<p>As Wikipedia mentioned, “老” is an empty prefix. Laowai is neither positive nor negative.</p>

<p>Actually, the word is often used to refer to a variety of races like Caucasians, Indians, Africans and Middle Easterners, who look drastically different from Asians. You will rarely hear a Chinese person call Japanese, Koreans and Filipinos 老外. That's why you hear some Chinese use this term even in the United States and Canada.</p>

<p>The word emerged in Beijing and became popular there. In southern China it is used less. </p>

<p>What's the reason you hear this word used frequently in China? Because westerners attract more attention in the public as they look different. The quickest way to refer them is with 老外. Saying <em>外国人</em> is too formal.</p>

<p>The word might become less popular when more foreigners start living in/visiting China. It'd be less strange to see them in the public. </p>

<p>The word is also used less among those who are better educated. He has a name, why call him 老外? Regardless of whether the word is negative or not, saying such is not really polite.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-17T21:18:53.633Z
*The word is also used less among those who are better educated.* How did you know that? I can't say I agree with it. There seems to be a lot of assumptions made here.
deutschZuid
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-18T02:39:52.313Z
@James, thanks for revising some errors. I agree my points may be a little subjective, however I saw it from my experience. Labelling a person by his nation, racial is not polite, even the word itself is neutral, so more educated people will do less on that. Years ago HK people often call mainland people as 大陆人，the word is neutral, but sounds not nice. Now they say less.
Billy Chan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-18T07:03:58.047Z
Err.. I understand that this term is a bit controversial with many people having strong views, that is why I am only asking about the origin. Wikipedia did not conclude that “老” in 老外 stands for an empty prefix but rather listed a few possibilities. Is there any reason why you say it emerged from Beijing and not elsewhere?
杨以轩
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-18T07:40:47.127Z
The pronunciation sounds natural in mandarin only, It's harder to read in accent of south China. The word began in 80s when Beijing was the one of several places to see lots of foreigners. There were also lots of reports about the word used in Beijing 10-20 years ago.
Billy Chan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-17T16:19:55.660Z
2012-11-17T22:33:35.963Z
2012-11-17T22:33:35.963Z
Billy Chan
<p>@BillyChan's answer is pretty good. This is just an additional thought. </p>

<p>There is a difference in intention and perception about the word 老外. What I mean is, what a Chinese speaker intends or means by the use of this word, and how the foreigner listener often perceives it are two different things. Although it may be mildly impolite, most Chinese people do not use it with any ill will, but commonly as an informal term expressing surprise or curiosity at seeing a foreigner who looks different than they do. However, western foreigners generally perceive it as a derogatory term, taking it to mean an outsider, someone who doesn't belong (and never will), or even taking it to mean a freak or monster. The difference between intention and perception can be quite large at times.</p>

<p>This difference is also reflected to some extent by the Baidu and Wikipedia articles you quoted. Although both are "politically correct," the Baidu definition was probably written by a Chinese person and thus emphasizes the more neutral (and even respectful) origin of the term. The Wikipedia article on the other hand was probably written by a Westerner and thus emphasizes a certain sense of being an outsider or different.</p>

<p>The term 老外 is a good reminder that learning Chinese is more than learning grammar and vocabulary. It is also about learning culture. And as our cultural perceptions gradually gets closer to Chinese speakers' intentions, I think we will find 老外 to be a more neutral term.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-22T09:02:29.900Z
2015-06-22T09:02:29.900Z
Suragch
<p>You have the answer in your own question </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>similar to nicknames such as laozhang and laowang</p>
</blockquote>

<p>老 + surname is used as a way of addressing people in an informal way. As you said, a person whose surname is 张 can be called 老张 and a person whose surname is 李 can be called 老李. The same is true with younger people: 小张 and 小李。</p>

<p>But how do you call a foreigner, who doesn't have a Chinese family name? You take the first character (the 'surname') of 外国人 and get 老外.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-08T03:07:00.237Z
Your explanation adds more logic to support what has been stated in Baidu. But since there is an alternate explanation in Wikipedia, I would expect the answer to at least contain some references pointing to the origin.
杨以轩
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-08T06:26:44.590Z
It's merely based on what Chinese people told me. So no references, I'm sorry.
Luis Sep
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-06T07:04:19.937Z
2013-08-06T07:04:19.937Z
Luis Sep
<p>I am Chinese from the northern China. We often use 老to call some people ,such as “老李” whose last name is 李 ,to express our respect . To understand this, you must understand Chinese culture. In China, we are more respectful to the old people because they are more experienced and often have paid a whole life to support the family. So gradually, the old (老，pinyin:Lao) become a positive word when we call someone. For example, We call as “老爷”the householder  of nobility or the rich in ancient China. Nowadays, when we use 老 to call someone, though it still express respectful,it focuses more on the close relationship between someone and us. So 老外 pinyin ：laowai is absolutely a good word if you just consider the word itself, because polite or impolite depends on the context and speaking tones not 老外. About the rudeness that we didn’t call foreigners’ name even if we are told the name, it’s because on the one hand, foreigners’ name is difficult for native Chinese to remember , even to pronounce.  On the other hand, first name is less important than last name in our culture, which is why we call “lao+last name ”instead of  others,so in some degree, 外 wai is just like foreigners’ last name and we use laowai just totally like laowang (Lao+wang).
If you want to learn more about Chinese culture, I am very glad to share cause there are too many misunderstandings about our culture , partly because of political reason. But I hope the politics never affect the mutual understanding of people in different country. Government can be different but people are more same than we thought.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-14T05:43:39.260Z
2020-10-14T05:43:39.260Z
Eric LIU
<p>What's the difference between 朋友 and 老朋友？Does the latter carry a &quot;friendlier&quot;, &quot;closer&quot; connection or relationship? If so, why? Is it due to the 老?</p>
<p>The 老 when used generally in a Chinese cultural context has a positive connotation.</p>
<p>If a negative connotation is deliberately attached to any word, whether by tone of voice or context or physical gestures, then almost any word in any language could carry a negative connotation if so intended.</p>
<p>Thus, I submit, that 老外 has, on its own, a neutral connotation, carrying the meaning, colloquially, of someone who is from a country outside of China.</p>
<p>In South East Asian countries, like Malaysia and Singapore, this term is also used, colloquially, to refer to foreigners as well. No negative connotation there, unless intended otherwise by way of context, tone of voice.</p>
<p>However, the term 佬 does carry some negative connotation. It is also pronounced with a slight inflection to distinguish it from 老. An example of a negative use of 佬 is 乡村佬, meaning a &quot;country bumpkin&quot; or a &quot;hillbilly&quot;</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-14T06:49:32.790Z
2020-10-14T06:49:32.790Z
Wayne Cheah
<p>as you metioned, <strong>"Wikipedia saying that 老 is added to indicate that a foreigner is "always" an outsider".is totally wrong</strong>.Chinese has never ever use 老:LAO before person or object to imply "always".when use |老:lao" to mean "always",it's use just as*<em>always</em>* .just think there isn't something like"always person" in English.so you can image there isn't something like “a foreigner is "always" an outsider” in Chinese.Baidu is more familiar with Chinese than wiki,it's native Chinese.so you can accept the explanation of "老外".</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-22T08:26:12.827Z
If you're not a native speaker, I'll just consider this answer a joke.
halfelf
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-22T08:42:06.323Z
@halfelf not understand your word
Winnie
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-22T08:42:44.373Z
@halfelf I'm not native English speaker
Winnie
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-22T08:52:00.860Z
@halfelf are you Chinese native speaker?
Winnie
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-27T14:31:33.007Z
@Winnie Thank you for your answer. If you're not a native English speaker, please try to find some help online or from friends to help clarify your answer. As it is now, it's quite hard to understand.
user3871
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-22T07:14:48.467Z
2012-11-22T07:14:48.467Z
Winnie
<p>From <a href="http://baike.baidu.com/view/18028.htm">Baidu</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>老外，是中国人对国外人的一种俗称，类似与老张、老王、老李之类的称呼。称呼中加“老”显得亲热，比如“老乡”“老表”，称呼你老外，就像称呼老张老李那样，大大咧咧，随便亲切。过去中国人对外国人的称呼都是用在第三人称上，只有“老外”可以用于第二人称。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>To translate, it says laowai is a colloquial term for foreigners, similar to nicknames such as laozhang and laowang. The word lao is added to sound friendly. In the past, Chinese used terms that address foreigners as third persons, the term laowai can be used on a second person.</p>

<p>From <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laowai">Wikipedia</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Laowai is a commonly used Chinese mandarin word. It is the shortened,
  informal version close to wàiguórén 外国人 ("foreigner"), a better
  translation of Laowai would be "alien"... So Laowai 老外 is more of a
  neutral term which can be used as: "an obvious foreigner", "very
  exotic", or "adventive", "alien".</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Based on the above, there are two lines of thought: one saying that 老 is added as an indication of friendliness to foreigners; another saying that 老 is added to indicate that a foreigner is "always" an outsider.</p>

<p>Does anyone know the exact origin of this term?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-30T21:32:05.743Z
In my own experience (granting that I do not catch everything that is said around me) people complaining about me say 外国佬, and people who say 老外 are either talking without expressing a view or are pointing me out to friends.
Colin McLarty
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-15T01:37:34.713Z
In my own perception as a native mainland Chinese who grew up in China for 16 years, 老外, at least to me, is a friendly or neutral term. I'm pretty surprised that you would say 老外 is more negative than 外国佬, which to me carry obvious impoliteness.
Scharlach Nachtfalter
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-15T01:44:43.863Z
If I have to rate how I (A northerner) feel about the common terms (not including really bad racial slurs) used to call foreigners (Caucasian) in terms of politeness 外宾 > 外国人 >= 老外 > 外国佬 > 鬼佬.
Scharlach Nachtfalter
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-17T15:09:33.210Z
Absolutely Baidu cannot be trusted... just well-looking. Any experienced Chinese netizen knows that. I can definitely tell you that wikipedia is exacter about the meaning. `老外` is similar to `外国佬`. And `佬` is not a polite address. Besides, I don't know `老外` can be used on a second person. But `老外` is not so impolite as `外国佬`. It's not derogatory sometimes. However, it never means kind. This term is used as other meanings first. But the origin of foreigner is vague and hard to know.
halfelf
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-17T15:47:08.823Z
@halfelf But `老外` is totally different from "alien". Baidu this time gives the right answer. `老外` just describes one who is foreigner, with much friendliness.
Mike Manilone
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-18T00:59:09.717Z
@MikeManilone Seems there's much you don't know. For example, if there's some negative news on the internet, no one will use `外国人` or any other friendly words, all `老外`. Search this term on Baidu and Google both. See the results you get. `老外` is only used in negative or neutral situation. There's none friendly.
halfelf
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-18T07:13:48.593Z
@halfelf, I did a search on Google and indeed, there is more negativity attached to it. But I also watched a popular travel documentary where the host used the term 老外 while translating what the foreigners had just said to her in a very friendly manner. Perhaps some clues to the origin of this term can shed some light.
杨以轩
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-19T02:16:00.570Z
@QuestionOverflow My personal opinion: `老外` is a modern word of the ancient `夷`. There's something racist in the culture. And an important evidence is that `老外` only refers to caucasian. Usually we won't call other foreigners `老外`.
halfelf
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-23T00:52:18.073Z
@halfelf This time, the wikipedia page should not be trusted as always. It made many linguist statements without any reference, and not consistent with my impression of the language (as a native speaker). IMO, the statement of Laowai can be literally translated to "always" "foreigner" is WRONG. And Laowai can be used to refer to foreigner other than caucasians, just as in Billy Chan's Answer.
fefe
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-30T15:26:22.237Z
@halfelf Perhaps you confused 外国佬 with 老外.
Mike Manilone
<etymology>
How did 外国人 become 老外?
# How did 外国人 become 老外?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-11-17)

From [Baidu](http://baike.baidu.com/view/18028.htm):

> 老外，是中国人对国外人的一种俗称，类似与老张、老王、老李之类的称呼。称呼中加“老”显得亲热，比如“老乡”“老表”，称呼你老外，就像称呼老张老李那样，大大咧咧，随便亲切。过去中国人对外国人的称呼都是用在第三人称上，只有“老外”可以用于第二人称。

To translate, it says laowai is a colloquial term for foreigners, similar to nicknames such as laozhang and laowang. The word lao is added to sound friendly. In the past, Chinese used terms that address foreigners as third persons, the term laowai can be used on a second person.

From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laowai):

> Laowai is a commonly used Chinese mandarin word. It is the shortened,
> informal version close to wàiguórén 外国人 ("foreigner"), a better
> translation of Laowai would be "alien"... So Laowai 老外 is more of a
> neutral term which can be used as: "an obvious foreigner", "very
> exotic", or "adventive", "alien".

Based on the above, there are two lines of thought: one saying that 老 is added as an indication of friendliness to foreigners; another saying that 老 is added to indicate that a foreigner is "always" an outsider.

Does anyone know the exact origin of this term?

**Tags:** etymology

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Absolutely Baidu cannot be trusted... just well-looking. Any experienced Chinese netizen knows that. I can definitely tell you that wikipedia is exacter about the meaning. `老外` is similar to `外国佬`. And `佬` is not a polite address. Besides, I don't know `老外` can be used on a second person. But `老外` is not so impolite as `外国佬`. It's not derogatory sometimes. However, it never means kind. This term is used as other meanings first. But the origin of foreigner is vague and hard to know.  
> **username_4**: @username_3 But `老外` is totally different from "alien". Baidu this time gives the right answer. `老外` just describes one who is foreigner, with much friendliness.  
> **username_3**: @username_4 Seems there's much you don't know. For example, if there's some negative news on the internet, no one will use `外国人` or any other friendly words, all `老外`. Search this term on Baidu and Google both. See the results you get. `老外` is only used in negative or neutral situation. There's none friendly.  
> **username_0**: @username_3, I did a search on Google and indeed, there is more negativity attached to it. But I also watched a popular travel documentary where the host used the term 老外 while translating what the foreigners had just said to her in a very friendly manner. Perhaps some clues to the origin of this term can shed some light.  
> **username_3**: @QuestionOverflow My personal opinion: `老外` is a modern word of the ancient `夷`. There's something racist in the culture. And an important evidence is that `老外` only refers to caucasian. Usually we won't call other foreigners `老外`.  
> **username_5**: @username_3 This time, the wikipedia page should not be trusted as always. It made many linguist statements without any reference, and not consistent with my impression of the language (as a native speaker). IMO, the statement of Laowai can be literally translated to "always" "foreigner" is WRONG. And Laowai can be used to refer to foreigner other than caucasians, just as in username_6's Answer.  
> **username_4**: @username_3 Perhaps you confused 外国佬 with 老外.  
> **username_1**: In my own experience (granting that I do not catch everything that is said around me) people complaining about me say 外国佬, and people who say 老外 are either talking without expressing a view or are pointing me out to friends.  
> **username_2**: In my own perception as a native mainland Chinese who grew up in China for 16 years, 老外, at least to me, is a friendly or neutral term. I'm pretty surprised that you would say 老外 is more negative than 外国佬, which to me carry obvious impoliteness.  
> **username_2**: If I have to rate how I (A northerner) feel about the common terms (not including really bad racial slurs) used to call foreigners (Caucasian) in terms of politeness 外宾 > 外国人 >= 老外 > 外国佬 > 鬼佬.  

---

## 6 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2012-11-17. Score: 6

As Wikipedia mentioned, “老” is an empty prefix. Laowai is neither positive nor negative.

Actually, the word is often used to refer to a variety of races like Caucasians, Indians, Africans and Middle Easterners, who look drastically different from Asians. You will rarely hear a Chinese person call Japanese, Koreans and Filipinos 老外. That's why you hear some Chinese use this term even in the United States and Canada.

The word emerged in Beijing and became popular there. In southern China it is used less.

What's the reason you hear this word used frequently in China? Because westerners attract more attention in the public as they look different. The quickest way to refer them is with 老外. Saying *外国人* is too formal.

The word might become less popular when more foreigners start living in/visiting China. It'd be less strange to see them in the public.

The word is also used less among those who are better educated. He has a name, why call him 老外? Regardless of whether the word is negative or not, saying such is not really polite.

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: *The word is also used less among those who are better educated.* How did you know that? I can't say I agree with it. There seems to be a lot of assumptions made here.  
> **username_6**: @James, thanks for revising some errors. I agree my points may be a little subjective, however I saw it from my experience. Labelling a person by his nation, racial is not polite, even the word itself is neutral, so more educated people will do less on that. Years ago HK people often call mainland people as 大陆人，the word is neutral, but sounds not nice. Now they say less.  
> **username_0**: Err.. I understand that this term is a bit controversial with many people having strong views, that is why I am only asking about the origin. Wikipedia did not conclude that “老” in 老外 stands for an empty prefix but rather listed a few possibilities. Is there any reason why you say it emerged from Beijing and not elsewhere?  
> **username_6**: The pronunciation sounds natural in mandarin only, It's harder to read in accent of south China. The word began in 80s when Beijing was the one of several places to see lots of foreigners. There were also lots of reports about the word used in Beijing 10-20 years ago.  

---

### Answer by username_8 on 2015-06-22. Score: 2

@username_6's answer is pretty good. This is just an additional thought.

There is a difference in intention and perception about the word 老外. What I mean is, what a Chinese speaker intends or means by the use of this word, and how the foreigner listener often perceives it are two different things. Although it may be mildly impolite, most Chinese people do not use it with any ill will, but commonly as an informal term expressing surprise or curiosity at seeing a foreigner who looks different than they do. However, western foreigners generally perceive it as a derogatory term, taking it to mean an outsider, someone who doesn't belong (and never will), or even taking it to mean a freak or monster. The difference between intention and perception can be quite large at times.

This difference is also reflected to some extent by the Baidu and Wikipedia articles you quoted. Although both are "politically correct," the Baidu definition was probably written by a Chinese person and thus emphasizes the more neutral (and even respectful) origin of the term. The Wikipedia article on the other hand was probably written by a Westerner and thus emphasizes a certain sense of being an outsider or different.

The term 老外 is a good reminder that learning Chinese is more than learning grammar and vocabulary. It is also about learning culture. And as our cultural perceptions gradually gets closer to Chinese speakers' intentions, I think we will find 老外 to be a more neutral term.


---

### Answer by username_9 on 2013-08-06. Score: 2

You have the answer in your own question

> similar to nicknames such as laozhang and laowang

老 + surname is used as a way of addressing people in an informal way. As you said, a person whose surname is 张 can be called 老张 and a person whose surname is 李 can be called 老李. The same is true with younger people: 小张 and 小李。

But how do you call a foreigner, who doesn't have a Chinese family name? You take the first character (the 'surname') of 外国人 and get 老外.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Your explanation adds more logic to support what has been stated in Baidu. But since there is an alternate explanation in Wikipedia, I would expect the answer to at least contain some references pointing to the origin.  
> **username_9**: It's merely based on what Chinese people told me. So no references, I'm sorry.  

---

### Answer by username_10 on 2020-10-14. Score: 1

I am Chinese from the northern China. We often use 老to call some people ,such as “老李” whose last name is 李 ,to express our respect . To understand this, you must understand Chinese culture. In China, we are more respectful to the old people because they are more experienced and often have paid a whole life to support the family. So gradually, the old (老，pinyin:Lao) become a positive word when we call someone. For example, We call as “老爷”the householder of nobility or the rich in ancient China. Nowadays, when we use 老 to call someone, though it still express respectful,it focuses more on the close relationship between someone and us. So 老外 pinyin ：laowai is absolutely a good word if you just consider the word itself, because polite or impolite depends on the context and speaking tones not 老外. About the rudeness that we didn’t call foreigners’ name even if we are told the name, it’s because on the one hand, foreigners’ name is difficult for native Chinese to remember , even to pronounce. On the other hand, first name is less important than last name in our culture, which is why we call “lao+last name ”instead of others,so in some degree, 外 wai is just like foreigners’ last name and we use laowai just totally like laowang (Lao+wang).
If you want to learn more about Chinese culture, I am very glad to share cause there are too many misunderstandings about our culture , partly because of political reason. But I hope the politics never affect the mutual understanding of people in different country. Government can be different but people are more same than we thought.


---

### Answer by username_11 on 2020-10-14. Score: 0

What's the difference between 朋友 and 老朋友？Does the latter carry a "friendlier", "closer" connection or relationship? If so, why? Is it due to the 老?

The 老 when used generally in a Chinese cultural context has a positive connotation.

If a negative connotation is deliberately attached to any word, whether by tone of voice or context or physical gestures, then almost any word in any language could carry a negative connotation if so intended.

Thus, I submit, that 老外 has, on its own, a neutral connotation, carrying the meaning, colloquially, of someone who is from a country outside of China.

In South East Asian countries, like Malaysia and Singapore, this term is also used, colloquially, to refer to foreigners as well. No negative connotation there, unless intended otherwise by way of context, tone of voice.

However, the term 佬 does carry some negative connotation. It is also pronounced with a slight inflection to distinguish it from 老. An example of a negative use of 佬 is 乡村佬, meaning a "country bumpkin" or a "hillbilly"


---

### Answer by username_12 on 2012-11-22. Score: -2

as you metioned, **"Wikipedia saying that 老 is added to indicate that a foreigner is "always" an outsider".is totally wrong**.Chinese has never ever use 老:LAO before person or object to imply "always".when use |老:lao" to mean "always",it's use just as\**always*\* .just think there isn't something like"always person" in English.so you can image there isn't something like “a foreigner is "always" an outsider” in Chinese.Baidu is more familiar with Chinese than wiki,it's native Chinese.so you can accept the explanation of "老外".

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: If you're not a native speaker, I'll just consider this answer a joke.  
> **username_12**: @username_3 not understand your word  
> **username_12**: @username_3 I'm not native English speaker  
> **username_12**: @username_3 are you Chinese native speaker?  
> **username_13**: @username_12 Thank you for your answer. If you're not a native English speaker, please try to find some help online or from friends to help clarify your answer. As it is now, it's quite hard to understand.  

---

