鬼佬

Chinese

ghost; sly; crafty man; guy
simp. and trad.
(鬼佬)

Etymology

Originally Cantonese. From the supposed resemblance of Portuguese and other European skin tones to ghosts.

Pronunciation


Noun

鬼佬

  1. (chiefly Cantonese, Min Dong, colloquial, derogatory, usually offensive, ethnic slur) gweilo; "foreign devil" (particularly a European); Caucasian; whitey

Usage notes

  • A derogatory term for white people, particularly men, mainly in speech. Prior to the 1980s, the term was commonly prefixed in Cantonese by (sei2, damned), with the meaning "damned ghost fucker, damned foreign devil".
  • Not commonly used among Mandarin speakers.

Synonyms

Derived terms

  • 鬼佬餐 (guǐlǎocān)
  • 鬼佬齋鬼佬斋

Descendants

See also

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