Gweilo
|
|
Gweilo (鬼佬; Jyutping: gwai2 lou2; Cantonese IPA: ; Pinyin: guĭlăo; sometimes also spelt Gwailo) is a derogatory Cantonese term for Caucasian people (generally men). It literally means "ghost man" and arose to describe the pale complexion of Caucasians. When the term is translated into English, it is often translated as foreign devil. It is used so commonly by Cantonese speakers to refer to white people and westerners in general that its use is not always derogatory.
Gwailo is the most generic term, but variations include:
- To refer specifically to Caucasian women: gweipo (鬼婆, jyutping: gwai2 po4, literally: "ghost old-woman")
- To refer specifically to Caucasian boys: gweijai (鬼仔, jyutping: gwai2 zai2, literally: "ghost boy")
- To refer specifically to Caucasian girls: gweimui (鬼妹, jyutping: gwai2 mui1, literally: "ghost younger-sister")
Due to its widespread use, the term gwai has taken on the general meaning of "foreigner" or "westerner" rather than just Caucasian. This use can be seen in the following terms:
- To refer to a white foreigner: bakgwei (白鬼, jyutping: baak6 gwai2, literally: "white ghost")
- To refer to a black foreigner: huckgwei (黑鬼, jyutping: haak1 gwai2, literally: "black ghost")
These terms may also be considered slightly pejorative though they can be used in neutral contexts. The usage of gwai to mean foreigner has also migrated to Mandarin in the use of the term guizi (鬼子, pinyin: guǐzi). However, the more neutral term, laowai, is much more common.
Some Caucasians living in Hong Kong now occasionally use gweilo to jokingly refer to themselves. This is similar to the transformation that happened with the word nigger: an ethnic group begins referring to itself with a term which was originally considered an ethnic slur.
Although the term has lost much of its original pejorative connotation, prior to the 1980s, the term was commonly prefaced by sei (死, jyutping: sei2, meaning: death, damnation) as in sei gweilo meaning "damned ghost man" (roughly equivalent to "bastard") and was a real term of abuse. Wishing death on someone is a powerful form of abuse in Cantonese.
In the Hong Kong cinema industry, the "gweilo" term has been now often used to describe Caucasian actors playing in Asian movies.
See also
External link
- Cartoon (http://humorist.net/books/book1s1.htm) by Larry Feign