Huan-a

Huan-a (Chinese: 番仔; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hoan-á) is a Hokkien word which means foreigner. 番 means 'foreign', and 仔 is a Hokkien diminutive noun suffix. This term may be perceived as derogatory by non-Chinese speakers in certain countries, such as in Taiwan.

Huan-a
Hàn-jī番仔
Pe̍h-ōe-jīHoan-á
Tâi-lôHuan-á

Chinese Filipinos, Chinese Indonesians, Chinese Malaysians, and Chinese Singaporeans use this word to refer to non-ethnic-Chinese Southeast Asians.[1] During the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, the Japanese were called huan-a by Han Taiwanese, with geisha called hoan-á-ke (番仔雞, lit. "foreign chicken") and the wives of Japanese men called hoan-á-chiú-kan (番仔酒矸, lit. "foreign liquor bottle").[2] Huan-a is now commonly used in Taiwan to refer to indigenous peoples (the Taiwanese aborigines).[3] In Penang, Malaysia, huan-a is used to refer to Malays, whereas ang moh (紅毛) refers to Europeans and Kling na (吉零仔) refers to Tamils.[4] In the Philippines, huan-a is what Chinese Filipinos use to refer to native Filipinos or any non-ethnic-Chinese Filipino, such as Filipino Mestizos or Spanish Filipinos, Japanese Filipinos, Korean Filipinos, Indian Filipinos, Iranian Filipinos, & etc..[5][6] In previous times, the term was used by Han Chinese to refer to Mongolian invaders. Basically, Huan-a connotes "alien foreigner".

In another case, the word fan-kui (Chinese: 番鬼; pinyin: fānguǐ) is a Mandarin Chinese word which means evil foreigner. 鬼 means 'ghost' or 'evil'. This phrase is used by overseas Chinese to imply non-Chinese people who are known for their bad habits or rude character. .

References
  1. Tong, Chee Kiong (2010). Identity and ethnic relations in Southeast Asia. Springer. pp. 231. ISBN 978-90-481-8908-3.
  2. Huang, Junjie (2006). Taiwan in transformation, 1895-2005. Transaction Publishers. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-7658-0311-5.
  3. Katz, Paul R.; Murray A. Rubinstein (2003). Religion and the formation of Taiwanese identities. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 279.
  4. DeBernardi, Jean Elizabeth (1 April 2009). Penang: rites of belonging in a Malaysian Chinese community. National University of Singapore Press. p. 262. ISBN 978-9971-69-416-6.
  5. Zorc, David Paul (1982). Core Etymological Dictionary of Filipino: Part 3 (PDF). p. 171.
  6. Chan-Yap, Gloria (1980). "Hokkien Chinese borrowings in Tagalog" (PDF). Pacific Linguistics. Canberra, A.C.T. 2600.: The Australian National University. B (71): 132.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
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