Common Terms
In Hong Kong Cantonese, the term 女傭 (maid) and 外傭 (foreign servant) are a neutral and socially acceptable term for foreign domestic helpers. However, the term fei yung (菲傭, Filipino servant) refers to foreign domestic helpers regardless of their origin because the term was dubbed at a time when most foreign domestic helpers came from the Philippines. The slang term bun mui (賓妹, Filipino girl) is used widely by the locals.
In Chinese-language government documentation, foreign domestic helpers are referred to as 家庭傭工, translated as "domestic workers", that are either "of foreign nationalities" (as in 外籍家庭傭工) or "recruited from abroad" (as in 外地區聘用家庭傭工). The government uses wording with the same meanings in English-language documentation, but it specifically uses the term "domestic helper" instead of "domestic worker".
Read more about this topic: Foreign Domestic Helpers In Hong Kong
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