Is the word "老外" an offensive word? Some foreigners regard "老外" as an offensive word because they think it sounds impolite and has negative meaning with contemn, while some Chinese are fond of it because they think it shows an intimate feeling and it can narrow the distance between foreigners and them. In this way, "老外" may be similar to "Old Tom", "Old Jack" in English. How do you think of the word "老外"? 1. If you are a non-Chinese, do you accept it or not? And why? If not, what is your alternative? 2. If you are a Chinese, do prefer to use it to describe a foreigner? 3. Is it the cultural difference that makes “老外” ambiguous between English and Chinese? Thank you for answering my looooooong question in advance. ^_^Many thanks for EVERYONE! All of you are very kind to share your opinions. Reading through the various answers below, I get somewhat deeper thought: 1. Is the single word "老" in "老外" derived from "佬" in "鬼佬" (Cantonese)? In my opinion, "鬼佬" is a slightly derogatory word which generally refers to non-Chinese especially to westerners. Thus, if the answer is a definite "yes", then "老外" may be a little impolite or even offensive to foreigners. 2. As Han Xiaoyan said, the word "foreigner" has a slightly negative connotation. Then what is a proper word to refers non-Chinese generally? (即有无一个合适的不带贬义的词统称“外国人”？)(Of course, they can be named by their nationality, such as, Japanese, Korean, American, British and so on, but if we just need a general reference, what is that term?) If you don't mind and you are still interested in this topic, please go on to share your opinions here. Looking forward to your replies!the following is my conclusion: 1, thank all of you again, especially Wozitoya and 一一一! all of your answers help me a lot. 2, I shall explain that I do not intend to provoke an arguement here, I just want to know people's opinions about the word. 3, The key to the question cannot be a definite one, which can be predicted at the beginning. 4, No best answer will be chosen by me, since the answers are partial with strong personal feelings. Perhaps I had better raise the topic in the study group. 5, A general word's meaning is affected by the tone and context, which can also apply to "老外" here. If it is expressed in a rough tone, it must be an offensive word absolutely. If it is expressed in a polite way, it can also be an affectionate term. But a premise is needed that "老外" is just a general word. If "老外" itselft is considered to be offensive, nothing will change its nature even with good manners. (如同中文里，无论你多么面带微笑亲切温柔地说“你他妈去死吧”，都无法改变这是一句诅咒的事实) 6, Whether it is offensive or not, I think it should be judged by both Chinese and non-Chinese, because it is used in mutual communication. We Chinese need to consider their feeling, and they also need to know more about Chinese culture. 7, The following website I find tonight is related to this question: http://www.waze.net/laihua/archives/000063.html I try to make a conclusion based on a summarized comment from it: 尊称：外国朋友， 外宾（* Is it proper to use "international"?） 中性词： 外国人，老外，老美，洋人（现在较少用了） 贬称：外国佬，美国佬，日本佬，洋鬼子 ，鬼佬 “老外朋友”：这种说法很少见，用多了可能会成为习惯用法 另外，中性词在文章中是偏贬义还是褒义，要看上下文的意思和语气。