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List of ethnic slurs

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See also: List of religious slurs

The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or otherwise insulting manner.

Some of the terms listed below (such as "Gringo", "Yank", etc.) can be used in casual speech without any intention of causing offense. The connotation of a term and prevalence of its use as a pejorative or neutral descriptor varies over time and by geography.

For the purposes of this list, an ethnic slur is a term designed to insult others on the basis of race, ethnicity, or nationality. Each term is listed followed by its country or region of usage, a definition, and a reference to that term.

Ethnic slurs may also be produced as a racial epithet by combining a general-purpose insult with the name of ethnicity, such as "dirty Jew", "Russian pig", etc. Other common insulting modifiers include "dog", "filthy", etc. However, such terms are not included in this list.

A

Term Location or origin Targets Meaning, origin and notes References
Abbie, Abe, Abie North America Jewish men Originated before the 1950s. From the proper name Abraham. [1]
ABC East Asia American-born Chinese, Han or other Chinese (including Taiwanese) born and raised in the United States. The term implies an otherness or lack of connection to their Chinese identity and (usually) Chinese language; however, it has been reappropriated by many Chinese Americans and used to convey positive connotations. [2]
ABCD South Asians in the US American-Born Confused Desi, Indian Americans or other South Asian Americans, (desi) who were born in the United States. Used chiefly by South Asian immigrants to imply confusion about cultural identity [3]
Abid/Abeed (plural) Middle East and North Africa Black African people Arabic for slave, associated with the Arab slave trade [4][5]
Abo/Abbo Australia Australian Aboriginal person Originally, this was simply an informal term for Aborigine, and was in fact used by Aboriginal people themselves (such as in the Aboriginal-run newspaper Abo Call) until it started to be considered offensive in the 1950s. Although Abo is still considered quite offensive by many, the pejorative boong is now more commonly used when the intent is deliberately to offend, as that word's status as an insult is unequivocal. [6]
Afro engineering, African engineering, Colored engineering or nigger rigging United States Black American people Shoddy, second-rate or unconventional, makeshift workmanship. Indirectly refers to black American people as worse or lower-valued than white American people when associating anything bad with them. [7][8]
Ah Chah Hong Kong South Asian people From 阿差; Cantonese Yale: achā; from "acchā" meaning "good" or "OK" in Hindi. [9]
Ali Baba United States Iraqi people An Iraqi suspected of criminal activity. [10]
Alligator bait / Gator bait United States (More commonly used in states where alligators are found, particularly Florida.) Black people, especially black children First used in the early 20th century, although some hypothesize the term originated in the late 19th century. The term derives from the fact that, during the slave trade, black children and babies were supposedly used as bait by whites in the US to catch alligators. [11][12]
Alpine Serb Serbo-Croatian: Alpski Srbin (ex-Yugoslavia) People of Slovenian origin. [13]
Ang mo Malaysia, Singapore European people, especially Dutch people Hokkien for "red hair" referring to Dutch people from the 17th century and expanded to white people by the 19th century, it has become a neutral term, though is sometimes seen as derogatory. [14]
Ann North America White women, "White-acting" black women While Miss Ann, also just plain Ann, is a derisive reference to white women, it is also applied to any black woman who is deemed to be acting as though she is white. [15][16]
Annamite, mites French, English Vietnamese people [17][18][19]
Ape United States Black people Referring to outdated theories ascribing cultural differences between ethnic groups as being linked to their evolutionary distance from chimpanzees, with which humans share common ancestry. [20][21]
Apple North America Native Americans First used in the 1970s. Someone who is "red on the outside, white on the inside". Used primarily by other Native Americans to indicate someone who has lost touch with their cultural identity. [22]
Arabush / Aravush (ערבוש) Israel Arabian people Arabs, derived from Hebrew "Aravi" (Arab) which is itself inoffensive. [23]
Argie/Argies (plural) United Kingdom Argentine people Extensively used by the British soldiers during the Falklands War in 1982. It is also the name of an Argentine punk rock band. [24]
Armo United States Armenian/Armenian American Especially used in Southern California. [25][26]
Aseng Indonesia Non-Indonesian people, especially Chinese people Insult to non-Indonesian citizen, from "[orang] asing" (foreigner) that rhymed with "Aseng" (Chinese name). This word is often directed at Chinese people due to Indonesia's relationship with the PRC. [27]
Ashke-Nazi (אשכנאצי) Israel Ashkenazi Jews Pronounced like "AshkeNatzi". Used mostly by Mizrachi Jews. [28][29][30]
Aunt Jemima/Aunt Jane/Aunt Mary/Aunt Sally United States Black women A black woman who "kisses up" to whites, a "sellout", female counterpart of Uncle Tom. [31]

B

Term Location or origin Targets Meaning, origin and notes References
Bamboula France Black people [32]
Balija Turkey Bosnian people An ethnic Bosniak or a member of the Bosnian diaspora. [33][34]
Banana North America Asian people "Yellow on the outside, white on the inside". Used primarily by East or Southeast Asians for other East- or Southeast Asians or Asian American who are perceived as assimilated into mainstream American culture. Similar to Apple. [35][36]
Barbarian Greece Non-Greek people Someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. βάρβαρος (barbaros pl. βάρβαροι barbaroi). In Ancient Greece, the Greeks used the term towards those who did not speak Greek and follow classical Greek customs. [37]
Beaner / Beaney United States People of Mexican descent or, more specifically, mestizos of Central American descent. The term originates from the use of frijoles pintos and other beans in Mexican food. [38][39][40]
Bluegum United States African Americans An African American perceived as being lazy and unwilling to work. [41]
Boche / bosche / bosch France; United States; United Kingdom German people Shortened from the French term caboche dure, meaning "hard head" or "stubborn"). [42]
Boeotian Athenians Boeotian Greek people Referring to the supposed stupidity of the inhabitants of the neighboring Boeotia region of Greece. [43]
Boerehater / Boer-hater / Boer hater South Africa; United Kingdom British people Refers to a person who hates, prejudices, or criticizes the Boers, or Afrikaners – historically applied to British people who held anti-Boers sentiments. [44][45][46]
Bog / Bogtrotter / Bog-trotter United Kingdom, Ireland, United States Irish people A person of common or low-class Irish ancestry. [47][48]
Bohunk North America Bohemian people A lower-class immigrant of Central, Eastern, or Southeastern European descent. Originally referred to those of Bohemian (now Czech Republic) descent. It was commonly used toward Central European immigrants during the early 20th century. Probably from Bohemian + a distortion of Hungarian. See also hunky. [49]
Bong India Bengali people [50]
Boong / bong / bung Australia Australian Aboriginals [First used in 1847 by JD Lang, Cooksland, 430]. Boong, pronounced with ʊ (like the vowel in bull), is related to the Australian English slang word bung, meaning "dead", "infected", or "dysfunctional". From bung, to go bung "Originally to die, then to break down, go bankrupt, cease to function [Ab. bong dead]". The (Oxford) Australian National Dictionary gives its origin in the Wemba word for "man" or "human being". [51][52][53][54]
Boonga / boong / bunga / boonie New Zealand Pacific Islanders Likely derived from the similar Australian slur. [55][56]
Bootlip United States African American [57]
Bougnoule France Arabian people [58]
Bounty bar United Kingdom Black people A racially black person who is considered to be behaving like a white person (i.e. dark on the outside, white on the inside). [59]
Bozgor Romania Hungarian people Used especially on ones born in Romania. Possibly derived from the Moldavian Csángó dialect pronunciation of bocskor meaning Opanak, a type of rustic footwear. [60]
Brownie United States Brown-skinned people Used in the 1940s–1950s [61]
Buddhahead United States Asian people Also used by mainland Japanese Americans to refer to Hawaiian Japanese Americans since World War II. [62][63]
Buckra, Bakra United States, West Indies White people from Sub-Saharan African languages [64]
Bule Indonesia White people or foreigner Derived from an archaic Indonesian word for albino. [65]
Burrhead / Burr-head / Burr head United States Black people referencing Afro-textured hair [66]

C

Term Location or origin Targets Meaning, origin and notes References
Cabbage Eater German and Russian people [67][68]
Camel Jockey Middle Eastern people [69]
Carcamano Brazil Italian people Used during the early 20th century, during the Second wave of Italian immigration to Brazil. [70]
Chankoro Japan Chinese people Japanese: チャンコロ, a Japanese reference to a Chinese person. [71]
Charlie United States White Americans Used in the 1960s–1970s. White people as a reified collective oppressor group, similar to The Man or The System. [72]
United States Vietnamese people Vietnam War Slang term used by American troops as a shorthand term for Vietnamese guerrillas, derived from the verbal shorthand for "Victor Charlie", the NATO phonetic alphabet for VC, the abbreviation for Viet Cong. The (regular) North Vietnamese Army was referred to as "Mr. Charles". [73][74][75]
Chee-chee, Chi-chi South Asia Eurasian Mixed-race people, especially Anglo-Indians Probably derived from Hindi chi-chi fie!, literally, dirt. [76]
Cheesehead Dutch people or Wisconsinites. [77][78]
Cheese-eating surrender monkey United Kingdom, United States French people From the defeat of the French by the Germans in 1940, and the huge variety of cheeses originating from France. Gained popularity after the term was used on an episode of The Simpsons. [79]
Chefur (čefur) Slovenia Non-Slovenian people of former Yugoslavia (Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, Montenegrins, Macedonians) [80]
Tsekwa / Chekwa Philippines Chinese Filipino people Used in Filipino/Tagalog and other Philippine languages, which derived it from the late 19th century Cebuano Bisaya street children's limerick, Cebuano: Intsik, wákang, káun, kalibang!, lit. 'Chinese (laborer), I work, eat, and shit!', where "Intsik"/"Insik" is derived from the Philippine Hokkien term, Chinese: WIKI