Something that is widely discussed among foreigners living in Japan is the famous slang gaijin [外人], which is nothing more than an abbreviation of the word gaikokujin [外国人], which literally means foreigner, or someone who comes from outside the country. In this article, I want to examine this word in depth, its meaning, and how the Japanese usually use it.
The ideogram [外] means outside or exterior, while the ideogram [国] means country, region, and state, and the ideogram [人] refers to people. The combination of these 3 ideograms creates the word gaikokujin [外国人], which means foreigner.
Some people feel easily offended when they hear the word gaijin. Many believe that the abbreviation of the word gaikokujin sounds quite racist, but in my opinion, this is a very childish view. Is the word gaijin really that bad? Are the Japanese aware of this?
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Why does the word gaijin cause so much discussion?
If we examine the meanings of the word gaikokujin [外国人] on sites like jisho, it will provide the meanings foreigner, foreign citizen, person from outside the country, and even alien. How is that alien? In reality, the word alien in English does not only refer to extraterrestrials. And literally, extraterrestrials are from outside the country, from outside the earth, from outside the galaxy.
The Japanese language, while having many synonyms for the same thing, has several words with various meanings. Just today I got confused when a Japanese person used the word vacation yasumi [休み], which can also refer to just a day off or a night of sleep.
Thus, the abbreviation gaijin [外人] that the Japanese use carries a meaning beyond foreigner. If we use jisho.org, the word gaijin will also point to the English word outsider. This English word means strange, outsider, intruder, layman, and even profane. However, the dictionary itself states that this is an archaic meaning of the word (old, not currently in use).
How can the simple removal of the ideogram for country [国] cause so much conflict? There are various expressions and Japanese words used in formal conversations, magazines, television, and media that use the abbreviation gaijin [外人]. Even when talking about foreign athletes, they use gaijinsenshu [外人選手].
Disappointed descendants for not being Japanese
Another major reason the word gaijin causes so much conflict and hatred lies within the community of Japanese descendants living in Japan. The Japanese often call even those who were born in Japan and are children of gaikokujin or gaijin descendants. Even if they look Japanese, they are still called gaijin.
Even if the person using these words has xenophobic intentions, in my opinion, unfortunately, it is something normal. In Brazil, people call all descendants who have never had any connection with Japan, Asians, Japanese, and sometimes even confuse them with Chinese and Koreans. Both in Brazil and Japan, this will happen with mixed-race people.
It is worth noting that mixed-race people are called ha-fu [ハーフ], which comes from the English half (half, middle). There is also a pun with the word gaijin using the ideograms [害人], where the ideogram [害] means victim, harm, influence of evil, and damage.
It is worth remembering that there are not only ethnic issues in the word gaijin [外人]. This Japanese word refers to someone from outside; even a Japanese person without any ancestry who is born and raised abroad without the molds of Japanese culture can be called gaijin. Similarly, a non-Japanese person can avoid being called gaijin if they are fully immersed in Japanese culture and language.
- Brazilian polyglot living in Japan (Example of someone who managed to integrate into Japanese society, even without ancestry);
Words related to foreigner [gaikokujin]
Before the Meiji era, the term for foreigner was Ihojin, ikokujin, and ijin. These terms are indeed offensive because ikokujin [異国人] is written with the ideogram [異], which means strange, different, curious, unusual, and odd. The funniest thing is that in Japan there is a foreigner card [gaikokujin torokusho] that is often translated as Alien Card.
The ideogram [胡], which literally means barbarian, also means foreigner. This ideogram is often used in words like suspicious, shady, and questionable. But it is also an innocent kanji used in words like pepper and cucumber. Its origin is related to ethnic groups in China.
Even the word kedoujin [毛唐人] has been used to refer to barbarians and foreign Chinese and Europeans. The big problem with this word lies in the kanji [毛], which means hair. The Japanese literally called foreigners hairy, probably because of the beards of Europeans.
Below we will leave a list of words related to the word gaikokujin:
| Portuguese | Japanese | Romaji |
| Imported, foreign (came from outside) | 外来 | gairai |
| Foreign currency, foreign money | 外貨 | gaika |
| Foreign country | 外国 | gaikoku |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | 外相 | gaishou |
| Another country, another state, foreign land | 他国 | takoku |
| Xenophobia | 外国人嫌悪 | gaikokujinken’o |
| White person, Caucasian | 白人 | hakujin |
The innocence of the Japanese with the word gaijin
The majority of Japanese people, especially young people, have no idea about the origins of their words or history. For about 98% of Japanese people, the word gaijin is nothing more than an abbreviation of the word gaikokujin. Abbreviating words is very common in Japan; some examples are in the words pokemon (poketto monsutaa) and kokuren (kokusai rengou).
Just as the Japanese call foreign cars gai-sha [外車], the Japanese will call foreigners gaijin; this is something automatic and normal. Unfortunately, many do not understand this and it ends up being taken personally. It does not matter if the word is positive, negative, or neutral; everything will depend on the intention of the person speaking.
We are not saying here that the Japanese do not use this word offensively because this happens in all countries. Especially in Japan, where xenophobia and racism occur in a hidden manner, as the Japanese do not usually express what they think. We just want to make it clear that the word gaijin, in itself, is absolutely nothing wrong.
I believe that just as foreigners do not get upset with Americans (the most racist country in the world) because of the word foreign, which also means: exotic, alien, outsider, barbarian, we should not get upset for hearing the word gaijin unless it is accompanied by baka or in an offensive tone.
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