外国人

Chinese

For pronunciation and definitions of 外国人 – see 外國人 (“foreigner; foreign national; alien”). (This term is the simplified form of 外國人).

Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Japanese

Kanji in this term
外	国	人
がい Grade: 2	こく Grade: 2	じん Grade: 1
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
外國人 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

gwaikokujin > gaikokujin. Literally 外国 (“foreign country”) +‎ 人 (“person”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) がいこくじん [gàíkókúꜜjìǹ] (Nakadaka – [4])
• IPA^(key): [ɡa̠iko̞kɯ̟ʑĩɴ]

Noun

外(がい)国(こく)人(じん) • (gaikokujin) ^{←ぐゎいこくじん (gwaikokuzin)?}

1. a foreigner, a person from a foreign country; an alien, a foreign national
   • 1235-1238, 正法眼蔵随聞記, page 317:

     予、在宋ノ時、天童淨和尚、侍者ニ請ズルニ云ク、「外國人タリトイヘドモ、元子器量人ナリ。」ト云テコレヲ請ズ。予、堅ク是ヲ辭ス。其故ハ、「和國ニキコヱンタメモ、學道ノ稽古ノタメモ大切ナレドモ、衆中ニ具眼ノ人アリテ、外國人トシテ大叢林ノ侍者タランコト、國ニ人ナキガ如シト難ズルコトアラン、尤モハヅベシ。」トイヽテ[...]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. a person who is not Japanese
   • 1875, 文明論之概略, page 18:

     譬えば頑固なる士民は外国人を悪むを以て常とせり。又学者流の人にても少しく見識ある者は外人の挙動を見て決して心酔するに非ず，之を悦ばざるの心は彼の頑民に異なることなしと云うも可なり。

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Synonyms

(a foreigner):

• (informal) 外(がい)人(じん) (gaijin)
• 異(い)人(じん) (ijin)
• 異(い)邦(ほう)人(じん) (ihōjin)
• 異国人(いこくじん) (ikokujin)
• (Kagoshima) としんどん (toshindon)

Descendants

• → English: gaikokujin

References

• Fukuzawa, Yukichi (1995) [1875] Bunmeiron no Gairyaku, Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
• Nishio, Minoru with Kagamishima Genryū, Sakai Tokugen, Mizuno Yaoko (1965) Shōbō Genzō, Shōbō Genzō Zuimonki, Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN