===
African=== Most of these black slurs and all these African slurs apply also to
Cape Coloureds. People of mixed races in
South Africa are referred to as
Coloured with no derogatory connections. :; Af : (Rhodesia) African to a
white Rhodesian (Rhodie). :; Ape : (US) a black person. :;
Béni-oui-oui : Mostly used during the French colonization of Algeria as a term for
Algerian Muslims. :; Bluegum : an African American perceived as being lazy and who refuses to work. :; Boogie : a black person (
film noir); "The boogies lowered the boom on Beaver Canal." :; Buck : a black person or Native American. :; Burrhead / Burr-head / Burr head : (US) a black person, in reference to
Afro-textured hair. :; Bushy (s.) / Bushies, Amadushie (p.) : (South Africa)
Khoisans. Historically used against the Khoisan people in Southern Africa, referring to their nomadic lifestyle and reliance on the bush for survival. :;
Colored : (US) a black person. Once generally accepted as inoffensive, this word is now considered disrespectful by some. The
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) continues to use its full name unapologetically. This is not to be confused with the term "
person of color" which is the preferred term for collectively referring to all non-white people. :; Cotton picker : (US) Individuals of Black African descent. :; Coon : (US and UK) originally used by Europeans/white people as a pejorative term for a black person. Possibly from Portuguese
barracos, a building constructed to hold slaves for sale (1837). The term (though still also used in its original sense) is commonly used today by African or Black Americans towards members of the same race who are perceived to pander/kowtow to white people; to be a 'sellout'; to
hate themselves; or to "collud[e] with racism for personal gain." It is often used against
black conservatives or Republicans (similar to
Uncle Tom and
coconut). Also used to slur
Cape Coloureds or
Coloureds in South Africa. The association of the term "coon" with the
coloured group expresses ambivalent feelings about their mixed-race ancestral background, and signifies
self-deprecation, subordination, and marginalization of the underprivileged. :; Crow : (US) a black person. :; Eggplant : (US) A black person. Notable for appearing in the 1979 film,
The Jerk and the 1993 film
True Romance. :; Fuzzies : (Commonwealth) A black person. Notable for appearing in the 1964 film,
Zulu. :;
Fuzzy-Wuzzy : (Commonwealth) A
Hadendoa Beja. The term is a reference to the distinctive
dirwa hairstyle used by many Beja men. :; Gam, Gammat : (South Africa) Used to refer to
Cape Coloureds or
Coloureds. It means "a person who is low or of inferior status" in Afrikaans. :;
Golliwogg : (Commonwealth) a dark-skinned person, named after
Florence Kate Upton's children's book character. :; Hapsi / Habsi : (Nepal), a term used for black person from Africa. :; Houtkop : (South Africa) a black person and a
Cape Coloured or
coloured native. The term translates literally to "wooden head" in Afrikaans. :; Jigaboo / jiggabo, jijjiboo, zigabo / jig, jigg, jiggy, jigga : (US and UK) a black person (JB) with stereotypical black features. (dark skin, wide nose, etc.) Refer to mannerisms that resemble dancing. :;
Jim Crow : (US) a black person; also the name for the
segregation laws prevalent in much of the United States until the
civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. :; Jim Fish : (South Africa) a black person. :; Jungle bunny : (US and UK) a black person. :;
Kaffir, kaffer, kafir, kaffre : (South Africa)
a. a black person. Considered
very offensive. :;
Macaca, macaque : a person of black African descent, originally used in languages of colonial powers in Africa. Same as "
macaque". :;
Mammy : Domestic servant of black African descent, generally good-natured, often overweight, and loud. :;
Makwerekwere, Kwerekwere : (South Africa) Used against foreigners, usually black migrants or refugees in South Africa. :; Monkey : a person of black African descent. :; Munt : (South Africa,
Zimbabwe, and
Zambia) a term, used among white people, for a black person. The term derives from
muntu, the singular of
Bantu. :; Nig-nog : (US and UK) a black person. :;
Nigger / niggar / niggur, niger / nigor / nigre (Caribbean) / nigar, nigga / niggah / nig / nigguh : (International) a black person. From the word
negro, which means the color black in numerous languages. Diminutive
appellations include
Nigg and
Nigz. Over time, the terms
nigga and
niggaz (plural) have come to be frequently used between some
African or black diaspora without the negative associations of
nigger. Considered
very offensive and typically censored as "the n-word" even in reference to its use. The terms
niggress,
negress, and
nigette are feminized formulations of the term. :; Niglet / nigglet : a black child. :; Nigra / negra / niggra / nigrah / nigruh : (US) a black person, first used in the early 1900s. :;
Pickaninny : generally refers to black children, or a caricature of them which is widely considered racist. :; Porch monkey : a black person. :; Powder burn : a black person. :; Smoked Irishman : (US) 19th century term for black people. :; Spade : a term for a black person, first recorded in 1928, from the
playing cards suit. :;
Spook : a black person. :;
Tar baby : (US) a black person, especially a child. :; Tea bag : (South Africa) black or
Coloured or
Cape Coloured individuals who have a light skin :; Teapot : A black person, derived in 19th century. :;
Chinaman : (US) Chinese person, used in old American west when discrimination against Chinese was common. :;
Chink : (US) a person of East Asian descent. :;
Coolie : (North America) unskilled Asian laborer, usually Chinese (originally used in the 19th century for Chinese railroad laborers). Possibly from Mandarin
ku li () or Hindi
kuli, 'day laborer'. Also racial epithet for
Indo-Caribbean people, especially in
Guyana and
Trinidad and Tobago. :;
Gook : East Asian people, particularly aimed towards
Koreans. The term originates from the
Korean War and comes from the Korean word for country. The Korean word for the United States of America is
Mee Hap Joon Gook, which is shorten to the more familiar
Mee Gook.
Dae Han Min Gook or the People's Republic of Korea is similarly shortened to
Han Gook. The word was given a derogatory slant by American service men who used it to refer to Koreans. It was also used prominently during the Vietnam War, particularly towards the Viet Cong. :; Oriental : (Predominantly US, used elsewhere) Refers to an East Asian person (of the
Orient) and/or their ethnicity. In 2016, US President
Barack Obama signed a bill to remove the term
Oriental, together with some others, as a reference to a person from federal laws. :; Slope : (Australia) a person of East Asian descent. :; Yellow, Yellowman, or Yellowwoman : designating or pertaining to an East Asian person, in reference to those who have a yellowish skin complexion. ====
South Asian==== :; Khuli (s.) / Amakhula (p.) : (South Africa) a person or people of Indian heritage. :; Chee-chee : a Eurasian half-caste, probably from Hindi
chi-chi fie, literally 'dirt'. :;
Chinki : used in India for those from
Northeast India. :; Curry muncher : (Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and North America) a person of Asian Indian origin. :;
Madrasi : outdated exonym for the people of
South India (named for the city of Madras, i.e. modern-day
Chennai). :;
Malaun : (Bangladesh) term for Hindus. :;
Paki : (UK) pejorative for a person from South Asia (particularly Pakistan) and mainly used in the United Kingdom. First recorded in 1964 during increased immigration of Pakistanis to the United Kingdom and popularized during a heightened era of Paki-bashing. Although considered the 'P-Word' :; Flip : (US) An ethnic slur applied to
Filipinos. :; Gugus : (US) a racial term used to refer to Filipino guerillas during the
Philippine–American War. The term came from
gugo, the
Tagalog name for
Entada phaseoloides or the St. Thomas bean, the bark of which was used by Filipinas to shampoo their hair. The term was a predecessor to the term
gook, a racial term used to refer to all Asian people. :;
Huan-a :
Hokkien word for foreigner, used to refer to non-Chinese Southeast Asian people and
Taiwanese aborigines, considered offensive by most non-Chinese speakers. :;
Jakun : a person considered unsophisticated in Malaysia; derived from the name of an indigenous
Orang Asli group. ====
West Asian==== :;
Camel jockey : an
Arab. :; Hajji, Hadji, Haji : pejorative term used by the US military for
Iraqis, may also be used for other Muslims. Derived from the honorific
Al-Hajji, the title given to a Muslim who has completed the Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). :;
Sand nigger : person who dwells in deserts, especially of Arabian peninsula or African continent. :;
Towelhead /
Raghead : A Muslim, Arab, Sikh, or member of any group that traditionally wears headdress such as a
turban,
keffiyeh, or
headscarf. :; Turco : (Argentina, Brazil, Chile) an Arab, or less commonly a Jew or Armenian. Used after the
Ottoman nationality that early Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian immigrants had on their passports ===
European=== :;
Ang mo: (Malaysia and Singapore)
Hokkien for "red hair" referring to
Dutch people from the 17th century and expanded to all
white people by the 19th century, has become a neutral term in the 21st century. :;
Barang : (Cambodia) any white person. :; Batakusai: (Japan) westerners, especially Europeans and Americans; literally "
butter-smelling". The term originates from the 19th century, as following the
Opening of Japan, westerners were believed to smell of
dairy products (including butter), which were not widely eaten in Japan at the time. The term survives in the present day as a descriptor for things that are 'obnoxiously western', or to refer to things of western origin. :;
Bule : (Indonesia) white people; literally, "albino", but used to mean any white person, in the same way that "colored" might be used to refer to a black person. :; Charlie : used by
African Americans, mainly in the 1960s and 1970s, to refer to a white person. From
James Baldwin's play,
Blues For Mister Charlie. :;
Coonass or coon-ass : (US) a
Cajun; may be derived from the
French conasse. :;
Cracker : (US) white people, originally and still particularly used to refer to poor white people from the
American South. :;
Farang : (Thailand) any white person. :; Firangi : (India) a white foreigner. Same word origin as Thai
Farang. :;
Gammon : (UK) white people, especially older white men – based on the reddish appearance of their faces when
flushed. :; Gora (, ), Goro () : (India) a person of European descent or other light skinned person in
Hindi and other Indo-Aryan languages. However, it has recently been connected to racism. "Gori" is the feminine form. :;
Gringo : (Americas) Non-Hispanic US national. Hence
Gringolandia, the United States; not always a pejorative term, unless used with intent to offend. :; Gubba : (Australia) Aboriginal (Koori) term for white people – derived from Governor / Gubbanah :;
Gweilo, gwailo, kwai lo : (Hong Kong and South China) A White man.
Gwei or
kwai () means 'ghost', which the color white is associated with in China; and the term
lo () refers to a regular guy (i.e. a fellow, a chap, or a bloke). Once a mark of
xenophobia, the word was promoted by
Maoists as insulting but is now in general, informal use. :;
Honky : (US) a white person. :;
Haole : (Hawaii) Usually not offensive, can be derogatory if intended to offend. Used by modern-day
Native Hawaiians to refer to anyone of European descent whether native born or not. Use has spread to many other islands of the Pacific and is known in modern pop culture. :;
Hunky / Bohunk : (US) A
Central European laborer. 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 on the mines. :; Land thief : (South Africa) a white person from South Africa. 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. :; Medigan / Amedigan : (US) A term used by
Italian Americans to refer to Americans of
White Anglo Saxon Protestant descent, Americans of
Northwestern European descent, Americans with no discernible ethnicity, or Americans of non-Italian descent in general. Comes from Southern Italian pronunciation of the Italian word
americano. :;
Ofay : (US) a white person. Etymology is unknown. :;
Arkie : (US) A person from the State of Arkansas, used during the great depression for farmers from Arkansas looking for work elsewhere. :;
Okie : (US) A person from the State of Oklahoma, used during the great depression for farmers from Oklahoma looking for work elsewhere. :;
Peckerwood : (US) a white person (southerner). This word was coined in the 19th century by Southern black people to refer to poor white people. :; Pink pig : (South Africa) a white person. :; Dago : (UK and Commonwealth) may refer to
Italians,
Spaniards,
Portuguese, and potentially
Greek peoples. Possibly derived from the Spanish name
Diego. :: (US) refers specifically to Italians.
Greaser also refer to members of a
1950-1960s subculture which
Italian Americans and
Hispanic Americans were stereotyped to be a part of. :;
Kanake : (Germany) Used in 1960s Germany to refer to Southern European and Mediterranean immigrants, increasingly used exclusively for
Turkish people. :; Métèque : (France) Mediterranean or Middle Eastern immigrant, especially Italians. :;
Wog : (Australia) used for the first wave of Southern European immigrants to Australia and their descendants that contrasted with the dominant Anglo-Saxon/Anglo-Celtic colonial stock. Used mostly for Mediterraneans and Southern Europeans, including the Spanish, Italians, Greeks, Macedonians, Lebanese, Arabs, Croatians and Serbians.
American Hispanic/Mestizo :;
Beaner: Term for Mexican, but can be used for Hispanics in general because of the idea that all Hispanics are the same. :; Brownie : Someone of
Hispanic, Indian, and Arab, rarely used as someone of Native American or Pacific Islander descent. :; Greaseball : (US) Can refer to a person of Italian or Hispanic descent. More generally, it can also refer to anyone of Mediterranean or Latin American descent. :;
Sudaca : (Spain) a person from Latin America or "Sudamérica". :; Tonk : An illegal migrant from Mexico. :;
Veneco : Originally used by Venezuelans during
Venezuela's oil boom to refer to Colombian immigrants who settled in the country and their descendants, being a
portmanteau of 'Venezuelan' and 'Colombian'. Over time
its meaning changed to refer to Venezuelans. :;
Wetback : A Latin American person. Originally applied specifically to Mexican migrant workers who had crossed the Rio Grande border river illegally to find work in the United States, its meaning has since broadened. ====
Native American==== :; Brownie : A brown-skinned person, or someone of Indigenous Australian, American, or Canadian descent, as well as of those of Hispanic or South Asian descent. From the native people
Chugach. :; Eskimo, Eskimo Pie : an indigenous person from the
Arctic. Once a common term in Canada,
Eskimo has come to be considered offensive and
Inuit (or
Inuk) is now preferred.
Eskimo Pie has also been used against Inuk persons. :;
Indian : People indigenous to the Americas, termed by Columbus due to the fact he thought he arrived in the East Indies. The term is considered offensive by few, but is still used within the
Canadian legal system. :;
Papoose : refers specifically to Native American children, although sometimes used to refer to children in general. From the Algonquian language family and generally inoffensive when used in such contexts. :;
Prairie Nigger : refers to Native Americans in the
Great Plains. :;
Redskin : a Native American person. :;
Squaw : (US and Canada) a female Native American. Derived from the lower East-Coast
Algonquian language
Massachusett term
ussqua, which originally meant 'young woman', but which took on strong negative connotations in the late 20th century. :;
Timber Nigger : (US) used by white Americans in reference to a Native American person. :; Wagon burner : a Native American person, in reference to when Native American tribes would attack
wagon trains during the
wars in the eastern American frontier. :; Yanacona : a term used by modern
Mapuche as an insult for Mapuche considered to be subservient to non-indigenous Chileans, 'sellout'. Use of the word
yanacona to describe people have led legal action in Chile. :; Boong / bong / bung : (Australia) an Aboriginal Australian.
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 comes the phrase
to go bung, "to die, then to break down, go bankrupt, cease to function [Ab.
bong dead]." The term was first used in 1847 by J. D. Lang in
Cooksland. The (Oxford)
Australian National Dictionary gives its origin in the
Wemba word for 'man' or 'human being'. :; Coon : an Aboriginal person. :; Gin : an Aboriginal woman. :; Lubra : an Aboriginal woman. An Aboriginal word. :; Brownie : Someone of Hispanic, Indian, and Arab, rarely used as someone of Native American or Pacific Islander descent. :;
Kanaka : originally referred to indentured laborers from the Pacific Islands, especially
Melanesians and
Polynesians. ==Individual nationalities and/or ethnicities==