Something widely discussed among foreigners who live in Japan is the famous slang gaijin [外人] which is nothing but the 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 that word in depth, its meaning and how the Japanese usually use it.
The character [外] means outside or abroad, while the character [国] means country, region and state, while the character [人] refers to people. The combination of these 3 characters creates the word gaikokujin [外国人] which means foreigner.
Some people are 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 are to examine the meanings of the word gaikokujin [外国人] on sites like jisho, it will provide the meanings foreigner, foreign citizen, foreigner, and even alien. What do you mean alien? In reality, the word alien in English does not refer only to aliens. and literally aliens are from outside the country, from outside the earth, from outside the galaxy.
The Japanese language, while many synonyms for the same thing, has many words with different meanings. Just today I got confused when a Japanese woman used the word vacation yasumi [休み] which can also just refer to a day off or a night's sleep.
Therefore, the abbreviation gaijin [外人] that the Japanese use carries a meaning beyond foreign. If we use jisho.org the word gaijin will also point to the English word outsider. This English word means stranger, intruder, layman, and even profane. But the dictionary itself says that this is an archaic meaning of the word (ancient, not currently used).
How can the simple removal of the country character [国] cause such a fight? There are several Japanese expressions and words used in formal conversations, magazines, television, and media that use the abbreviation gaijin [外人]. Even when they talk about foreign athletes, they use gaijinsenshu [外人選手].
Descendants disappointed not to be Japanese
Another big reason the word gaijin causes so much fight and hatred is in the community of Japanese descendants who live in Japan. The Japanese often call even people who were born in Japan and are children of descendants of gaikokujin or gaijin. Even though they look Japanese, they are still called gaijin.
Even if the person using these words has xenophobic intentions, in my opinion, unfortunately, it's normal. In Brazil people call all descendants who have never had any connection with Japan, Asians, Japanese and sometimes even confuse with Chinese and Koreans. Both in Brazil and in Japan, this will happen to mestizo people.
It is worth remembering that mestizos are called ha-fu [ハーフ] which comes from the English half (half). There is also a pun on the word gaijin using the characters [害人] where the character [害] means victim, harm, evil influence and harm.
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 without any descendants who are born and raised abroad without the molds of Japanese culture can be called a gaijin. Likewise, a non-Japanese man can avoid being called a gaijin if he is fully immersed in Japanese culture and language.
- Brazilian polyglot who lives in Japan (Example of someone who managed to enter Japanese society, even without descendants);
Words Related to foreigner [gaikokujin]
Before the Meiji era, the term for foreigner was Ihojin, ikokujin and ijin. These terms are offensive because ikokujin [異国人] is written with an ideogram [異] which means strange, different, curious, unusual and unique. The funny thing is that in Japan there is the foreigner card [gaikokujin torokusho] that is usually translated as Alien Card.
The character [胡] which literally means barbarian also means foreigner. This ideogram is often used in words like suspicious, dark, and questionable. But it's 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] was once used to refer to Chinese and European barbarians and foreigners. The big problem with this word is in the kanji [毛] which means hair. The Japanese literally called foreigners hairy, probably because of the beards of Europeans.
Below we leave a list of words related to the word gaikokujin:
| Portuguese | Japanese | Romaji |
| Imported, foreign (came from abroad) | 外来 | gairai |
| Foreign currency, foreign money | 外貨 | gaika |
| Foreign country | 外国 | gaikoku |
| foreign minister | 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 article is still halfway through, but we recommend also reading:
The innocence of the Japanese with the word gaijin
Most Japanese, especially young people, have no idea of the origins of their words or history. For about 98% of the Japanese the word gaijin is nothing but 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 groaned).
In the same way that Japanese people call foreign cars gai-sha [外車], Japanese people will call foreigners gaijin, this is something automatic and normal. Unfortunately, many do not understand this and ends up taking it personally. It doesn't matter if the word is positive, negative, or neutral, everything will depend on the intention of the speaker.
We are not saying here that the Japanese do not use that word offensively because it happens in all countries. Even more so in Japan where xenophobia and racism are hidden. Since the Japanese do not usually express what they think. We just want to clarify it that the word gaijin in itself, there is absolutely nothing more.
I believe that in the same way that foreigners are not angry with Americans (the most racist country in the world) because of the word foreign which also means: exotic, alien, outsider and barbarian. We should not be irritated by hearing the word gaijin unless it is accompanied by baka or in an offensive tone.
