gaijin

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gaijin

/ˈɡaɪˌd͡ʒɪn/

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Japanese 外人 (gaijin, “foreigner”), from Middle Chinese 外人 (ngwajᴴ nyin). Compare Mandarin 外人 (wàirén), from Old Chinese 外人 (*ŋʷaːds njin, “foreigner, outsider” < “non-relative”), from 外 (wài, “outside, outer”) + 人 (rén, “person”).

noun gaijin · gaijins

from the perspective of a Japanese person A non-Japanese person. The peculiar position of his group, according to Mr. Okimoto, is shown by the Japanese habit of referring to such persons as either nisei or nikkeijin —of Japanese descent—instead of calling them gaijin, that is, foreigners, or identifying them by nationality.
Hawaii A white person.

Translations

Every language

noun (Japan) a non-Japanese person

한국어	외인 oein
日本語	外人 gaijin
中文	外人 wàirén
हिन्दी	गाईजिन gāījin, विदेशी videśī
Русский	га́йдзин gájdzin

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MLA

"gaijin." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/gaijin. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

gaijin. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/gaijin

Chicago

"gaijin." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/gaijin.

BibTeX

@misc{gaijin_2026,
  title = {gaijin},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/gaijin},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}