Talk:List of ethnic slurs

How is Orc an ethnic slur?
While derogatory, "Orc" doesn't seem to be based on ethnicity. It's a term targeted at any soldier who is under the employ of the Russian Federation, not any soldier who happens to be ethnically Rus. It comes off as equivalent to claiming that calling a police officer who happens to be white a "pig" is a racial slur against Caucasians, which--while an extremely derogatory term--"pig" isn't. MechanoidWarhead (talk) 20:42, 4 June 2024 (UTC)

Dirty savage is a slur.
It was a slur like the N word but used to discribe first nations people 137.186.18.199 (talk) 14:48, 15 January 2024 (UTC)


 * It is also used to describe any group of people perceived as primitive and inferior. It is a generic insult not specifically an ethnic slur. Richard-of-Earth (talk) 08:57, 16 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Then describe it as such. Just because it doesn't single out a particular race derogatorily doesn't mean it's not a racial slur. It does single out one's own race as superior when used (as you just pointed out), so it's still a racial slur. 2601:19E:8280:3050:CC6D:700A:593E:A117 (talk) 17:43, 2 March 2024 (UTC)
 * You are incorrect. Source: I’m an expert on slurs 2600:1012:B10F:3AAC:F5A5:3E32:148B:4E09 (talk) 21:30, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

Perhaps that makes it merely, an insult. It could be on another list, along with "dirty rat". Drsruli (talk) 01:03, 22 April 2024 (UTC)

Reliable sources
The sources used for this article are strange, and don't even cite many of the terms as a slur. 'Russkie' for example is only described in Lexico as 'informal, derogatory', is that enough to qualify as a slur? Many other sources state it is a term to describe an ethnic Russian without any negative subtext PrecariousWorlds (talk) 19:43, 24 January 2024 (UTC)
 * I oppose removing. A derogatory word used to refer to a particular ethnic would be a slur. The "-skie" suffix clearly mocks Russian names that end with "-ский". Are there other entries you feel are poorly supported?  Richard-of-Earth (talk) 07:27, 31 January 2024 (UTC)
 * This is not an argument for or against it being a slur, but the "-skie" suffix is probably because the word is taken from the Russian word for "Russian", "Русский"(Ruskiy). I don't claim to know if this word counts as a slur and there are other slurs that come from an endonym like this, I just disagree that the word is mocking Russian names. Cyrusabyrd (talk) 14:13, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 8 February 2024
when i was a kid i was called "street shitter" in elementary school on a very consistent basis, and i feel incredibly misrepresented by it not being in this page. honestly its not too important to me, but it would make me feel a lot better (i am south asian and was consistently bullied on the basis of race, my username is not my name i wanna clarify)

if u do choose to include this, please include the following informations Term: Street Shitter Location of Origin: (tbh idk, but im canadian, so maybe North America?) Targets: South Asians Meaning, Origin and Notes: honestly im alright with this beign left blank, i dont really feel like more notes have to be added, the idea of typing them feels sorta racist Joe Walburg 24 (talk) 21:48, 8 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Cannolis (talk) 21:51, 8 February 2024 (UTC)

Make a list of slurs by race pls
that’s literally it 2600:1002:B008:EF3B:8112:ED72:4ECF:E7EB (talk) 20:23, 12 February 2024 (UTC)
 * See List of ethnic slurs and epithets by ethnicity. Richard-of-Earth (talk) 16:54, 13 February 2024 (UTC)

Someone please correct the 'translation' part of the "Schluchtenscheißer" entry.
"Schluchtenscheißer" does not mean 'person shitting in a cave' but 'person shitting in a ravine'.

"Schlucht f (genitive Schlucht, plural Schluchten or (poetic) Schlüchte) canyon, chasm, gorge, ravine"

The german word for 'cave' is instead 'Höhle' and has no relation to 'Schlucht'(singular of 'Schluchten').
 * Done. Google translate agrees with you. Richard-of-Earth (talk) 06:12, 18 March 2024 (UTC)


 * the entry is still saying "defecating in a cave"? D3in3n83nutz3rn4m3n (talk) 20:36, 4 April 2024 (UTC)

"Neechie" is not a racial slur, please remove it from this list
Im not sure as to why Neechie & various spellings thereof is added as a slur. I see the citation there, but i can see the source from which it originayes was made by two non-Native Americans who obviously do not know the context of this word.

I'm a Cree Native American & I speak Cree. "Neechie" is a word in both Cree (& Ojibwe) that stems from the word "Nicîwakân" which means "my friend", and obviously traditionally was used in the contexts of friendship & comradery before the introduction of the English language, and then later shortened in its slang form to still mean the same thing.

Neechie is solely used as an affectionate term between friends & particularly Native Americans: it gained popularity amongst other tribes later & is now also used as a term for other Native Americans as a show of comradery & friendship amongst tribes, but its basically used only between Native Americans because nobody else would know what it means (& so there is no use in using it for them).

Neechie is not and has never ever been used as a slur, or a derogatory term, and most non Native Americans don't even know what it means (& slurs are exonymys, so how could it be a slur if the word doesn't even mean anything derogatory, & outside groups didn't come up with it, and don't even know what it means?). The only way I can assume people thought this was a slur was because of that book, and the authors of that book added it because they were ignorant of Native American culture, saw a word amongst Native Americans beginning with "N" that means "friend", and assumed it must be the same as the N word for Black Americans. Ask any Native American (& particularly any Ojibwe or Cree) & they'll tell you this word is not & has never been a slur, has not ever been used to refer to people in a derogatory way, & has never been anything close to even being a swear word or a bad word. Artisticthunderbird (talk) 20:55, 14 March 2024 (UTC)
 * The citations says is was used as a slur. See this. And this book from 1967 says the same and mentions that it means friend. This one also and mentions that Indians use it among themselves. Richard-of-Earth (talk) 06:04, 18 March 2024 (UTC)

Zionist
Should be considered an ethnic slur for Israeli Jews. It's especially used by people who hate Israel and Israeli people in place of their nationality and it fundamentally reduces the mere being Israeli, living in Israel and not wanting to leave the country you were born in to belonging to a political ideology and historical movement. 2.38.205.185 (talk) 15:48, 27 March 2024 (UTC)


 * It's a specific political ideology, not a slur. It doesn't even single out any ethnicity as many Jews are not zionist and many zionists are not Jews. 173.246.95.46 (talk) 18:56, 28 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Calling an Israeli a Zionist is like calling a Mainland Chinese person a Chicom or a Russian a Commie, it reduces a person's identity and essence to the ideology or political movement that spawned his country - or its current political constitution. Yes, Zionism is (was?) a political movement, but it doesn't have this connotation when an Israeli is called this, it means a refusal to recognize the existence of an Israeli Jewish people. Note that I'm referring to Israeli Jews here, not to all Jews. An Israeli Jew is Israeli like an American Jew is American or a Russian Jew is Russian. I'm talking about refusal to recognize an Israeli Jewish people in particular, not a refusal to recognize Jewry in general. To give you an idea of the rejection of the Israeli Jewish people's existence, it isn't rare for Israel itself to be called "the Zionist entity" in far left, far right and Islamist spaces. Not because Israel is the product of Zionism, but because they want to wipe out the country and until then they refuse to recognize its existence as a real country, only as a special political enterprise or organization. This rejection of Israel's existence also goes through the refusal to recognize the existence of an Israeli people. 2.38.205.185 (talk) 21:07, 2 April 2024 (UTC)
 * The Israelis that I speak to say that "Zionist" approximately translates to the equivalent of "patriot" according to how the word is used internally.Drsruli (talk) 17:00, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

How the word is used 'internally' is not the point, the point is how it's used by haters. The word 'Jew' itself is itself inoffensive but can have a certain negative connotation. Stop being disingenuous. --93.67.212.32 (talk) 22:36, 14 June 2024 (UTC)

Any noun can be used as an insult depending on context. What we seek to list here are words that are used to insult a person's ethnic that are culturally significant enough to be mentioned as a slur in a WP:reliable source that is not presenting a WP:fringe view. Webster's] and the OED do not mention it being a slur, nor do they present it as being an ethnic. You are welcome to peruse the over four thousand dictionaries at archive.org that mention "Zionist", but I did not see any suitable citation at a glance. The article Zionism and Zionist makes no mention of this being a slur. I do not see any mention of it in Anti-Zionism nor Criticism of Israel nor Antisemitism. I do not see sufficient reason to include it. To say there are people using a word to insult other people is insufficient criteria to be included on this list. That is a form of WP:OR and/or an attempt use Wikipedia to WP:right great wrongs. Richard-of-Earth (talk) 22:33, 15 June 2024 (UTC)


 * Thank you, and agreeing to leave Zionist out of this list. I've not commented on this discussion before because it's particularly difficult for me. CAVincent (talk) 23:35, 15 June 2024 (UTC)

Origin of "Kanake/Kanacke" (German) and maybe also "Canaca" (Chile)
En Wikipedia has the article Kanak people which descibes the ethnic group who has used the word as a self-denomination for centuries. (please pardon my bad English, i am de-N). --2003:6:33AE:3D79:887:3A2:56E9:9524 (talk) 09:54, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

Gringo is not a slur
At least in the Spanish speaking side of Latin America, gringo is not a slur. We simply do not refer to people from the USA as “americans” since we consider the entirety of the continent to be America. Gringo is a lot shorter than Estadounidense and much less of a mouth-full, but it ultimately means the same. AsuMadreDeCiudades (talk) 01:13, 19 April 2024 (UTC)


 * Can confirm.
 * In general many of these words on the page don't seem to be pejorative. There may be a more casual use of the word "slur" applied to this list. Drsruli (talk) 00:59, 22 April 2024 (UTC)
 * There are words that can be used as a slur, but can also be used informally and it depends on context. That makes an article like this very difficult to agree on. Words like "cracker" are similarly difficult to categorize, because there are situations where someone who self-identifies as a cracker in one context could take offense to being called one in another context.
 * My (limited) understanding of the word "gringo" is that its similar, I have seen it being used derisively to single someone out for speaking Spanish poorly, or as a pejorative for white people, but I've also seen it used as a neutral informal word for anyone from the United States. Its also possible that it means something different in English than it does in Spanish, which is a feature of a lot of the words on this list. If that's true maybe it could be worded to clarify. Does any of this track with your understanding of the word? What are some ways we could find sources to back this up? Cyrusabyrd (talk) 12:51, 26 April 2024 (UTC)
 * This could be said of any designation. It is entirely possible to use "African-American", just for example, as a slur, IN CONTEXT. But only if it continues to be predominantly used in that fashion, does the term itself become offensive. Drsruli (talk) 16:58, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

Auto-archiving period: 90 days
Seems a bit short, the talk page is active but not THAT active. Request extending it. Drsruli (talk) 01:11, 22 April 2024 (UTC)
 * I changed it to 180 days. Richard-of-Earth (talk) 05:47, 3 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Thank you. Drsruli (talk) 21:01, 8 June 2024 (UTC)

"Yankee"
I think the description of this word could be improved.

The article lists this as being a slur used by Dutch speakers and then elaborates on some other uses. I think the use by southerners against northerners and the use by people outside the US against people from the US should be their own categories, as these are two different meanings, similar to how other words are divided when they are used in different places to mean different things. Whether it counts as an ethnic slur specifically is probably up for debate, but assuming it should be here I think it could be better.

Its also odd to only explicitly cite Latin America as a use against US Americans when this is used almost everywhere to my knowledge.

(as an aside, I think 'People from the United States' is more correct than 'Americans' to describe the targets and words like Пиндос(pindos) should also be described this way)

I might rewrite this as:

Targets: People from the United States

First applied by the Dutch colonists of New Amsterdam to Connecticuters and then to other residents of New England, 'Yankee' and derived terms like the Spanish yanqui or Japanese yankī are used internationally, often mockingly, to refer to Americans and American influence. The phrase "Yankee go home" has been used as a slogan against American imperialism in Latin America, Asia, and Europe. Most linguists agree that the origin is Dutch, possibly from Janke ("Johnny") or a dialectical variant of Jan Kaas ("John Cheese").

Targets: Northerners of the United States

Used in the American Civil War by Confederates as a derisive term for northerners, the term is still used today in the United States as an informal and sometimes pejorative word for people from the northeast, particularly New England.

I am new to contributing to Wikipedia so I won't make these edits myself on a page that I imagine is fairly contested, but if people agree with my changes I will work on tracking down references. Cyrusabyrd (talk) 08:09, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 29 April 2024
I will add few ethic slurs used in Mongolia. Since Russian invasion of Ukraine, people of Mongolia have divided into two parts, those who supports Russia or US. People use these slurs to fight against each other over social media mostly on ikon.mn : 1. Орк(Ork) used by Mongolians against Russians 2. Анусник(Anusnik) used by Mongolians against US 3. Хуяа(Khuya) used by Mongolians against Chinese 4. Уяа/Укр(Uya/Ukr) used by Mongolians against Ukrainian 5. Балиар нус (Baliar nus) this word is pronounced almost the same as the country name Belarus, used by Mongolians against Belarus MunkhOrgil13 (talk) 08:30, 29 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Bestagon ⬡ 12:38, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

Svedu
Finnish slur against swedish people 2001:14BA:4ACB:4200:29F9:D505:D818:261F (talk) 05:49, 2 May 2024 (UTC)
 * I found citations that say it is slang, but none that say it is a slur. Richard-of-Earth (talk) 05:50, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 5 May 2024
I would like to expand this directory by add a new word in it. The contents are as follows:

Term - Brishiters Origin - South Asia (Especially India & Pakistan) Targets - British People Notes - Used by mostly by English speaking people of the subcontinent. The term is widely used for mainland Britishers. The term is quiet common & frequent on internet. The Maelstorm 40K (talk) 11:56, 5 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. A brief search on Google didn't turn up any valid mentions of the term. Liu1126 (talk) 13:30, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 10 May 2024
Add "Cornstarch Crusader" to W as a slur to white people Wikihowvillian (talk) 17:18, 10 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Jamedeus (talk) 19:37, 10 May 2024 (UTC)

Addition of "pilak"
Pilak is a term used in the Sabah region of Malaysia to refer to illegal settlers of (especially) southern Philippine origin. It is not usually an ethnic slur in the sense that it does not specifically refer to a single ethnicity, but since the settlers are usually of Tausug or Bajau Pelauh ethnicity, it can be considered an ethnic slur.

The term originates from the Tausug word for silver/money. It was likely created by the native Kadazandusuns as a pejorative.

Its usage is well documented in scientific literature:

https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/context/wacana/article/1366/viewcontent/v13_i1_n05.pdf

https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1355/9789814951692-009/pdf?licenseType=restricted

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-030-90417-3.pdf AnderGapoh (talk) 03:27, 27 May 2024 (UTC)


 * For those who are Malay/Indonesian speakers, a cursory Google search will show many blogs and social media posts showing its contextual usage by Sabahans.
 * An example from the Facebook page Gerakan Anti Pilak Zon Keningau (Keningau Zone Anti-pilak Movement):
 * https://www.facebook.com/100079654122369/posts/731936633525969/
 * A heated blogpost from 2011:
 * https://jarimerdeka.blogspot.com/2011/10/pilak-bumiputera-mau-cabar-dusun.html AnderGapoh (talk) 03:37, 27 May 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 31 May 2024
Term:Bangaalhi Location or Origin: Maldivians Targets: Bengalis Meaning, origin, and notes: The Dhivehi denonym used for Bengalis (Dhivehi:ބަންގާޅި) went on to be used as a slur by Maldivians of the modern generation. Maldiviancountryball (talk) 14:20, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Irltoad (talk) 14:27, 31 May 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 1 June 2024
Addition of slur:

Pilak

Targeted ethnicities: Bajau, Tausug peoples, other Filipino migrants

Languages: Kadazandusun, Sabahan Malay, Tausug.

Etymology: From the Tausug word pilak (money, silver). Cognate with Kadazandusun pirok, piok , and Malay perak.

Contextual usage (in Sabahan Malay):

An example from the Facebook page Gerakan Anti Pilak Zon Keningau (Keningau Zone Anti-pilak Movement):

https://www.facebook.com/100079654122369/posts/731936633525969/

A heated blogpost from 2011:

https://jarimerdeka.blogspot.com/2011/10/pilak-bumiputera-mau-cabar-dusun.html AnderGapoh (talk) 19:25, 1 June 2024 (UTC)


 * An illegal copy of the book is available on libgen AnderGapoh (talk) 19:29, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Pictogram voting comment.svg Note: On hold because of the last statement. ABG (Talk/Report any mistakes here) 08:26, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
 * @AlphaBetaGamma
 * NB: Not an endorsement of piracy, however it is available. AnderGapoh (talk) 08:59, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Pictogram voting wait blue.svg In progress: An editor is implementing the requested edit. ABG (Talk/Report any mistakes here) 01:52, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
 * ✅ Sorry for the delay. ABG (Talk/Report any mistakes here) 02:16, 19 June 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 13 June 2024
“Oriental” is an offensive slur used to describe East Asians and South East Asians. It offensively refers to someone from the orient. Bigbotnot2 (talk) 20:32, 13 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. ObserveOwl (chit-chat • my doings) 20:35, 13 June 2024 (UTC)

Oriental is an East Asian Slur
Oriental has been used for many centuries to not only denote someone from the far east but also used as an derogatory, offensive term. Thus, I wish to request this be added to the slur list. Bigbotnot2 (talk) 14:23, 14 June 2024 (UTC)

Should the Slur "Latinx" be Added To The List?
Master106 (talk) 15:51, 16 June 2024 (UTC)


 * I don't think there's a world in which this question was asked in good faith. CAVincent (talk) 04:18, 17 June 2024 (UTC)
 * So you are saying you think I asked it in bad faith? I do not understand why you think that. Master106 (talk) 10:15, 18 June 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 21 June 2024
Add "ginger" as a slur against red-haired individuals JackRygelski (talk) 03:57, 21 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Jamedeus (talk) 05:49, 21 June 2024 (UTC)

How to update for nuance?
In Texas both Bohunk and Polack are used by people themselves of descent from Bohemia and Poland, and they are significant immigrant groups to Texas. This shows up in names of businesses, especially for food products such as sausages sold to the public.

I am unsure how to update this page to reflect the nuances among immigration areas of the US from Bohemia and Poland. The words Bohunk and Polack have no negative connotation in Texas, and are often positive. 2600:1700:D00:CF40:C218:4FFA:19CA:CA18 (talk) 22:07, 23 June 2024 (UTC)
 * It is good to hear of an ethnic reclaiming a slur. It takes away power from the haters. However to warrant mention in this list you need to provide a citation that discusses the change and implies cultural significance. Richard-of-Earth (talk) 20:52, 30 June 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 26 June 2024
Add the word Chigga that is used against Black Chinese people. SahalIqbal (talk) 13:28, 26 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Charliehdb (talk) 13:55, 26 June 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 1 July 2024
About the word Lapp: Add also that Lappland is the most northern county of Sweden. Diktor (talk) 19:37, 1 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Done. I added links to the prose for the entry as well. I am not pleased with how the prose came out. Let us know if you think of a way to improve it. Richard-of-Earth (talk) 07:29, 2 July 2024 (UTC)