The Meaning of Gaijin: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know the definition of gaijin? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word gaijin, including its definition, etymology, usage, example sentences, and more!

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What does the word gaijin mean?

According to Definitions, the word gaijin is Japanese for a non-Japanese person, or foreigner or alien. This word is formed by the two kanji gai, which means outside, and him which means person. Therefore, the literal translation in the English language is outside country person or outsider. There are different words that also refer to foreign things and people like foreign currency, a foreign country or a foreign car, including gaikoku, as well as the common words gaisha, gaika, and gaitame. The word gaijin can refer to nationality, race, or ethnicity, but in Japanese these are generally conflated.

Modern commentators feel that this word is negative, criminal or pejorative in connotation and thus offensive, but others think that it can still be used neutrally or positively. This word is avoided by most kids and Japanese television broadcasters and is generally considered to be politically incorrect. Now, the uncontroversial, if slightly formal word gaikokujin, is commonly used instead. One can also use the honorific form gaikoku no kata instead. People might also not use gaisha, but use gaikoku no kuruma if they do interviews where they have to speak in front of TV cameras. Gaijin does not specifically mean a foreigner that is also a white person, and can be used for other East Asians or anyone else from another country.

According to Your Dictionary, this word comes from the Japanese gai outside or foreign, which comes from the Middle Chinese ŋuaj`, jin person jinriksha. In Chinese and Japanese writing, these are written as the below:

  •  Japanese 外人 gaijin がいじん 
  •  Middle Chinese 外人 ngwàj-nyin
  •  Mandarin wàirén 外人
  •  Old Chinese ŋʷˁat-s ning
  •  外 “outside” + 人 “person”
  •  Gaikokujin 外国人

What are translations of the word gaijin?

There are many different ways that someone can refer to a foreigner in many different languages. You may notice that many of these translations look and sound similar to one another. These are called cognates,which are often formed when two words in different languages have the same root or language of origin. This list of translations is provided by Word Sense.

  •  Maori: tautangata‎
  •  Vietnamese: người nước ngoài‎, người ngoại quốc‎
  •  Old English: ūtlenda‎ (masc.)
  •  Volapük: (♂♀) foginänan‎, (♂) hifoginänan‎, (♀) jifoginänan‎
  •  Romanian: străin‎ (masc.)
  •  Afrikaans: buitelander‎
  •  Korean: 외국인‎ (外國人‎), 이국인‎ (異國人‎)
  •  Latin: barbarus‎ (masc.), peregrinus‎ (masc.), extraneus‎ (masc.), alienus‎, alienus‎
  •  Bengali: বিদেশি‎, বিদেশী‎
  •  Finnish: ulkomaalainen‎
  •  Czech: cizinec‎ (masc.), cizinka‎ (fem.)
  •  Mandarin: 外國人‎, 外国人‎ (wàiguórén), 外人‎ (wàirén), 老外‎ (lǎowài) (colloquial)
  •  Aromanian: xen‎ (masc.), striin‎ (masc.)
  •  Estonian: välismaalane‎
  •  Armenian: օտարերկրացի‎, արտասահմանցի‎, օտարազգի‎
  •  Roman: stránac‎ (masc.), tuđínac‎ (masc.)
  •  Portuguese: estrangeiro‎ (masc.), estrangeira‎ (fem.)
  •  Esperanto: fremdulo‎, fremdlandulo‎, eksterlandano‎
  •  Persian: اجنبی‎ (ajnabi), خارجی‎ (xâreji), بیگانه‎ (bigâne)
  •  Azeri: xarici‎
  •  Macedonian: стра́нец‎ (masc.), ту́ѓинец‎ (masc.)
  •  Maltese: għarib‎ (masc.), għariba‎ (fem.), barrani‎ (masc.), barranija‎ (fem.)
  •  Catalan: foraster‎ (masc.), forastera‎ (fem.); estranger‎ (masc.), estrangera‎ (fem.)
  •  Slovak: cudzinec‎ (masc.), cudzinka‎ (fem.)
  •  Turkish: yabancı‎, ecnebi‎
  •  Scottish Gaelic: coimheach‎ (masc.), coigreach‎ (masc.), Gall‎ (masc.), eilthireach‎ (masc.)
  •  Welsh: alltud‎
  •  Georgian: უცხოელი‎
  •  Burmese: တတိုင်းတပြည်သား‎, နိုင်ငံခြားသား‎
  •  Polish: cudzoziemiec‎ (masc.), cudzoziemka‎ (fem.)
  •  Slovene: tujec‎ (masc.), tujka‎ (fem.)
  •  Cantonese: 外國人‎, 外国人‎ (ngoi6 gwok3 jan4), 老外‎ (lou5 ngoi6-2) (colloquial)
  •  Danish: udlænding‎ (common)
  •  Basque: erdaldun‎
  •  Arabic: أَجْنَبِيّ‎ (masc.), أَجْنَبِيَّة‎ (fem.)
  •  Japanese: 外国人‎ (がいこくじん, gaikokujin), 外人‎ (がいじん, gaijin) (colloquial)
  •  Russian: иностра́нец‎ (masc.), иностра́нка‎ (fem.), чужезе́мец‎ (masc.), чужезе́мка‎ (fem.), инозе́мец‎ (masc.), инозе́мка‎ (fem.)
  •  Lao: ຝຣັ່ງ‎, ແຂກ‎
  •  Belarusian: іншазе́мец‎ (masc.), іншазе́мка‎ (fem.), чужазе́мец‎ (masc.), чужазе́мка‎ (fem.)
  •  Hebrew: זָר‎
  •  Bulgarian: чуждене́ц‎ (masc.), чужденка́‎ (fem.)
  •  German: Ausländer‎ (masc.), Ausländerin‎ (fem.)
  •  Khmer: ជនបរទេស‎ (jon bo ro tes)
  •  Thai: ฝรั่ง‎ (farang)
  •  Scots: fremmit‎ fowk‎
  •  Latvian: ārzemnieks‎ (masc.), ārzemniece‎ (fem.)
  •  Swedish: utlänning‎
  •  Icelandic: útlendingur‎ (masc.)
  •  Cyrillic: стра́нац‎ (masc.), туђи́нац‎ (masc.)
  •  Norwegian: utlending‎ (masc.)
  •  Ukrainian: інозе́мець‎ (masc.), інозе́мка‎ (fem.)
  •  French: étranger‎ (masc.), étrangère‎ (fem.)
  •  Dutch: buitenlander‎ (masc.), buitenlandse‎ (fem.), vreemdeling‎ (masc.), vreemdelinge‎ (fem.), uitlander‎ (masc.), uitlandse‎ (fem.)
  •  Urdu: پردیشی‎
  •  Albanian: huaj‎ (masc.)
  •  Spanish: extranjero‎ (masc.), extranjera‎ (fem.), forastero‎ (masc.)
  •  Swahili: ajinabi‎
  •  Navajo: anaʼí‎, déʼéyóní‎
  •  Egyptian Arabic: أجنبي‎, أجنبية‎
  •  Greek: ξένος‎ (masc.), αλλοδαπός‎ (masc.)
  •  Hindi: विदेशी‎ (masc.), अन्यदेशीय‎, परदेशी‎ (masc.)
  •  Irish: allúrach‎ (masc.)
  •  Hungarian: külföldi‎
  •  Italian: straniero‎ (masc.), straniera‎ (fem.)

What are synonyms and antonyms of the word gaijin in English?

There are many different words that have the same meaning as the word gaijin. These are known as synonyms, which are words and phrases that have the same definition as another word or phrase. Synonyms are very useful to know if you want to expand your knowledge of the English language and if you want to avoid repeating yourself. This list of synonyms for the word gaijin is provided by Power Thesaurus

  •  greenhorn
  •  strangers
  •  nonnational
  •  unknowns
  •  barbarian
  •  invitee
  •  castaway
  •  outlander
  •  abroad
  •  interloper
  •  gringo
  •  newcomer
  •  nonmember
  •  visitors
  •  deportee
  •  immigrant
  •  arrival
  •  blow-in
  •  strange
  •  emigrant
  •  new arrivals
  •  pilgrim
  •  stranger
  •  fresh off the boat
  •  displaced person
  •  exile
  •  unfamiliar
  •  migratory worker
  •  overseas
  •  person in exile
  •  ultramontane
  •  foreign devil
  •  expat
  •  migrant
  •  extraneous
  •  oversea
  •  outsider
  •  perfect stranger
  •  out-of-towner
  •  alien
  •  parvenu
  •  documented alien
  •  newcomers
  •  drifter
  •  non-citizens
  •  new arrival
  •  aliens
  •  stateless person
  •  outsiders
  •  asylum seeker
  •  traveler
  •  incomers
  •  boat person
  •  caller
  •  expatriate
  •  naturalized citizen
  •  settler
  •  odd one out
  •  landed immigrant
  •  foreign national
  •  floaters
  •  tramontane
  •  unknown
  •  external
  •  expellee
  •  foreign country
  •  late arrival
  •  latecomer
  •  immigrants
  •  adoptive citizen
  •  wanderer
  •  itinerant person
  •  resident alien
  •  émigré
  •  invitees
  •  foreign person
  •  uninvited person
  •  visitor
  •  nonnative
  •  party crasher
  •  foreigners
  •  exotic
  •  foreign body
  •  foreign bodies
  •  squatter
  •  transient
  •  non-native
  •  tourist
  •  incomer
  •  noncitizen
  •  sightseer
  •  refugee
  •  guest
  •  johnny-come-lately
  •  outcomer
  •  outcast
  •  unknown person
  •  out-of-stater
  •  intruder
  •  undocumented alien

There are also numerous different words that have opposite meanings as the term gaijin. which are known as antonyms. These opposite words are also very useful to know if you want to try and expand your knowledge of the English language and grammar. This list of antonyms for the word gaijin is also provided by Power Thesaurus.

  •  indigenous community
  •  buddy
  •  autochthonous peoples
  •  first people
  •  aboriginal community
  •  aboriginal peoples
  •  indigenous persons
  •  original resident
  •  original people
  •  indigenous people
  •  local population
  •  local
  •  native peoples
  •  countryman
  •  aboriginal groups
  •  indigenous citizens
  •  autochthonous inhabitant
  •  welcome guest
  •  companion
  •  indigenous inhabitant
  •  inhabitant
  •  denizen
  •  first peoples
  •  aboriginal population
  •  first nations
  •  native-born populace
  •  indigenous communities
  •  dweller
  •  aborigine
  •  habitant
  •  native people
  •  national
  •  indigenous peoples
  •  indigenous groups
  •  occupant
  •  aboriginal people
  •  indigenous population
  •  first nation
  •  friend
  •  autochthonous people
  •  resident
  •  innate peoples
  •  aboriginal group
  •  aboriginal communities
  •  autochthonous population
  •  indigenous populations
  •  native
  •  aboriginal inhabitant
  •  global citizen
  •  citizen

Overall, the word gaijin means outsider or foreigner. This word is thought to have a negative connotation. 

Sources:

  1. Gaijin Meaning | Best 4 Definitions of Gaijin | Your Dictionary 
  2. What does gaijin mean? | Definitions  
  3. Foreigner | Word Sense
  4. Foreigner synonyms – 319 Words and Phrases for Foreigner | Power Thesaurus 
  5. Foreigner antonyms – 287 Opposites of Foreigner | Power Thesaurus