鬼佬 (guǐlǎo) - Borrowed from Cantonese "Gweilo", literally "ghost guy", a slur for White people.
红毛 (Ang mo) - "Red Hair", a slur used by Hokkien(Min-nan) people in Taiwan and Singapore to primarily refer to Dutch colonists who settled in Taiwan and British colonists who settled in Singapore during the 17th century and early 19th century respectively.
Against Arabs
阿人(ā rén) - a slur used in reference to Arabs, used by Chinese people in Europe, especially France. "阿人" is short for "阿拉伯人(ā lā bó rén)", which is a phonetic translation of "Arab". This abbreviation was used to make sure Arabs don't recognize the pronunciation when eavesdropping on conversations.
阿鬼(ā guǐ
- similar to 阿人, meaning "Arabic devil".
Against Indigenous peoples
番鬼 (Fan Guai) - a slur used to describe foreigners, where 番 (Fan) means "Tribal people". The Minnan and Chaozhou people would used 山番 (mountain tribal people) and 生番 (raw tribal people) to describe natives and aboriginals. It is also used by people of southern China to describe foreigners.
Against Japanese
小日本 (xiǎo Rìběn) — Literally "little Japan"(ese). This term is so common that it has very little impact left (Google Search returns 21,000,000 results as of August 2007). The term can be used to refer to either Japan or individual Japanese. "小", or the word "little", is usually construed as "puny", "lowly" or "small country", but not "spunky".
日本鬼子 (Rìběn guǐzi) — Literally "Japanese ghost". This is used mostly in the context of the Second Sino-Japanese War, when Japan invaded and occupied large areas of China. This is the title of a Japanese documentary on Japanese war crimes during WWII.
倭 (Wō
— An ancient Chinese name for Japan, but it was also adopted by the Japanese, pronounced Wa. In current Chinese usage, Wō is usually intended to give a negative connotation (see Wōkòu below). Two commonly proposed etymologies for this word are "submissive; obedient" or "dwarf; short person".[54] In the 7th century, Japanese scribes replaced 倭 (Wō/Wa) with 和 (Hé/Wa) meaning "harmony."
倭寇 (Wōkòu) — Originally referred to Japanese pirates and armed sea merchants who raided the Chinese coastline during the Ming Dynasty (see Wokou). The term was adopted during the Second Sino-Japanese War to refer to invading Japanese forces, (similarly to Germans being called Huns). The word is today sometimes used to refer to all Japanese people in negative contexts.
自慰队 (zì wèi duì) - A pun on the homophone "自卫队" (zì wèi duì, literally "Self-Defence Forces", see Japan Self-Defense Forces), the definition of 慰 (wèi) used is "to comfort". This phrase is used to refer to Japanese (whose military force is known as "自卫队") being stereotypically hypersexual, as "自慰队" means "Self-comforting Forces", referring to masturbation.
架佬 (Ga Lou)-A neutral term for Japanese used by Cantonese (especially Hong Kong Cantonese), because Japanese use a lot of "Ga" at the end of a sentence. 架妹 (Ga Mui) is used for female Japanese.
Against Koreans
高丽棒子 (Gāolì bàng zǐ
- Derogatory term used against all ethnic Koreans. 高丽 (Traditional: 高麗
refers to Ancient Korea (Koryo), while 棒子 means "club" or "corncob", referring to the weapon used by the puppet Korean police during the Anti-Japanese War of China.
二鬼子 (èr guǐ zǐ
- A disparaging designation of puppet armies and traitors during the Anti-Japanese War of China.[55][56] Japanese were known as "鬼子" (devil), and the 二鬼子 literally means "second devils". During World War II, some Koreans were involved in Imperial Japanese Army, and so 二鬼子 refers to hanjian and ethnic Koreans. The definition of 二鬼子 has changed throughout time[original research?], with modern slang usage entirely different from its original meaning during World War II and the subsequent Chinese civil war.[citation needed]
Against Africans and Blacks
黑鬼 (hei guǐ
- "Black ghost"[57]
老黑 (lao hei) - "Old black", although this can be used in a non-pejorative fashion similar to laowai - though recipients of the term 老外 are not unanimous that it is non-pejorative.
Against Indians
阿差 (Ah Cha)-Ah Cha means "Good" in some Indian languages, is a derogatory Cantonese term used against Indians. During the 1950s-1970s, there were many Indians working in Hong Kong as laborers, or doormen, especially doormen for hotels.[citation needed]
阿三 (A Sae) or 红头阿三 (Ghondeu Asae) - Originally a Shanghainese term used against South Asians. This term is now used in Mandarin as well.[58]
Against Russians
毛子 (máo zi) - literally “body hair”, it is a derogatory term against Caucasian peoples. However, because most white people in contact with China were Russians before the 19th century, 毛子 became a derogatory term specifically against Russians.[citation needed]
Against Uyghurs
Ch'an-t'ou (纏頭; turban heads) (used during the Republican period)[48][59]
nao-tzu-chien-tan (脑子简单; simple-minded) (used during the Republican period)[48]
Against Mixed Races
erzhuanzi (二转子
refers to children who are mixed Uyghur and Han.[23][24] This term "Erh-hun-tze, was said by European explorers in the 19th century to describe a people who were descended from a mixture of Chinese, Taghliks, and Mongols living in the area from Ku-ch'eng-tze to Barköl in Xinjiang.[60]
