo, the term is related to the Northeastern immigration of the second half of the 20th century. | |Bamboula |France |Black people | |Banaan |Suriname |Black people, people of African descent |Dutch: Banana. A slur that is used to refer to black people, people of African heritage. It derives from the colour of a banana's skin, which is yellow or brown, and is therefore seen as an offensive way to describe black and coloured people's skin colour. | |Balija |Turkey, the Balkans |Bosnian people |An ethnic Bosniak or a member of the Bosnian diaspora. | |Banana |United States, Canada |East or Southeast Asian people |"Yellow on the outside, white on the inside". Used primarily by East or Southeast Asians for other East- or Southeast Asians or Asian Americans who are perceived as assimilated into mainstream American culture. Similar to 'Apple'. | |Banderite |Poland |Ukrainians |The term 'Banderite' was originally used to refer to the ultra-nationalist wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, in reference to its leader Stepan Bandera. In Poland, the term "banderowiec" is used in connection with the massacres of Poles in Volhynia by the UPA. The term became a crucial element of Soviet propaganda and was used as a pejorative description of Ukrainian nationalists, or sometimes western Ukrainians or Ukrainian-speakers. Today the term is used in Russian propaganda to associate Ukrainian identity with Nazism. | |Barbarian |Greece |Non-Greek people |Someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. βάρβαρος ('barbaros' pl. βάρβαροι 'barbaroi'). In Ancient Greece, the Greeks used the term towards those who did not speak Greek and follow classical Greek customs. | |Beaner / Beaney |United States |Hispanic or Latino people, especially Mexicans |The term originates from the use of frijoles pintos and other beans that can be generally found in Mexican food or other Hispanic and Latino foods. | |Bimbo |German |Africans, people with very dark skin in general |The origin of this term is disputed, but experts suggest that it either derives from the Central African town of Bimbo, or from the former state of Bimbia, which was annexed by the German colony of Kamerun. | |Bisaya |Metro Manila, Philippines |Ethnic Visayans, especially Cebuano-speakers living in Metro Manila. Sometimes refer to other ethnicities who came from countryside in provinces |Visayans in Metro Manila face discrimination for various reasons, most notably for the way they speak Tagalog in their accent. | |Black Buck, black brute, brown buck or brown brute |United States |Black men |Originating in the post-Reconstruction United States, it was used to describe black men who absolutely refused to bend to the law of white authority and were seen as irredeemably violent, rude, and lecherous. | |Bluegum |United States |African Americans |An African American perceived as being lazy and unwilling to work. | | |France; United States; United Kingdom |German people |Shortened from the French term 'caboche dure', meaning "hard head" or "stubborn" with the influence of German surname Bosch. | |'Boeotian' |Athenians |Boeotian Greek people |Referring to the supposed stupidity of the inhabitants of the neighboring Boeotia region of Greece. | |'Boerehater' / Boer-hater / Boer hater |South Africa; United Kingdom |British people |Refers to a person who hates, prejudices, or criticizes the Boers, or Afrikaners - historically applied to British people who held anti-Boers sentiments. | |Bog / Bogtrotter / Bog-trotter |United Kingdom, Ireland, United States |Irish people |A person of common or low-class Irish ancestry. | |Bogate |Chile |Yugoslav people |The expression is said to come from the Yugoslav interjection 'Hasti boga!' | | |United States, Canada |Bohemian people |A lower-class immigrant of Central, Eastern, or Southeastern European descent. Originally referred to those of Bohemian (now Czech Republic) descent. It was commonly used toward Central European immigrants during the early 20th century. Probably from Bohemian + a distortion of Hungarian. See also 'hunky'. | |Bong |India |Bengali people | |Boong / bong / bung |Australia |Aboriginal Australians |[First used in 1847 by JD Lang, 'Cooksland', 430]. Boong, pronounced with ʊ (like the vowel in 'bull'), is related to the Australian English slang word 'bung', meaning "dead", "infected", or "dysfunctional". From 'bung, to go bung' "Originally to die, then to break down, go bankrupt, cease to function [Ab. 'bong' dead]". The 1988 edition of the 'Australian National Dictionary' gives its origin in the Wemba word for "man" or "human being". However, Frederick Ludowyk of the Australian National Dictionary Centre wrote in 2004 that 'bong' meaning "dead" is not a Wiradjuri word, but may have been picked up or assumed from the word "bung" which was originally a Yagara word which was used in the pidgin widely spoken across Australia in colonial times. | |Boonga / boong / bunga / boonie |New Zealand |Pacific Islanders |Likely derived from the similar Australian slur | |Bootlip |United States |African American people | | |France |Arabian people | |Bounty bar |United Kingdom |Black people |A black person who is considered to be behaving like a white person (i.e. dark on the outside, white on the inside). | | |Romania |Hungarian people |Used especially on ones born in Romania. Possibly derived from the Moldavian Csángó dialect pronunciation of meaning Opanak, a type of rustic footwear. | |Brownie |United States, New Zealand, and Australia |Brown-skinned people, an Asian |Used in the 1850s-1960s; in Australia it was used for an Aboriginal Australian or someone Japanese; in New Zealand, a Māori | |Buckwheat |United States |Black people |The name of a black character that appeared in the 'Our Gang' (Little Rascals) short films. Today it is used to refer to the curly hair of a black person. | |Buddhahead |United States |Asian people |Also used by mainland Japanese Americans to refer to Hawaiian Japanese Americans since World War II. | |Buckra, Bakra |United States, West Indies |White people from Sub-Saharan African languages | |Bulbash |Russia, Ukraine |Belarusians |Derived from Belarusian word "bulba" (potatoes), based on the fact that potatoes are a very common ingredient in Belarusian cuisine. | |Bule |Indonesia |White people or foreigner |Derived from an archaic Indonesian word for albino. | |Bumbay |Philippines |People from India |From Bombay | |Burrhead / Burr-head / Burr head |United States |Black people |Referencing Afro-textured hair. | |Bushy (s.) / Bushies, Amadushie (p.) |South Africa |Khoisans |Historically used against the Khoisan people in Southern Africa, referring to their [[nomadic | C ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Cabbage Eater |German and Russian people | |Canaca |Chile |Chinese and Japanese people |'Canaca' is a slur originating in Oceania. | |Camel jockey / camel dung-shoveler |Middle Eastern people | |Carcamano |Brazil |Italian people |Used during the early 20th century, during the Second wave of Italian immigration to Brazil. | |Chankoro |Japan |Chinese people |, a Japanese reference to a Chinese person. | |rowspan="2"|Charlie |United States |White Americans |Used in the 1960s-1970s. White people as a reified collective oppressor group, similar to 'The Man' or 'The System'. | |United States |Vietnamese people |Vietnam War Slang term used by American troops as a shorthand term for Vietnamese guerrillas, derived from the verbal shorthand for "Victor Charlie", the NATO phonetic alphabet for VC, the abbreviation for Viet Cong. The (regular) North Vietnamese Army was referred to as "Mr. Charles". | |China Swede |United States |Finns |Derogatory term for Finnish immigrants to the United States, particularly in Minnesota and Michigan. | |Chee-chee, Chi-chi |South Asia |Eurasian Mixed-race people, especially Anglo-Indians |Probably derived from Hindi 'chi-chi fie!', literally, dirt. | |Cheese-eating surrender monkeys |United States |French people |The term originated with a 1995 episode of 'The Simpsons'. | |Chefur (čefur) |Slovenia |Non-Slovenian people of former Yugoslavia (Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, Montenegrins, Macedonians) | |Used in Filipino/Tagalog and other Philippine languages, which derived it from the late 19th century Cebuano Bisaya street children's limerick, , where "Intsik"/"Insik" is derived from the Philippine Hokkien term, , while "wakang"/"gwakang" is derived from the Philippine Hokkien term, , while "kaon"/"kaun" is from the Cebuano Bisaya term, , while "kalibang" is from the Cebuano Bisaya term, . |Tsekwa / Chekwa |Philippines |Chinese Filipino people | |Chernozhopy |Russia |Indigenous people from the Caucasus, e.g. from Chechnya or Azerbaijan. |черножопый, or 'chornaya zhopa', meaning "black-arse" in Russian. | |Chilote |Argentina |Chilean people | |Chinaman |United States, Canada |Chinese people A calque of the Chinese 中國人. It was used in the gold rush and railway-construction eras in western United States when discrimination against the Chinese was common. | |Ching chong |United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, Philippines |Chinese people |Mocking the language of or a person of perceived Chinese descent. | |Chink |United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, India, Philippines |Chinese people | |Chinky |Mainland India |Northeast Indian people |The sound "chin" refers to China. The slur refers to the shared facial features of Northeast Indians and ethnically Chinese peoples. | |Chonky |Asian people |Refers to a person of Asian heritage with "white attributes", in either personality or appearance. | |Christ-killer |Jewish people |An allusion to Jewish deicide. | |Choc-ice |Black people |A person who is figuratively "black on the outside, white on the inside". | |rowspan="2"|Cholo |Latin America, Southwestern United States |Indigenous or Mestizo people |It may be derogatory depending on circumstances. | |Chile |Bolivian people, Peruvian people | |Chon/Baka-Chon |Japan |Korean people | |Chow |Australia |Chinese people |Used as early as 1864, rare now | | Chuchmek () / Chechmek () |Russia / Russian-speaking regions |Middle / Central Asian people (in rare instances people from the Caucasus), in a broader sense Non-Russians, Non-European-looking people |From Chichimec - a derogatory term used by the Aztecs and other Central American Indians to describe the Chichimecs as "uncivilized, aggressive savages", similar to how the ancient Romans called Germanic tribes "barbarians". This name, with its derogatory meaning, was later adopted and brought to Europe by Spanish conquerors. | |Chug |Canada |Canadian aboriginal people |See Chugach for the native people. | |Chukhna |Russia |Finnic people | |Churka () |Russia |Western and Central Asians |1. Chock of wood 2. Ignorant person | |Ciapaty, ciapak |Poland |Middle Eastern, North African, South Asian, and Caucasian people. Derived from chapati. | |Cigányforma |Hungary |Persons with the combination of black hair with brown eyes, regardless of ethnicity |Used in 17th century Hungary; literal meaning is "gypsy form" | |Cigány népek |Hungary |Ethnic groups or nations where the combination of black hair with brown eyes is dominant |Used in 17th century Hungary; literal meaning is "gypsy folks" | |Cioară |Romania |Romani people and Black people |Means crow | |Cina / Cokin |Indonesia |Chinese people |Use in media has been banned since 2014 under Keppres ('Keputusan Presiden', lit. Presidential Decree) No. 12 of 2014, replaced by 'Tiongkok' (from Zhongguo 中国) or Tionghoa (from Zhonghua 中华). The Keppres even bans use of "China" in media and formal use. | |rowspan="3"|Coconut |rowspan="3"|United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia |Hispanics/Latinos, South/Southeast Asians |Named after the coconut, in the American sense, it derives from the fact that a coconut is brown on the outside and white on the inside. A person of Hispanic/Latino or South/Southeast Asian descent who is seen as being assimilated into white American culture. | |South Asians |A brown person of South Asian descent is perceived as fully assimilated into Western culture. | |Pacific Islander | |Coño |Chile |Spanish people Used in to refer to Spanish people given the perception that they recurrently use the vulgar interjection 'coño' (lit. "cunt"). | |Coolie |United States, Canada |Asian people, usually Chinese, and Indo-Caribbean people |Unskilled Asian laborer (originally used in the 19th century for Chinese railroad laborers). Possibly from Mandarin "苦力" 'ku li' or Hindi 'kuli', "day laborer." Also racial epithet for Indo-Caribbean people, especially in Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and South African Indians. | |rowspan="3"|Coon |United States, Commonwealth |Black people |Slur popularized by Coon songs played at Minstrel show. Originally associated in the 1830s with the U.S. Whig Party who used a raccoon as their emblem. The Whigs were more tolerant towards blacks than other main parties. After the party folded the term "coon" evolved from political slang into a racial slur. Within African American communities, the word has been used to refer to a black person who is allegedly a "sellout". | |Australia |Aboriginal Australian | |New Zealand |Pacific Islander | |Coonass, Coon-ass |United States |Cajun people |Not to be confused with the French 'connasse', meaning cunt. | |Coreano |Chile |Chinese and Japanese people | |Cotton picker |United States |Individuals of African descent, including African-Americans and Cape Coloureds or Coloureds |Historically referred to someone who harvested cotton by hand, often used in the context of American slavery when enslaved black people were forced to pick cotton on plantations. The phrase originally referred to the actual occupation of picking cotton on plantations in the American South, but that it later became a racial slur used to denigrate people of African descent, including African-Americans and Cape Coloureds or Coloureds. | |Cracker |United States |White people, especially poor Appalachian and Southern people |Entered general use in the United States as a pejorative for white people, though may be used neutrally or positively in context. Can specifically refer to white settlers, as with Florida or Georgia crackers. | |Crow |United States |Black people | |Crucco (m.), crucca (f.) |Italy |German people |The name was firstly given during the First World War to the troops of the Austro-Hungarian Army of Croatian and Slovenian ethnicity. Later the term was used to indicate the Germans. | |Culchie |Ireland |Rural Irish people |Applied by townspeople or city folk as a condescending or pejorative reference to people from rural areas. | |Curepí |Paraguay |Argentines |A common term used by people from Paraguay for people from Argentina, it means "pig's skin". | |Curry-muncher |Australia, Africa, New Zealand, United States, Canada |South Asian People | |Cushi, Kushi (כושי) |Israel |Dark-skinned people |Term originated from Kushite, referring to an individual from the Ancient Kingdom of Kush. This was also mentioned in the Hebrew Bible generally used to refer to people usually of African descent. Originally merely descriptive, in present-day Israel it increasingly assumed a pejorative connotation and is regarded as insulting by Ethiopian Israelis; and by non-Jewish, Sub-Saharan African migrant workers and asylum seekers in Israel. | |Czarnuch (m.), czarnucha (f.) |Poland |Black people | D ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |rowspan=1|Dago, Dego |United States, Commonwealth |Italians, Spaniards, Greeks, Portuguese or Maltese people; in the United States, primarily used for Italians and people of Italian descent |Possibly derived from the Spanish name "Diego" | |Dal Khor |Pakistan |Indians and Pakistanis (specifically Punjabis) |The term literally translates to "dal eater", connoting the supposedly higher emphasis on pulses and vegetables in the diet of countryside Punjabis. | |Dalle, Batak Dalle |Indonesia |Batak people |Dalle is a pejorative which means "Batak people who can't speak Batak" or "Batak people who don't (want to) know about Batak culture" | |darky / darkey / darkie |Worldwide |Black people |According to lexicographer Richard A. Spears, the word "darkie" used to be considered mild and polite, before it took on a derogatory and provocative meaning. | |Dhoti |Nepal |Indian or Madheshi people |As reference to their indigenous clothing Dhoti worn by people of Indian subcontinent. | |Dink |United States |Southeast Asian, particularly Vietnamese people. |Origin: 1965-70, Americanism. Also used as a disparaging term for a North Vietnamese soldier or guerrilla in the Vietnam War. (Note: If rendered in dual-income, no kids' [a couple with two incomes and no child-raising expenses]) | |Dogan, dogun |Canada |Irish Catholics |19th century on; origin uncertain: perhaps from 'Dugan', an Irish surname. | |Dothead, Dot |United States |Hindu women |In reference to the bindi. | |Dune coon |United States |Arabian people |equivalent of 'sand nigger' (below). | E ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Eight ball, 8ball |Black people |Referring to the black ball in pool. Slang, usually used disparagingly. | |Engelsman |South Africa |White South Africans of British descent whose first language is English |Afrikaans: Englishman. A derogatory term used to refer to white South Africans of British descent whose first language is English. This is due to historical and cultural tensions between English-speaking and Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans, which were fueled by British colonialism and apartheid policies. Some Afrikaans-speaking people view the English-speaking minority as elitist and condescending, and the use of the term "Engelsman" reflects these attitudes. | |Eyetie |United States, United Kingdom |Italian people |Originated through the mispronunciation of "Italian" as "Eye-talian". Slang usually used disparagingly (especially during World War II). | F ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Fankui, fan-kui, fangui, gui-zi, guizi, gui |Chiefly Southeast Asia |Non-Chinese native people of Southeast Asia |These words (and any variations of it) are extremely derogatory, since it means anyone other than Chinese have terrible attitude and uncivilised idiots. (Gui or Guizi itself means demon) | |Farang khi nok |Thailand |Poor white people |Is slang commonly used as an insult to a person of white race, equivalent to white trash, as 'khi' means feces and 'nok' means bird, referring to the white color of bird-droppings. | |Fenian |Northern Ireland, Scotland |Irish Catholics |Derived from the Fenian Brotherhood. | |Festival children () |USSR (from late 1950s) |Children of mixed ancestry, usually with a father who is black or (more rarely) other non-European origins |It is believed that the first noticeable appearance of black and or mixed ancestry children appeared after the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students of 1957. The term was often used ironically and sometimes in a mildly derogatory fashion. This term is currently not used. | |Feuj (verlan for juif) |France |Jewish people | |Fidschi(de) |East Germany |East or Southeast Asian people, particularly Vietnamese people |German for Fiji, used to refer to anyone who looks East or Southeast Asian, particularly those of Vietnamese origin. | |Fjellabe |Denmark |Norwegian people |Means mountain ape. Jocularly used by Danes mostly in sports. From the 1950s. Norway is mountainous while Denmark is flat without mountains. | |Flip |United States |Filipino people | |Franchute |Chile |French people | |Frenk |Ashkenazi Jews |Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews |Derived from Franks (as a reference to Western Europeans), due to the fact Sephardi Jews are Judaeo-Spanish speakers. | |Fritz, , , , |United Kingdom, France, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Latvia |German people |from 'Friedrich' (Frederick). | |Frog, Froggy, Frogeater, Froschfresser |Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Germany |Dutch people (formerly) French and French Canadian people (currently) |Before the 19th century, referred to the Dutch (as they were stereotyped as being marsh-dwellers). When France became Britain's main enemy, replacing the Dutch, the epithet was transferred to them, because of the French penchant for eating frogs' legs (see comparable French term 'Rosbif'). Also known in Slavic countries, but only towards the (mainland) French, see Polish 'żabojad', Ukrainian 'zhaboyid' (жабоїд), Russian 'lyagushatnik' (лягушатник); as well as in Basque 'frantximant'. | |Fuzzy-Wuzzy |United Kingdom |Hadendoa people | G ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |rowspan="2"|Gabacho |Spain, Chile |French people |From Occitan 'gavach' meaning "one who speaks wrong." | |Mexico |American people, French people |Neutral or pejorative depending on context. | |Gabel |Albania, Kosovo |Romani people |Expression of disdain for someone, with the setting "Maxhup" | |Gadjo |Non-Romani people |Technically a term for a person who does not possess Romanipen, it usually refers to non-Romanis and Romanis who do not live within Romani culture. | |Gaijin (外人) |Japan |Foreigners, espesically those of non-East Asian origin | |Galla |Ethiopia |Oromo people or others in Ethiopia and Somalia |Used since 1670 | |Gam, Gammat |South Africa |Cape Coloured or Coloured people |It means "a person who is low or of inferior status" in Afrikaans. | |Gans (Ганс) |USSR |German people, or more uncommonly Latvian people |The term originated among the Soviet troops in World War II, coming from Russified form of the German first name Hans. | |Garoi |Romania |Romani people |It means crow. | |Geomdung-i (검둥이) |South Korea |Black people |Korean for coon | |Gexhë |Kosovo |Serbs of Šumadija |Derogatory expression for the Serbs of southern Serbia, of Šumadija. | |Gin |Australia |Aboriginal woman | |Gin jockey |Australia |White people A white person having casual sex with an Aboriginal woman. | |Godon |France |English people |An antiquated pejorative expression. Possibly a corruption of "God-damn". | |Golliwog |United States, Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand |Darkskinned people, especially African-Caribbeans |An expression which originally was a children's literature character and type of black doll but which eventually came to be used as a jibe against people with dark skin. | |Gook, Gook-eye, Gooky |United States |East and Southeast Asians, but particularly Koreans |The earliest recorded example is dated 1920. Used especially for enemy soldiers. Its use has been traced to United States Marines serving in the Philippines in the early 20th century. It gained widespread notice as a result of the Korean and Vietnam wars. | |Goombah |United States |Italian people, Italian-Americans |Initially applied to Italian or Italian-American men in general, it now also specifically carries connotations of stereotypical vulgar machismo and Italian Mafia or Italian-American Mafia involvement among ethnic Italians and Italian-Americans. However, "goombah" is also used among Italian-Americans themselves to refer to a friend or comrade; the word becomes pejorative mostly when used by a non-Italian to refer to an ethnic Italian or Italian-American in a derogatory or patronizing way rather than as a friendly term of address among Italian-Americans. Originates from the Southern Italian word 'cumpa' or 'cumpari' and the Standard Italian equivalent, 'compare', meaning "godfather". | |Gora (, ), Goro () |India |Europeans and other light-skinned people |The word 'gorā' simply means "fair-skinned" in Hindi and other Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Sanskrit 'gaura' (गौर "white, shining"). However, it has recently been used as a racial epithet for White people. "Gori" is the feminine form. | |Goy, Goyim, Goyum |Hebrew |Non-Jewish people |A Hebrew biblical term for "Nation" or "People". By Roman times it had also acquired the meaning of "non-Jew". In English, use may be benign, to refer to anyone who isn't Jewish, or controversial, as it can have pejorative connotations. | |Grago, Gragok (shrimp) |Eurasians, Kristang people |A term for Eurasians, and specifically for the Kristang people of Malaysia, many of whom were traditionally engaged in shrimp fishing. It often has pejorative connotations, especially when used by outsiders, though in recent generations members of the community have to some degree tried to reclaim the term. | |Greaseball, Greaser |United States |Mediterranean/Southern European and Hispanic people, and especially Italian people. |'Greaseball' often generally refers to Italians or a person of Italian descent. Meanwhile, though it may be used as a shortening of 'greaseball' to refer to Italians, 'greaser' has been more often applied to Hispanic Americans or Mexican Americans. However, 'greaseball' (and to a lesser extent, 'greaser') can also refer to any person of Mediterranean/Southern European descent or Hispanic descent, including Greeks, Spaniards, and the Portuguese, as well as Latin Americans. 'Greaser' also refer to members of a 1950-1960s subculture which Italian Americans and Hispanic Americans were stereotyped to be a part of. "Greaser" in reference to the subculture has taken on a less derogatory connotation since the 1950s. | Greenhorn |United States, New England region, especially Massachusetts. |Portuguese people |Can also be used in a non-derogatory context when not referring to the Portuguese to mean anyone inexperienced at something. | rowspan="3" |Gringo |Spanish speakers, mostly Latin America |English speakers |Sometimes used by Latino Americans. In Mexico, the term means an American. Likely from the Spanish word "griego", meaning Greek (similar to the English expression "It's all Greek to me"). | |Brazil |Foreigners |A colloquial neutral term for any foreigner, regardless of race, ethnicity or origin (including Portuguese people), or for a person whose native language is not Portuguese (including people whose native language is Spanish). | |Southern Brazil |Italian descendants |A colloquial neutral term for Italian descendants of southern Brazil, specially in Rio Grande do Sul | |Groid |United States |Black people |Derived from "negroid". | |Gub, Gubba |Australia |White people |Aboriginal term for white people | |Guizi (鬼子) |Mainland China |Non-Chinese |Basically the same meaning as the term gweilo used in Hong Kong. More often used when referring foreigners as military enemies, such as 'riben guizi' (日本鬼子, Japanese devils, because of Second Sino-Japanese War), 'meiguo guizi' (美国鬼子, American devils, because of Korean War). | |Guido, Guidette |United States |Italian Americans |Derives from the Italian given name, Guido. Guidette is the female counterpart. Used mostly in the Northeastern United States as a stereotype for working-class urban Italian Americans. | |Guinea, Ginzo |Italian people |Most likely derived from "Guinea Negro", implying that Italians are dark or swarthy-skinned like the natives of Guinea. The diminutive "Ginzo" probably dates back to World War II and is derived from Australian slang picked up by United States servicemen in the Pacific Theater. | |Gummihals |Switzerland |German people |Literally "rubber neck" | |Gusano |Cuba |Cuban exiles after the revolution |Literally "worm" | |Gweilo, gwailo, kwai lo (鬼佬) |Southern Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau |White men |Loosely translated as "foreign devil"; more literally, might be "ghost dude/bloke/guy/etc". 'Gwei' means "ghost". The color white is associated with ghosts in China. A 'lo' is a regular guy (i.e. a fellow, a chap, or a bloke). Once a mark of xenophobia, the word is now in general, informal use. | |Gwer |North Africa |White people | |Gyp/Gip |Romani people |Shortened version of "gypsy" | |Gyopo, Kyopo (교포) |Korea |Estranged Korean people |Literally "'sojourner'". A Korean who was born or raised overseas, particularly the United States. (see also 'banana' in this page) | |rowspan"2"|Gypsy, Gyppo, gippo, gypo, gyppie, gyppy, gipp |United Kingdom, Australia |Egyptian people and Romani people |Derived from "Egyptian", Egypt being mistakenly considered these people's origin. | H ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Hairyback |South Africa |Afrikaners | |Hajji, Hadji, Haji |United States Military |Iraqi people |May also be used to describe anyone from a predominantly Muslim country. Derived from the honorific 'Al-Hajji', the title given to a Muslim who has completed the 'Hajj' (pilgrimage to Mecca). | |Half-breed |Multi-ethnic people |Métis is a French term, also used in Canadian English, for a half-breed, and mestizo is the equivalent in Spanish, although these are not offensive 'per se'. | |Half-caste |England, Australia |Mixed race (usually between Australian Aboriginal and white people in Australian parlance) |Originally used as a legal and social term. | |Haole |United States, Hawaiian |Non-Hawaiian people, almost always white people. |Can be used neutrally, dependent on context. | |Heeb, Hebe |United States |Jewish people |Derived from the word "Hebrew." | |Heigui () |China, Taiwan |Black people |Literally means "black ghost" or "black devil", used similarly to English phrases such as nigga or nigger. | |Heukhyeong (흑형) |South Korea |Black people |Korean: Black brother. A Korean ethnic slur sometimes for black people. | |Hevosmies |Finland |Romani people |From 'hevos-' + 'mies', referring to Gypsy horsemanship. | |Hike |United States |Italian immigrants |Sometimes used with or to distinguish from "Hunk" ("Hunky"). | |Hillbilly |United States |Appalachian or Ozark Americans | |rowspan="2"|Honky, honkey, honkie |United States |White people |Derived from an African American pronunciation of "hunky," the disparaging term for a Hungarian laborer. The first record of its use as an insulting term for a white person dates from the 1950s. | |New Zealand |European New Zealanders |Used by Māori to refer to New Zealanders of European descent. | |Hori |New Zealand |Māori From the formerly common Maorified version of the English name 'George'. | |Hottentot, Hotnot |South Africa |Khoisans and Cape Coloureds or Coloureds |A derogatory term historically used to refer to the Khoisan people of Southern Africa and their descendants, coloureds. It originated from the Dutch settlers who arrived in the region in the 17th century. | Houtkop |South Africa Black people Literally "wooden head" | |Huan-a, Huana |Taiwan and Southeast Asia |Non-Chinese native people |This word is derogatory because 'huan-a' means "foreigner" which portrays non-Chinese natives as not human. In Taiwan, it carries the connotation of "aborigine". In Indonesia, it refers to non-Chinese native people descended from the many ethnolinguistic groups native to Indonesia commonly known by the term pribumi (e.g., Javanese, Sundanese, Batak, and Buginese). | |Huinca |Argentina, Chile |Non-Mapuche Chileans, non-Mapuche Argentines |Mapuche term dating back at least to the Conquest of Chile. | |Hujaa () |Mongolia |Chinese people | |rowspan="2"|Hun |United States, United Kingdom |German people |(United States, United Kingdom) Germans, especially German soldiers; popular during World War I. Derived from a speech given by Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany to the German contingent sent to China during the Boxer Rebellion in which he exhorted them to "be like Huns" (i.e., savage and ruthless) to their Chinese enemy. | |Ireland |Protestants and British soldiers A Protestant in Northern Ireland or historically, a member of the British military in Ireland ("Britannia's huns"). | |Hunky, Hunk |United States |Central European laborers. |It originated in the coal regions of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, where Poles and other immigrants from Central Europe (Hungarians (Magyar), Rusyns, Slovaks) came to perform hard manual labor in the mines. | |Hymie |United States |Jewish people |Derived from the personal name Hyman (from the Hebrew name Chayyim). Jesse Jackson provoked controversy when he referred to New York City as "Hymietown" in 1984. Has also been spelled "Heimie", as a reflection of popular Jewish last names ending in -heim. | I ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Ikey / ike / iky: a Jew [from 'Isaac'] |Jewish people |Derived from the name 'Isaac', an important figure in Hebrew culture. | |Ikey-mo / ikeymo |Jewish people |Derived from the names 'Isaac' and 'Moses', two important figures in Hebrew culture. | |Indon |Malaysia, Singapore |Indonesian people |Clipping of 'Indonesia.' | |Indognesial / Indonesial |Malaysia |Indonesian people |Which similar to "Indon" term mixed with "Dog" and "" (Malay word for "Damn"). | |Intsik |Philippines |Chinese Filipino people Used in Filipino/Tagalog and other Philippine languages. Based on the Philippine Hokkien term, . | |Inyenzi |Rwanda |Tutsi people |A person of the Tutsi ethnic group in Africa. Literally means "Cockroach" and reportedly derives from how Tutsi rebels would attack at night and retreat, being hard to kill, like a cockroach. Most notably came to worldwide prominence around the time of the Rwanda genocide, as it was used by the RTLM in order to incite genocide. | |Injun |United States |Native Americans Corruption of "Indian" | |Itaker |Germany |Italian people |Formerly used as a nickname for Italian soldiers and the since the 1960s as a slur for Italian immigrants. | J ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Jackeen |Ireland |Dublin people |Believed to be in reference to the Union Jack, the flag of the United Kingdom. By adding the Irish diminutive suffix -een meaning little to Jack thereby ¨meaning "Little Jack" and implying "little Englishmen". It was more commonly used to separate those of Anglo-Irish heritage from those of Gaelic heritage. While the term is applied to Dublin people alone; today, it was applied in the past as a pejorative term against all city dwellers and not just those in Dublin. | |Jakun |Malaysia |Unsophisticated people, from the Malay name of an indigenous ethnic group. | |Jamet, Jamet kuproy |Indonesia |Javanese people |Jamet stands for 'Jawa metal' (a metalhead Javanese), while kuproy stands for 'kuli proyek' (construction workers). | |Japa Brazil Japanese people |Usually an affectionate way of referring to Japanese people (or, more generally, East Asian people), although it may be considered a slur. This term is never censored (as a slur typically would be) when it appears in mass media. | |rowspan="2"|Jap |rowspan="2"|United States |Japanese people |Mostly found use during World War II, post-WWII. | Jewish women Usually written in all capital letters as an acronym for "Jewish-American princess," a stereotype of certain Jewish American females as materialistic or pampered. | |Japie, yarpie |White, rural South Africans |Derived from 'plaasjapie', "farm boy". | |Jareer |Somalia |Somali bantus, Bantu Africans in general |References the kinky hair of Bantu-speaking Africans which is less common among Somalis. | |Jawir |Indonesia |Javanese people, especially Javanese people with darker skin |Comes from the words "Jawa" and "Ireng" from a Javanese word means black | |Jerry |Commonwealth |German people, especially soldiers |Probably an alteration of "German". Origin of Jerry can. Used especially during World War I and World War II. | |Jewboy |United States, United Kingdom |Jewish boys |Originally directed at young Jewish boys who sold counterfeit coins in 18th century London. | |Jidan |Romania |Jewish person. | |Jigaboo, jiggabo, jigarooni, jijjiboo, zigabo, jig, jigg, jigger |United States |Black people with stereotypical black features (e.g., dark skin, wide nose, and big lips). |From a Bantu verb 'tshikabo', meaning "they bow the head docilely," indicating meek or servile individuals. | |Jim Crow |United States |Black people | |Jjangkkae |Korea |Chinese people | |Jjokbari |Korea |Japanese people | |Jock, jocky, jockie |United Kingdom |Scottish people |Scots language nickname for the personal name John, cognate to the English, Jack. Occasionally used as an insult, but also in a respectful reference when discussing Scottish troops, particularly those from Highland regiments. For example, see the 9th (Scottish) Division. Same vein as the English insult for the French, as Frogs. In Ian Rankin's detective novel 'Tooth and Nail' the protagonist - a Scottish detective loaned to the London police - suffers from prejudice by English colleagues who frequently use "Jock" and "Jockland" (Scotland) as terms of insult; the book was based on the author's own experience as a Scot living in London. | |Jungle bunny |United States, Commonwealth |Black people | |Jutku, jutsku |Finland |Jewish people | K ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References | |Kaew (แกว) |Northeastern Thailand |Vietnamese people |rowspan="3"|Kaffir, kaffer, kaffir, kafir, kaffre, kuffar |Arabian Peninsula, Muslims worldwide |Non-Muslims (regardless of race). |Also caffer or caffre. from Arabic 'kafir' meaning "disbeliever". | |South Africa |Black and Cape Coloured or Coloured people | |Members of a people inhabiting the Hindu Kush mountains of north-east Afghanistan | |Kaffir boetie |South Africa |Black and Cape Coloured sympathizers during apartheid |Meaning "Kaffir brothers", it is analogous to "negro lover" in English. The term is outdated and no longer used. | |Kalar |Burmese |Muslim citizens who are "black-skinned" or "undesirable aliens." | |Kalbit |Russian |Central Asians | |Kalia, Kalu, Kallu |Hindi |Darkskinned people |Literally means blackie generally used for black-skinned people in India, can also have racist overtone when referring to Africans. | |Katwa, Katwe |Hindi |Muslim males |Word used to describe Muslim males for having a circumicised penis as mentioned in the Khitan of Islam. | |Kanaka |Australia |Pacific Islanders | |Kanake |German |Turkish people, foreigners in general |Originally used to refer to Native Polynesians. To some extent re-appropriated. | |Kano |Philippines |White Americans |Usually used in Filipino (Tagalog) or other Philippine languages. Shortened from the Filipino word "Amerikano". It usually refers to Americans, especially a stereotypical male white American, which may extend to western foreigners that may fit the stereotype which the speaker is not familiar with, especially those from Europe, Australia, New Zealand, etc. | |Kaouiche, Kawish |Canadian French |Native Americans | |Käskopp |Germany |Dutch people |Middle German slur that translates to "cheese head". | |Katsap, kacap, kacapas |Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, Russia |Russian people |, ; self-deprecating usage by Russians. | |Kebab |Muslims, usually of Arabian or Turkic descent. |Its origin is a Serbian music video that was recorded in 1993 during the Yugoslav Wars but the phrase has spread globally amongst far-right groups and the alt-right as a meme between 2006 and 2008. Famously Turkish internet users parodied the sentiment of Serbian nationalists online, with a satirical incoherent rant that ended with the phrase "remove kebab" being repeated. Although the meme initially intended to parody racism, this meaning behind the meme was lost once it became common in alt-right discourse. | |Keko |Turkey |Kurdish men |Originally neutral Kurdish word meaning man, pal, or friend, but became derogatory among Turkish speakers. | |Keling |Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore Indian people |In Indonesian, the term can be applied to any person with dark complexion, not only of Indian descent, but also to native Indonesians with darker complexion and Africans. The term is derived from the ancient Indian region of Kalinga, where many immigrants to countries further east originated. | |Kemosabe/Kemosahbee |United States |Native Americans |The term used by the fictional Native American sidekick Tonto as the "Native American" name for the Lone Ranger in the American television and radio programs The Lone Ranger. | |Kettō () |Japan |Westerners |Literally means "foreigners full of body hair". Alternative form: ketōjin () | |Khach (), Khachik () |Russia |Peoples of the Caucasus, particularly North Caucasus and Armenians |From Armenian խաչ 'khach,' meaning cross (cf. khachkar). Khatchik is also an Armenian given name coming from the same root. | |Kharkhuwa |India |Assamese people | |Khokhol () |Russia |Ukrainian people | |Khựa |Vietnam |Chinese people |Variant form of "Tàu khựa" | |Ikula (s.) / Amakula (p.) |South Africa |A person or people Indian heritage. | |Kike 'or' kyke |United States |Ashkenazi Jewish people |Possibly from קײַקל 'kikel', Yiddish for "circle". Immigrant Jews who could not read English often signed legal documents with an "O" (similar to an "X", to which Jews objected because "X" also symbolizes a cross). | |Kimchi |Korean people | |Kıro |Turkey |Kurdish men |A word used to describe rude and hairy men, pejoratively refers to the Kurds. | |Kitayoza |Russia |East Asian people, especially the Chinese. Derived from "kitayets". (Cyrillic: китаец) | |Knacker |Ireland |Irish Travelers | |Kojaengi () |South Korea |Westerners |From ("nose") and (derogatory suffix), prevalently used during the 19th and 20th centuries to refer to Caucasian foreigners | |Kolorad |Ukraine |Pro-Russian separatists and Russian invaders |In reference to Russian St. George ribbon whose coloration resembles the stripes of the Colorado beetle. | |Krankie |England |Scottish people | |Krakkemut |Denmark |Arabs, Middle Easterns |While originally being used against greenlanders, it is now mostly used against Middel Easterns and Arabs. The word comes from the greenlandic word "Qaqqamut" meaning "to the mountain, up the mountain", however, the danish people began to pick up the word as an aggressive slur, and used it against the greenlanders, and slowly, it became a slur against the more frequent Arab and Middle Eastern immigrants in Denmark. | |Kraut |United States, Canada, Commonwealth |German people |Derived from sauerkraut, used most specifically during World War II. | |Kūpapa Māori |New Zealand |Māori people |Term used to describe Māori people who cooperate with or who are subservient to white authority figures (similar to "Uncle Tom" 'qv'). From historical Māori troops who sided with the colonial government in the 19th century. | |Kuronbō (黒ん坊) |Japan |Black people |A derogatory that literally means "darkie" or "nigga" in Japanese. The term has been used as a racial slur against black people, particularly during Japan's colonial era. | |Kkamdungi (깜둥이) |South Korea |Black people |Korean for nigga or nigger. | L ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Labus |Russia |Latvian and Lithuanian people |Derived from greetings: Latvian 'labrīt/labdien/labvakar' and Lithuanian 'labas rytas/laba diena/labas vakaras', meaning "good morning/day/evening". | |Laowai |China |Foreigners |Literally means "old foreign", less derogatory nowadays. | |Land thief |South Africa |White South Africans |The term implies that white people stole land from black people during the Apartheid era, and are therefore responsible for the current economic and social inequalities in the country. | |Lapp |Scandinavia |Sámi people |Used mainly by Norwegians and Swedes. The word itself means "patch." "Lapland", considered non-offensive, refers to Sámi territory known as "Sápmi", Finland's northernmost county, or the province in northernmost Sweden. | |Lebo, Leb |Australia |A Lebanese person, usually a Lebanese Australian. | |Leupe lonko |Chile |German people |Used by some Huilliche people of southern Chile. Means "toasted heads" in reference to the fair hair of many Germans. Originated during the German colonization of Valdivia, Osorno and Llanquihue in the mid 19th-century. | |Limey |United States |British people |Comes from the historical British naval practice of giving sailors limes to stave off scurvy. | |Locust (蝗蟲) |Hong Kong |Mainland Chinese people | |Londo |Indonesia |White people |Commonly used by Javanese people. Derived from "Belanda" (Netherlands). | |Lubra |Likely derived from a Tasmanian Aboriginal language. |Australian Aboriginal Women | |Lundy |Northern Ireland |Irish People |A unionist that sympathies with Nationalists in Northern Ireland. The name emanates from Robert Lundy, a former Governor of Londonderry during the Siege of Derry in 1688, who is reviled as being a traitor to protestants and as such, an effigy of him is burned each year. | |Lugan |Lithuanian people | |Lach/lyakh () |Ukraine, Russia |Polish people |'Lach' is a term that originally referred to a representative of Slav tribes living roughly in what is today eastern Poland and western Ukraine, more commonly known today as Lendians, but later became associated with all Polish tribes. In other languages, Lach and derived expressions are neutral. | M ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Mabuno/Mahbuno |Zimbabwe |Local European people held in contempt, commonly white Africans of European ancestry. | |Macaca |Europe |African people |Originally used by francophone colonists in North Africa, also used in Europe against Immigrants from Africa. | |Macaronar |Romania |Italian people |Roughly means "macaroni eater/maker". | |Majus (مجوس) |Arab world |Persian people |A term meaning Zoroastrian, Magi, fire worshipper. | |Malakh-khor (ملخ خور) |Iran |Arab people |Meaning "locust eater," referring to the eating of locusts in Arab cuisine. | |Malau |South Africa |Khoisans and Cape Coloureds or Coloureds |A derogatory Afrikaans slang word derived from Xhosa, used to insult coloured people and Khoisans by suggesting they lack cultural and racial roots and are therefore uncivilized. Its origin can be traced back to the Xhosa word "amalawu" or "ilawu", meaning "Hottentot". | |Malaun |Bangladesh |Hindus | "Malaun" is derived from Bengali মালাউন (maalaaun), which in turn was derived from Arabic "ملعون" (mal'un), which means "cursed" or deprived of God's mercy. | |Malingsia / Malingsial / Malingsialan |Indonesia |Malaysian people |Used in Indonesia, derived from "maling" (Javanese for "thief") and "Malaysia". It often arises due to perceived instances of Malaysia claiming aspects of Indonesian culture | |Malon |Indonesia |Malaysian people |Used as the reply to 'Indon' word. Malon is (mostly) a short for "Malaysia Bloon" (dumb Malaysians). | |Mangal / Mango / Mangasar / Mangusta |Bulgaria |Romani people |From Bulgarian '"мангал" (mangal)' - a type of pot. Some variants are derived from the similar-sounding loanwords '"манго" (mango)' - mango and '"мангуста" (mangusta)' - mongoose. | |Manne |Finland |Romani men |Possibly from Swedish 'man' or from the name 'Herman'. It refers to Romani men, however can also refer to Romani people generally. | | () |Israel |Moroccan Jewish people |Derived from "Maroko" (Hebrew pronunciation for "Morocco") + "Kaki" (which means "shit", "crap" in Hebrew slang). | |Maruta () |Japan |Chinese people |Originally a term used by Unit 731 referring to its human test subjects, Nowadays used by Netto-uyoku sometimes. | |Mau-Mau |United States |Black people |derived from Kenyans of the Kikuyu tribe involved in the Mau Mau Rebellion in the 1950s. | |Mayate/Mayatero |Black people |Literally the Spanish colloquial name of the Figeater beetle. | |Mayonnaise Monkey |United States |White people |A term commonly used by black people. A person with a "mayonnaise"-like complexion. | |Mick |Irish people | |Mocro |Dutch |Dutch-Moroccan people | |Mof (singular) Moffen (plural) |Dutch |German people | |Momo/Momos |India |Northeast Indians |Used on those that imply they are Chinese foreigners. | |Monkey |Europe |Usually people of African, Melanesian, or Indigenous Australian descent. |A universal slur, meaning it has the same meaning in different languages. | |Moskal, , , , |Ukraine, Belarus |Russians |Historically a neutral designation for a person from Muscovy, currently refers to Russians. | |Moon Cricket |United States |Black people |The origin is obscure. May refer to slaves singing at night as crickets chirp as dusk. | |Mountain Turk |Turkey |Kurdish people |Former Turkish governments denied the Kurds their own ethnicity, calling them Mountain Turks ('dağ Türkleri'). Germans also used this word to describe Albanians, now it refers to the earlier. | |Muklo |Philippines |Filipino Muslims, notably among Bangsamoro ethnic groups |First used by soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines stationed in Mindanao as an ethnic slur towards the Muslim Moro insurgents. | |Mulignan/Mulignon/Moolinyan |United States |Black people |Used by Italian-Americans. Deriving from "mulignana" the word for eggplant in some South Italian linguistic variants. Also called a mouli. | |Munt |Rhodesia, originally military |Black people, usually men | |Mustalainen |Finland |Romani people |Literally "blackling," "blackie," "the black people", when "romani" is the neutral term. | |Maxhup |Kosovo |Romani people |Expression of contempt for someone, usually Romani people. | |Mzungu |Eastern and Southern Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo |White people |May be both pejorative and affectionate, depending on usage. | N ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Nawar |Levant |Romani people | |Neftenya / Neftegna / Naftenya / Naftegna |Ethiopia/Amharic |Amhara people |Literally means "rifle-bearer", relates to 19th century Ethiopian history. Since 1975, used as inflammatory term by Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF, governing party) officials against Amharas; continued inflammatory/derogatory usage in 2020 online media two years after EPRDF loss of political power. | |Němčour, nimchura (німчура), nemchura (немчура) |Slavic languages |German people | |Nere |Bengali Hindus |Muslims | |Niakoué |France |East or Southeast Asian people |A corrupted Vietnamese word with similar to "yokel", "country bumpkin", etc. | |Niglet / Negrito |Black children | |Nig-nog or Nignog |Commonwealth |Black people |Originally used to refer to a novice - a foolish or naive person - before being associated with black people. | |Nigger / neeger (Estonian) / neekeri (Finnish) / niger / nig / nigor / nigra / nigre (Caribbean) / nigar / niggur / nigga / niggah / niggar / nigguh / niggress / nigette / negro / neger (Dutch & Afrikaans) |International/Worldwide |Black people, especially African-Americans |From the Spanish and Portuguese word 'negro' ("black"), derived from the Latin 'niger'. The Spanish or Portuguese term, or other such languages deriving the term from it such as Filipino, may vary in its connotation per country, where some countries, the connotation may range from either positive, neutral, or negative, depending on context .. For example, in Spanish and Portuguese, "negro" may simply refer to the color black. Among Spanish dialects in different countries, it may have either positive or negative connotations, such as describing someone similarly to my darling or my honey in Argentina, or describing someone to be angry in Spain. In Portuguese, the term "negro" is often preferred to the more offensive 'preto'; however, due to the influence of US-American pop culture, the "n-word" can be found in the language as an anglicism, with identical connotations as the English term. | |Niggeritis / Negroitis |Caribbean |Black people |To feel sleepy after eating is referred to in and around the Caribbean as having "niggeritis", a direct allusion to the stereotype of laziness of black Africans. | |Nip |United States, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom |Japanese people |Someone of Japanese descent (shortened version of 'Nipponese', from Japanese name for Japan, 'Nippon'). | |Nitchie / neche / neechee / neejee / nichi / nichiwa / nidge / nitchee / nitchy |Canada |Native Canadians |A Native American (from the Algonquian word for "friend"). | |Non-Pri, Non-Pribumi |Indonesia |Indonesians of foreign descent, especially Chinese Indonesians |The term pribumi was coined after Indonesian independence to replace the derogatory Dutch term 'Inlander' ("native"). "Non-pribumi," often simply "non-pri," was then used to refer to Indonesians of foreign descent and was generally considered to suggest that they were not full citizens. Use of both "pribumi" and "non-pribumi" by government departments was banned by President B.J. Habibie in 1998 according to Inpres ('Instruksi Presiden', lit. Presidential Instruction) No. 26 of 1998, along with instruction to stop discrimination by race in government. | |Northern Monkey |United Kingdom |Northern English people |Used in the south of England, relating to the supposed stupidity and lack of sophistication of those in the north of the country. See also 'Southern Faerie'. In some cases, this has been adopted in the north of England, with a pub in Leeds even taking the name "The Northern Monkey". | |Nusayri |Syria and the Levant |Members of the Alawite sect of Shi'a Islam. |Once a common and neutral term derived from the name of Ibn Nusayr, the sect's founder, it fell out of favour within the community in the early decades of the 20th century due to the perception that it implied a heretical separateness from mainstream Islam. Resurgent in the context of the ongoing Syrian civil war, the term is now often employed by Sunni fundamentalist enemies of the government of Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite, to suggest that the faith is a human invention lacking divine legitimacy. | O ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Ofay |African American Vernacular |White people |First recorded in the late 19th century. Origin unknown. Suggestions include Yoruba 'ófé', "to disappear"; pig Latin for "foe"; and French 'au fait', "socially proper". | |Oláh |Hungarian-speaking territories |Romanian people |Evolved to a pejorative term, originates from the historical designation of Romanians earlier the 19th century. | |**Orc** (Cyrillic: орк, romanised: 'ork'), plural **orcs** (Russian and , Russian romanisation: 'orki', Ukrainian: 'orky'), is a pejorative used by Ukrainians to refer to an invading Russian soldier during the Russo-Ukrainian War. It comes from the name of the fictional humanoid monsters of the same name from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel 'The Lord of the Rings'. |Orc |Ukraine |Russian soldiers |Oreo |United States |Black people Used as early as the 1960s. Refers to a black person who is perceived as acting white, and therefore black on the outside and white on the inside like an Oreo cookie. | |Oven Dodger |Jewish people |Implying that one or one's ancestors avoided dying in the Holocaust and so avoid the crematorium ovens. | |Overner |United Kingdom, Isle of Wight |Mainland United Kingdom Residents |A term used by residents of the Isle of Wight, sometimes pejoratively, to refer to people from the mainland United Kingdom. | P ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Paddy |United Kingdom |Irish people |Derived from Pádraig/Patrick. Often derogatory; however, the sister of Lord Edward FitzGerald, a major leader of the United Irishmen of 1798, proclaimed that he was "a Paddy and no more" and that "he desired no other title than this". | |Pajeet |United States |Indian people |An American term for an Indian man. Used as a derogatory and disparaging term in reference to racial stereotyping towards Indians. The implication makes fun of a typical Indian male's name. Originated around late 2014 and early 2015. | |Pākehā |New Zealand |New Zealanders of non-Maori origin. |A Maori term for New Zealanders with no Polynesian ancestry. Not typically derogatory but can be taken so. | |Paki, Pakkis |United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Norway |Pakistanis, other South Asians, and sometimes Middle Eastern people |Shortened from "Pakistani". | |Palagi |Pacific Islands |White people |A Samoan term for a white person, found throughout the Pacific islands. Not usually derogatory unless used in reference to a local to imply they have assimilated into Western culture. | |Paleface |Native Americans |White people | |Pancake Face, Pancake |Asian people | |Papoose |United States, Canada |Native American children | |Paraíba |Brazil |Northeastern Brazilian people |One of the 9 states in the Northeast Region of Brazil. As a slur, it refers generically to any Northeastern person. Used mainly in Rio de Janeiro, the term is related to the Northeastern immigration of the second half of the 20th century. | |Parsubang, Parsolam |Indonesia (North Sumatra) |Batak people or non-Batak people |Parsubang or parsolam refers to Batak Dalle and non-Batak people who don't eat pork, canine meat, blood, and drinking alcoholic beverage. Parsolam itself is a wordplay of solam/silom/selam, an old epithet for Islam and Muslims. | |Pastel de flango |Brazil |East Asian people |Used mostly to refer to people of Chinese and Japanese origin. Pastel is Portuguese for any pastry and so is used for wonton in Brazil. Flango is eye dialect of frango (Portuguese for chicken) ridiculing Asian pronunciation. | |Paša |Serbs |Bosniaks |Literally meaning Pasha, used by Serbs originated during the Bosnian war to generally mock Bosniak Muslims who wanted keep Ottoman titles and place-names. The modern term is used to refer to old Bosniak men who were pictured in wartime cartoons as being "fat as a pasha." | |Peckerwood |Southern African American people and Upper-class White people |Poor, rural White people | |Peenoise |English-speaking Southeast Asia |Filipinos |Usually used in English or sometimes in Filipino (Tagalog) and other Philippine languages. Compound of pee + noise, likened to Pinoy, the colloquial diminutive demonym for Filipinos. The implication makes fun of their high-pitched voice and tendency to scream when speaking online, especially in online gaming and esports. | |Perker |Denmark |Arabs, Middle Eastern |Portmanteau of "perser" (Persian) and "tyrker" (Turk). The use of it is commonly used towards Middle Eastern immigrants | |Pepper or Pepsi |Canada |French Canadians or Québécois. | |Pickaninny |African American or West Indies child | |Piefke |Austria |Prussians and Germans | |Pikey / piky / piker |United Kingdom |Irish Travellers, Romani people, and vagrant lower-class/poor people |19th century on; derived from "turnpike". | |Pindos / Pendos () |Russia |Americans |Universal disparaging term to refer to all Americans. Related slur terms can refer to the United States ─ such as Pindosiya, Pindostan () and United States of Pindosiya. | |Pilak |Sabahans |Filipinos Regional word for "silver" or "money". Particularly targets immigrants. | |Pink pig |South Africa |White people | |Plastic Paddy |Ireland |Estranged Irish People |Someone who knows little of Irish culture, but asserts their 'Irish' identity. Can refer to foreign nationals who claim Irishness based solely on having Irish relatives. Often used in the same sense as poseur and wannabe. | |Plouc |France |Bretons |Used to mean Breton immigrants that came to Paris and extended to mean hillbillies. The term comes from the prefix "plou" found in many Breton city names and toponyms. | |Pocho / pocha |Southwest United States, Mexico |Adjective for a person of Mexican heritage who is partially or fully assimilated into United States culture (literally, "diluted, watered down (drink); undersized (clothing)"). See also "Chicano". | |Pocahontas |United States |Native Americans |Refers to a distorted narrative of Pocahontas, a Native American woman, in which the 17th-century daughter of Powhatan who negotiated with the English at Jamestown, married an English colonist and converted to Christianity. | |Polack, Polacke, Polak, Polock |Polish or Slavic people |From the Polish endonym, 'Polak' (see Name of Poland). Note: the proper Swedish demonym for Polish people is 'polack', and the Norwegian equivalent is 'polakk'. | |Polaco |Spain |Catalan people | |Polaca |Brazil |Prostitute |In Brazilian Portuguese the word (meaning "Polish woman") became synonymous to "prostitute". | |Polentone |Italy |Northern Italians |Referring to them as a "polenta eater". | |Pom, Pohm, Pommy, Pommie, Pommie Grant |Australia, New Zealand, South Africa |British |Usually non-derogatory, but may be derogatory depending on context. | Porridge wog |Scots | |Portagee |United States |Portuguese people and Portuguese Americans |Slur for Portuguese Americans immigrants. | |Potet |Norway |Ethnic Norwegians |Means "potato" in Norwegian and is mostly used negatively among non-Western immigrants when talking about or trying to offend ethnic Norwegians. Means "light skin like a potato". | |Prairie nigger |Native American | |Prod |Northern Ireland |Northern Irish Protestants | |Promdi |Philippines |Filipinos from countryside (understood as provinces) who have limited or no knowledge about Metro Manila or other big cities by the time they first arrive |From a pronunciation spelling of English from the (province). This term can be offending or stereotypical, as it is often used to make fun of people who first arrive in a big city and wear unfashionable clothes or speak in a rural-like accent, common stereotypes of people coming from the countryside. It is being reclaimed as a symbol of pride. It is often synonymous with the word 'probinsyano'/'probinsyana.' | |Pshek |Russian |Polish males | Q ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Quashie |Caribbean |Black people |Often used on those who were often gullible or unsophisticated. From the West African name 'Kwazi', often given to a child born on a Sunday. | R ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Raghead |Arabs, Indian Sikhs, etc. |Derived from those people wearing traditional headdress such as turbans or keffiyehs. See towel head. Sometimes used generically for all Islamic nations. | |Ramasamy |British-ruled Southern Africa |Indians, |Ramasamy is a common name used mostly by Tamil people. The racially-divided southern Africa was inhabited by a large number of indentured labourers from India of whom Tamils were the majority. | |Rastus |United States |African Americans |A stereotypical term. | |Razakars |Bengali |Akin to the western term Judas. | |Redleg |Barbados |White people |Used to refer to the islands' laborer-class, given how pale skin tends to burn easily. | |Redneck |United States |White Americans |Applied to working-class white people perceived to be crass, unsophisticated, and reactionary; closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States. | |Redskin |Native Americans |Often used in the names of sports teams. See Native American name controversy. | |Risorse boldriniane |Italy |Maghrebi Arabs |Literally "Boldrini's resources". Used for the first time in 2015 by Matteo Salvini, as a slur for North-African immigrants, who had been unironically called "resources" by Laura Boldrini. | |Rockspider, rock |South Africa |Afrikaners | |Rootless cosmopolitan () |Russia |Jews |Soviet epithet, originated in the official parlance, as an accusation of lack of full allegiance to the Soviet Union. | |Rosuke, Roske |Japanese |Russians |"suke/ske" is a Japanese general-purpose derogatory suffix. | |Rooinek |South Africa |British people |Slang for a person of British descent. | |Roto |Peru, Bolivia |Chilean people |Used to refer disdainfully. The term 'roto' ("tattered") was first applied to Spanish conquerors in Chile, who were badly dressed and preferred military strength over intellect. | |Roundeye |English-speaking Asians |Non-Asians, especially White people | |Russki, ruski (Polish), ryssä (Finnish) |United States Europe |Russians |From the Russian word Русский 'Russkiy', meaning "Russian". | S ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Safavid |Iraq |Feyli Kurds |Mainly used by higher class Sunni Arabs during Ba'athist Iraq to insult Feyli Kurds for their belief in Shia Islam. | |Sambo |United States |African Americans or black people in general | |Sand nigger |United States |Arabs or Muslims in general |Mainly used due to the desert environment of most Arab countries. Equivalent of 'dune coon' (above). | |Sangokujin () |Japan |Korean and Taiwanese people |Originally used to refer the various former colonial subjects of the Empire of Japan in the aftermath of World War II. | |Sarong Party Girl |Singapore |Asian women |Used to ridicule Asian women who exclusively dates, marries, or socializes with White men for ulterior motives (especially for sexual, social status, and monetary purpose). | |Sassenach |Scottish, Gaelic |English people | |Savage |England |Indigenous people, non-Christians |Used to describe a person or people considered primitive/uncivilized. Sometimes a legal term. Targets include indigenous tribes and civilizations in North America, South America, Asia, Oceania, and Africa. US examples include 1776 Declaration of Independence ("merciless Indian Savages") and 1901 Supreme Court 'DeLima v. Bidwell' ruling describing Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines as "savage tribes" | |Sawney |England |Scottish people |Archaic term. Local variant of 'Sandy', short for "Alasdair". | |Scandihoovian |Scandinavian people living in the United States |Somewhat pejorative term for people of Scandinavian descent living in the United States, now often embraced by Scandinavian descendants. | |Seppo, Septic |Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom |American people |Australian rhyming slang: Septic tank - Yank. | |Schluchtenscheißer |Germany |Austrian people |Translates to somebody defecating in a cave (word-for-word translation: 'gorge shitter') and alludes to the mountainous landscape of Austria. | |Schvartse, Schwartze |Yiddish or German speakers |African people (in the United States) Mizrahi Jews (in Israel) |Literally translates to "black". | |Schwartze Khayeh |Ashkenazi Jews |Mizrahi Jews |Literally translates to "black animal". | | |United States |Black women | |Sheeny |United States |Jewish people |A 19th-century term for an "untrustworthy Jew". | |Sheepshagger |Australia, United Kingdom |New Zealanders (in Australia) Welsh people (in the UK) | |Shelta |Ireland |Irish Travellers |Derived from 'siúilta', which means "The Walkers" in Irish. | |Shiksa (female), Shegetz (male) |Yiddish speakers |Non-Jewish children | |Shina (支那) |Japan rowspan="2" |Chinese people rowspan="2" |The Chinese term "Zhina" was orthographically borrowed from the Japanese "shina". Variant form of this term: Shinajin/Zhinaren (支那人) rowspan="2" | |Zhina (支那) |Taiwan, Hong Kong |Shine |United States |Black people |Derived from shoeshiner, a lowly job many black people had to take. | |Shitskin |United States |Black people, anyone with dark-coloured skin | |Shiptar |Former Yugoslavia |Albanian people |From misspelled Albanian endonym "Shqiptar". | |Shka i Velikës |Gheg Albanians |Montenegrins from Velika |Derogatory terms for Montenegrins named after the place Velika in Montenegro. | |Shkije |Gheg Albanians |South Slavs, in particular Serbs, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Bosniaks |Derived from the Latin word "S'clavus" or from the Venetian word "Schiavone", which means Slav.' | |Shkinulkë |Gheg Albanians |South Slavs, in particular Serbs, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Bosniaks |Same as Shkije but targeted towards women. | |Shkutzim (Yiddish, plural) |Yiddish speakers (plural) |Non-Jewish men |Used especially on those perceived to be anti-Semitic. Cf. 'Shegetz', 'Shiksa'. | |Shkutor Croatian: Škutor |Croatia |West-Herzegovinan Croatian people |Primarily used to refer to ethnic Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as to majority of Croats who are not natives of the modern-day Croatia (i.e. Croats of Hungary, Croats of Vojvodina etc.). | |Shoneen |Ireland |Irish People |Irish Person who imitates English Customs. It means "Little John" in Irish language, referring to John Bull, a national personification of the British Empire in general and more specifically of England. | |Shylock |Jewish people perceived as greedy or usurious |From the antagonistic character of Shylock, a Jewish money-lender, in William Shakespeare's play 'The Merchant of Venice'. | |Sí-a-la̍k () |Taiwan |Chinese people |Literally means "damned mainlanders". the homophonic numerical form of this phrase(426) is also frequently used. | |Siamtue (, ) |Bangkoker (Thai Chinese) |Central Thai people (usually include Mons) |Literally Siamese pig; "low and vile like pigs, easy to fatten and slaughter, easy money"; mostly refers to Central Thais who migrated to Bangkok. | |Sideways vagina/pussy/cooter |Asian women, particularly Chinese women. | |Skinny |United States |Somali people |A term most commonly used for Somali militia fighters. | |Skopianoi |Greece |Ethnic Macedonians |Derived from Skopje, the capital city of North Macedonia. | |Skip, Skippy |Australia |An Australian, especially one of British descent |Derived from the children's television series 'Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'. | |Skævøjet |Denmark |East Asian people |Skævøjet, literally meaning "with crooked eyes", is a reference to their appearance. | |Slant, slant-eye |East Asian people |In reference to the appearance of the eyes. | |Slobo |Finland |Russians or Slavs |From the Slavic word 'sloboda' ("freedom") through some means, probably through some form of Russian слобода́ ('slobodá'). | |Slope, slopehead, slopy, slopey, sloper |Australia, United Kingdom, and United States |Asian people (especially Vietnamese in Australia; especially Chinese in America) |Also slant, slant-eye. | |Snowflake |United States |White people |Mostly used in this context in the 19th and 20th centuries. | |Smoked Irish/Smoked Irishman |United States |Black people |A 19th-century term intended to insult both blacks and Irish but used primarily for black people. | |Somdeang (โสมแดง) |Thailand |North Koreans |Literally "red ginseng" (see also 'Somkhao'). | |Somkhao (โสมขาว) |Thailand |South Koreans |Literally "white ginseng" (see also 'Somdeang'). | |Soosmar-khor: (سوسمار خور) |Persia |Arabian people |Persian for "lizard eater," referring to the eating of lizards in Arab cuisine. | |Sooty |United States |Black people |Originated in the 1950s. | |Southern Faerie, Southern Fairy |United Kingdom |Southern English people Used in the North of England to refer to someone from the South, alluding to their supposed mollycoddled ways. (see also 'Northern Monkey'.) | |Soutpiel |South Africa |White English speakers |An Afrikaans term abbreviated as "Soutie" and translates as "Salt-penis," it derives from the Boer Wars where it was said that British soldiers had one foot in the United Kingdom, one foot in South Africa, and their penis dangled in the Atlantic Ocean (filled with saltwater). | |Spade |Black people |Recorded since 1928 (OED), from the playing cards suit. | |Spearchucker |African Americans or people of African descent in general |Derived from the idea that people of African descent were primitive. | |Spic, spick, spik, spig, or spigotty |United States |Hispanic people |First recorded use in 1915. Believed to be a play on a Spanish-accented pronunciation of the English word 'speak'. May apply to Spanish speakers in general. | |Spook |Black people |Attested from the 1940s. | |Squarehead |Nordic people, such as Scandinavians or Germans. |Refers to either the stereotyped shape of their heads, or to the shape of the Stahlhelm M1916 steel helmet, or to its owner's stubbornness (like a block of wood). | |Squaw |United States and Canada |Native American women |Derived from lower East Coast Algonquian (Massachusett: 'ussqua'), which originally meant "young woman". | |Swamp Guinea |Italian people | |Szkop, skopčák |Poland, Czech Republic |German people |The Polish term was particularly often used for Wehrmacht soldiers during World War II. | |Szwab |Poland |German people |Derived from Swabia. See also: Fritz. | T ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Taffy or Taff |United Kingdom |Welsh people |First used ca. 17th century. From the River Taff or the Welsh pronunciation of the name 'David' (in Welsh, 'Dafydd'). | |Taig (also Teague, Teg and Teig) |United Kingdom (primarily Northern Ireland) |Irish nationalists |Used by loyalists in Northern Ireland for members of the nationalist/Catholic/Gaelic community. Derived from the Irish name Tadhg, often mistransliterated as Timothy. | |Tai Ke |Taiwan |Waishengren |Literally means "Guests in Taiwan"(not belonging to here), Used when referring to Chinese who fled with Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese Nationalist Party to Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War (see 'Waishengren') | |Tanka |China |Tanka people |A name for a distinct ethnic group traditionally living in boats off the shore of South China. Originally descriptive ("Tan"/"Tang" is a Cantonese term for boat or junk and "ka" means family or peoples, ), the term 'Tanka' is now considered derogatory and no longer in common use. The people concerned prefer to call themselves by other names, such as 'Nam Hoi Yan' () or 'Sui Seung Yan' (), and other more polite terms. | |Tar-Baby |United States |Black children |Also used to refer without regard to race to a situation from which it is difficult to extricate oneself. See tar baby. | |Tàu |Vietnam |Chinese people |Variant form of "Tàu khựa" | |Teabag |South Africa |Black and Cape Coloured or Coloured individuals who have a light skin | |Teapot |Black people |Originates from the 19th century. | |Terrone |Italy |Southern Italian people. | |Teuchter |Southern Scotland |Northern Scottish people |Used to refer to somebody from the north of Scotland or rural Scottish areas. | |Thicklips |United Kingdom |Black people | |Tibla |Estonia |Russian or Soviet people |In widespread use by the Estonian War of Independence, this word was forbidden under the Soviet occupation of Estonia. It may be a shortened corruption of Vitebski, workers from the Vitebsk Governorate during World War I who were seen as dumb. It may also come from the Russian profane addressing "ty, blyad," "ты, блядь" ("you bitch", and the like [a]) or, truncated, "ty, blya," "ты, бля. | |Tiko |Indonesia |Native Indonesian people Tiko stands for 'Tikus kotor' (Dirty rat). It may also derive from Hokkien (ti-ko), which means "brother of a pig", referring to their majority Muslim heritage. | |Timber nigger |Native Americans |Refers to the Native Americans on the East coast living in areas that were heavily forested. | |Timur |Syrian people from Damascus |Refers to the children born of the mass rapes that the Turco-Mongol Tatar soldiers of Timur committed against the Syrian women of Damascus in the Siege of Damascus (1400). | |Ting tong |United Kingdom |Chinese people or East Asians. | |rowspan="3"|Tinker / tynekere / tinkere / tynkere, -are / tynker / tenker / tinkar / tyncar / tinkard / tynkard / tincker |Britain and Ireland |Lower-class people |An inconsequential person (typically lower-class) (note that in Britain, the term "Irish Tinker" may be used, giving it the same meaning as example as directly below). | |Scotland and Ireland |Romani people |Origin unknown - possibly relating to one of the "traditional" occupations of Romanis as traveling "tinkerers" or repairers of common household objects. | |Scotland |Native Scottish people |A member of the native community; previously itinerant (but mainly now settled); who were reputed for their production of domestic implements from basic materials and for repair of the same items, being also known in the past as "travelling tinsmiths", possibly derived from a reputation for rowdy and alcoholic recreation. Often confused with Romani people. | |Toad |United States |Black people |Prison slang. | |Toku-A |Japan |Chinese and Korean people |Literally means "specific Asia", A term used by netto-uyoku referring to the only specific part of Asia with strong Anti-Japanese sentiment in their countries (China and North/South Korea). | |Tonto |United States |Native Americans |Native American character in the American television and radio programs The Lone Ranger. Spanish for "Idiot". | |Touch of the tar brush |Commonwealth |White people with suspected non-white ancestry |Phrase for a person of predominantly Caucasian ancestry with real or suspected African or Asian distant ancestry. | |Towel head |Turban wearers | |Tumba-Yumba () |Post-Soviet countries Africans and by extension any culture perceived as uncivilized From "Mumbo-Jumbo" (). | | |Turco-Albanian |Western Europe, Balkans |Muslim Albanians Historically used in Western Europe and still in use within the Balkans to refer to Muslim Albanians. In the Greek language, the expression is rendered as 'Turkalvanoi'. |Turco |Argentina, Brazil, Chile |Syrians, Palestinians, Lebanese, Jews, Armenians |Meaning "Turk" in Portuguese and Spanish. The term originated in the late 19th century to refer those who came to Brazil, Argentina and Chile from the Ottoman Empire. Since Jews (both Sephardic and Ashkenazi) frequently occupied the same roles as peddlers as Syrians and Lebanese (who were the majority of those with Ottoman passports in Brazil), they were also called "turcos" in Brazil. Ironically, there was no relevant immigration of ethnic Turks to Brazil. | |Turčin, Poturčin |Serbs |Bosniaks |In reference to the supposed ambiguity of Bosniaks and their ethnic origins; referring to their acceptance of the Muslim faith as them becoming "Turkified" or "Poturčin" | |Turk |South Wales |Llanelli residents |The origin of this term is uncertain; some theories suggest it due to Llanelli's popularity with Turkish sailors in the late 19th to early 20th century or possibly when Turkish migrants heading for the United States stopped in Llanelli and decided to settle due to there being jobs available. However, most likely it's due to the fact that during World War One there was a trade embargo in place during Gallipoli, but Llanelli continued to trade tin with the Turkish; this led to people from neighbouring Swansea and other surrounding areas referring to them as Turks. | |Turko |Sephardic Jews |Ashkenazi Jews |Ladino word meaning "Turk". The exact history of the term is uncertain, but possibly refers to the Khazar hypothesis of Ashkenazi ancestry. | |: |United States |European Americans, Asian Americans |European Americans with few or no social or genealogical links to an indigenous tribe, who claims to be Native American, particularly a New Age practitioner purporting to be a spiritual leader, healer, or medicine man/woman (). Also an Asian American who has become assimilated into mainstream American culture (). | |Type C |Malaysia |Chinese people |Type C was another name for USB-C before being used as a slur referring to Chinese people, its proclaimed meaning is 'Type Chinese'. | U ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Ukro-Nazi, Ukronazi, Ukrofascist |Russia |Ukrainians |Label used to link self-identifying Ukrainians during the Russo-Ukrainian War to Nazism, evoke Soviet victory in WWII, and justify Russian atrocities in Ukraine. , . | |A disparaging term which means "dill" in Russian, itself derived from "**Ukr**ainian"<->**Ukr**op. |Ukrop |Russians |Ukrainians | |Uncle Tom |United States |Black people |Refers to black people perceived as behaving in a subservient manner to white authority figures. In South Africa, the term "Uncle Tom" has been used as a derogatory slur against coloreds who were perceived as collaborating with the apartheid regime or being subservient to white people. In South Africa, the use of the term "Uncle Tom" by black people against coloureds or vice versa is considered racist and discriminatory according to the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act. | |Unta |Indonesia |Arab Indonesians |Meaning "Camel". | |UPAina/ UPAińcy / UPAiniec, UPAinka |Poland |Ukrainians Portmanteau word Ukraine + UPA (Ukrayins'ka Povstans'ka Armiia) responsible for Volhynia genocide. | |Uppity |Black people |Refers to black people who are perceived as being insolent. | |Uzkoglazyj |Russia |Asian people, in particular East and Central Asians. |Narrow-eyed | V ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Vanja |Finland |Russian people |Synonym of 'ryssä', referring to Russians or Slavs broadly. | | |South America |Venezuelans | |Vrindavan, Prindapan |Indonesia |Indian people |Indonesian version of 'pajeet'. Originated from Little Krishna animated series. | |Vuzvuz |Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews |Ashkenazi Jews |Onomatopoeia of the Yiddish word for "What", which Judaeo-Spanish speaking Sephardi Jews and Judaeo-Arabic speaking Mizrahi Jews did not understand. | W ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Wagon burner |Native American people |A reference to when Native American tribes would attack wagon trains during the wars in the eastern American frontier. | |Wasi'chu, Wasichu |Lakota people, Dakota people |Non-Native white people |Word for a non-Native white person, meaning "the one who takes the best meat for himself". | |West Brit |Ireland |Irish people |Directed at Irish people perceived as being insufficiently Irish or too Anglophilic. | |Wetback |United States |Undocumented immigrants |Refers to undocumented immigrants residing in the United States. Originally applied specifically to undocumented Mexican migrant workers who had crossed the United States border via the Rio Grande river to find work in the United States, its meaning has since broadened to any undocumented person who enters the United States through its southern border. | |White ears |Nauru |White people | |White interloper |White people |Refers to a white person who becomes involved in a place or situation where they are not wanted or are considered not to belong. | |Wigger / Whigger / Wigga (meaning white nigger) |United States |Irish people |Québécois]] in self-reference, as in the seminal 1968 book 'White Niggers of America'. | |White nigger, Nigger wop |United States |Southern Italians |From the 1800s, inferring such Italians were not "white" enough to be allowed citizenship. | |White trash |United States |Poor white people |Common usage from the 1830s by black house slaves against white servants. | |Whitey |White people | |rowspan="2"|Wog |Commonwealth |Dark-skinned foreigners |Any swarthy or dark-skinned foreigner. Possibly derived from "golliwogg." In Western nations, it usually refers to dark-skinned people from Asia or Africa, though some use the term to refer to anyone outside the borders of their own country. | |Australia |Southern Europeans, Mediterraneans |Usually used to refer to Southern Europeans and Mediterraneans (Italians, Croatians, Greeks, Albanians, Maltese, Macedonians, Turks, Lebanese). It has become reappropriated by the cultures that it is commonly used to describe, but may be considered by some as controversial. | |Wop |United States, Canada, United Kingdom |Italian people |Derived from the Italian dialectism, "guappo", close to "dude, swaggerer" and other informal appellations, a greeting among male Neapolitans. | X ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Xiǎo Rìběn |China |Japanese people |Literally translated, it means "little Japan". It is often used with "guizi" or ghost/devil, such as "xiao Riben guizi", or "little Japanese devil". | |Xing Ling |Brazil |Chinese people |Chinese products or low-quality products in general. Sometimes used to refer to Chinese people as well. Etymologically, this term is said to be derived from Mandarin 星零 xing ling ("zero stars"). | Y ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Yam yam |United Kingdom |Black Country residents |Term used by people from Birmingham. | |Yanacona |Chile |Mapuche people |Term used by modern Mapuche as an insult for Mapuches considered to be subservient to non-indigenous Chileans, "sellout." Use of the word "yanacona" to describe people have led legal action in Chile. | |Yank |British English speakers |Americans |A contraction of "Yankee" below, first recorded in 1778 and employed internationally by speakers of British English in informal reference to all Americans generally. | |Yankee |Dutch speakers |Americans |Possibly from 'Janke' ("Johnny") or a dialectical variant of 'Jan Kaas' ("John Cheese"). First applied by the Dutch colonists of New Amsterdam to Connecticuters and then to other residents of New England, "Yankee" remains in use in the American South in reference to Northerners, often in a mildly pejorative sense. Outside the US, especially in Spain and South America, used to describe all citizens of the US, regardless of which part of the US they come from. | |Yaposhka |Russia |Japanese people |Derived from "yaponets" (Cyrillic: японец) | |rowspan="2"|Yellow |Asian people |An East or southeast Asian person, in reference to those who have a yellowish skin color. | |Mixed Ethnic people |Anyone of mixed heritage, especially black or white people; a light-skinned black person, or a dark-skinned white person. | |Yellow bone |United States |A light-skin black person | |Yid |Jewish people |Derived from its use as an endonym among Yiddish-speaking Jews. In the United Kingdom, "yid" is also used to refer to supporters of the Tottenham Hotspur football club, whose fans refer to themselves and players as "yids" (or the derivative form "yiddo"), regardless of whether or not they are Jewish, as part of a reclamation attempt centered around the club's significant historic Jewish following. The latter sense is common and well-established enough to be found under the word's Oxford English Dictionary entry, though its use has become controversial and a matter of debate in the 21st century, with opinions from both Jews and non-Jews, Tottenham fans and non-fans, running the gamut. | |Yuon |Cambodia |Vietnamese people |The Cambodian word "Yuon" (yuôn) យួន /juən/ is derived from the Indian word for Greek, Yavana". It can also be spelled as "Youn". Alternately, it may have come from the Chinese cognate of the country, "Yue" 越. | Z ====================================================================== !Term !Location or origin !Targets !Meaning, origin and notes !References |Zip, Zipperhead |United States |Asian people |Used by American military personnel during the Korean War and Vietnam War. Also used in the films 'Apocalypse Now' (1979), 'Platoon' (1986), 'Full Metal Jacket' (1987), 'Romeo Must Die' (2000), 'Gran Torino' (2008), and 'Premium Rush' (2012). | |Zuca, Brazuca |Portugal |Brazilians |Short for Brazuca, derived from "Brasil", used by Portuguese people to refer to Brazilians living in Portugal. | |Zhyd, zhid, zhydovka, zhidovka |East Slavic language speakers |Jewish people |Originally neutral (as in other Slavic languages), but became pejorative as debate over the Jewish question and the antisemitism in the Russian Empire intensified in the end of the 19th century. While still in official use during the Ukrainian War of Independence and the short-lived Belarusian Democratic Republic, its use was banned by the Soviet authorities, which had previously been campaigning against its usage, in the 1930s. The usage of the word "żyd" in Polish depends on capitalisation and grammatical form: upper-case Żyd is neutral and denotes Jews in general or Jews as a nationality; the lower-case form (żyd, plural: żydzi) denotes a follower of Judaism; both are neutral. Related terms are considered offensive: alternative plural "żydy" or diminutive "żydek" (plural: żydki). | See also ====================================================================== * :Category:Sex- and gender-related slurs * Fighting words * Graphic pejoratives in written Chinese * Hate speech * LGBT slang * List of disability-related terms with negative connotations * List of ethnic group names used as insults * List of ethnic slurs and epithets by ethnicity * List of regional nicknames * List of religious slurs * List of terms used for Germans * Lists of pejorative terms for people * Pejorative * Xenophobia * Xenophobia in the United States * Xenophobia and racism related to the COVID-19 pandemic * wikt:Category:English ethnic slurs * Wiktionary category: English derogatory terms * wikt:Appendix:English terms for outsiders Bibliography ============== * * * * * * * * * * South Africa Lexicon 2019. Available at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54257189e4b0ac0d5fca1566/t/5cc0a0682be8f70001f10300/1556127851372/SouthAfricaLexicon2019_v3.pdf * * * Further reading ====================================================================== * Adhikari, Mohamed, editor. Burdened by Race: Coloured Identities in Southern Africa. UCT Press, 2013, pp. 69, 124, 203 ISBN 978-1-92051-660-4 https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/id/c0a95c41-a983-49fc-ac1f-7720d607340d/628130.pdf. * Burchfield, Robert. "Dictionaries and Ethnic Sensibilities." In 'The State of the Language', ed. Leonard Michaels and Christopher Ricks, University of California Press, 1980, pp. 15-23. * Croom, Adam M. [http://philpapers.org/rec/CROREW "Racial Epithets: What We Say and Mean by Them"]. 'Dialogue' 51 (1):34-45 (2008) * Henderson, Anita. "What's in a Slur?" 'American Speech', Volume 78, Number 1, Spring 2003, pp. 52-74 in Project MUSE * Kennedy, Randall. 'Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word' (Pantheon, 2002) * Mencken, H. L. "Designations for Colored Folk." 'American Speech', 1944. 19: 161-74. * Mathabane, M. (1986). Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa. Simon & Schuster. (Chapter 2) * Wachal, Robert S. "Taboo and Not Taboo: That Is the Question." 'American Speech', 2002. vol. 77: 195-206. Dictionaries ============== * Erin McKean, ed. 'The New Oxford American Dictionary', second edition. (Oxford University Press, 2005) * Eric Partridge, 'A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English' (2002) * John A. Simpson, 'Oxford English Dictionary Additions Series'. * Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson, ed. 'The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'. (Oxford University Press, 2004) License ========= All content on Gopherpedia comes from Wikipedia, and is licensed under CC-BY-SA License URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_slurs .