Gaijin

Gaijin (外人?, ) is a Japanese word meaning "non-Japanese", or "alien". The word is composed of two kanji: gai (外?), meaning "outside"; and jin (人?), meaning "person" – thus, the word could also, in some contexts, be translated into English as "outsider". There are similarly composed words to refer to foreign things, most fundamentally gaikoku (外国?, foreign country), but also to various other things such as the common words gaisha (外車?, foreign car), gaika (外貨?, foreign cash), and gaitame (外為?, foreign exchange). The word can refer to nationality, race, or ethnicity, but in Japanese these are generally conflated.

Some modern commentators feel that the word is now negative or pejorative in connotation and thus offensive. Other observers indicate that the word can also be used neutrally or positively. One scholar suggests that the term has become politically incorrect and is avoided now by most Japanese television broadcasters. The uncontroversial, if slightly formal, gaikokujin (外国人?, foreign-country person), is commonly used instead. However, even gaikokujin is avoided by some people, who might use the honorific form gaikoku no kata (外国の方?, gentleman/gentlewoman of a foreign country) instead. Similarly, some people might not use gaisha (foreign car), but use gaikoku no kuruma (foreign countries cars) if they receive interviews and have to speak in front of TV cameras.