Laowai

Laowai is the Pinyin pronunciation/transliteration of 老外 (pinyin: lǎowài, lit. "old foreign"), an informal term or slang for "foreigner" and/or non-Chinese national, usually neutral but possibly impolite or loose in some circumstances. Formal and polite Chinese terms for foreigner include wàiguórén (simplified Chinese: 外国人; traditional Chinese: 外國人; lit. 'foreigner'), wàibīn (外宾; 外賓; 'foreigner guest'), guójì yǒurén (国际友人; 國際友人; 'international friend') and wàiguó pengyou (外國朋友; 外国朋友; 'foreigner friend'). "Laowai" is commonly used to refer to foreigners of non-East Asian ethnicities, primarily White, Black, and Brown people. The term usually does not refer to ethnic Han of non-Chinese citizenship or other Asian ethnicities.