foreigners or guavas?
March 16th, 2007
I notice that many cities tend to have their own colloquial expression for foreigners (in this case refering to western foreigners). In Bangkok, foreigners are often called “farang” which means “guavas” (yes, the green fruit) if literally translated from Thai. So the next time you’re in Bangkok and someone calls you Farang, don’t get it confused with the fruit. Here’s some other interesting expressions for “foreigner” that I’ve picked up from the region:
Malay = Mat Salleh
Cantonese = Gwai Low (if literally tranlated, stands for “white ghost”)
Hindi = Gorasafed (literally translated, means “white devil”)
Lao = Bok See Dah
Japanese = Gaijin
Feel free to add to the list!
Note: Although most words can be considered to be quite rude, these days its meanings have evolved into simple and easy expressions for foreigners.
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March 16th, 2007 at 2:14 am
what does mat salleh mean?
on a related note, i read somewhere that the term “intsik” means uncle or something ^_^
March 16th, 2007 at 3:13 am
Mat Salleh has a long history attached to it. So I thought this response from kyspeaks.com is appropriate:
Many of you have undoubtedly came across the term “Mat Salleh”. While most Malaysian knows that Mat Salleh refers to caucasian male, many does not have a slightest clue as to the origin of the term. Of course, yours truely will now don square hat and attempt to educate the nescient public.
disclaimer: this information is drawn from word of mouth and online sources with no academic backup whatsoever, and of course, a bit of fill-in-the-blank by me.
The term Mat Salleh has been documented for well over a hundred years in the Malaya Peninsula and the Borneo island. A entry to the Timeline to The Rise of The Melacca Empire
1895-1905: The Mat Salleh Rebellion in North Borneo
Now, long before people residing in this part of the world speaks the western languages, contact with caucasians were aplenty, especially around the various habours such as the once great, but now reduced to ‘a place with delicious chicken rice balls’, Melacca.
The caucasians were mostly sailors. Like all sailors who live on the ship for months on end, liberation (liquor, women, party) were the norm whenever they dock. To the locals, they looked like a bunch of mad men, always drunk and usually acted silly.
The locals spoke the Malay language, and when one of them heard another English speaking referring those caucasians as “Mad Sailors”, he tried his best to learn that term.. and inevitably prounounced it wrongly as “Mat Salleh”. The term stuck till now.
If this story hasn’t convinced you enough, please check out a recent picture of this Mat Salleh and tell me if he does not look like a mad sailor here.
March 16th, 2007 at 5:49 am
I understand where “white ghost/devil” is coming from; all I want to know is, why call a foreigner a guava?
March 17th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
Apparently foreigners and guavas share a lot in common. Check out this explanation found in wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farang
March 17th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
When I asked a friend of mine based in Bangkok why foreigners were called ‘farang’ or ‘guavas’, she said, “Maybe they want to chop us up like guavas?” Hehe. At least, that was the explanation her landlord gave.
March 18th, 2007 at 7:35 am
I’m Indian and no one actually says “gorasafed” - it’s usually either gora or gori (women). Here’s two more:
Swahili: muzungu/wazungu (plural)
Mexican Spanish: gringo/gringa
March 18th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
I was actually doubting “gorasafed” when I put it in but I had to trust my Indian friend who could speak in Hindi. Thanks for the clarification.
In Tamil however, foreigners, or more specifically Europeans are called “parangiar”.