Difference between saying 外国の人 and 外国人?


I don't understand the difference in nuance. Is it like saying "person from
another country" vs "foreigner"? Is the first one less formal?




Yes, at the grammar level, 外国の人【ひと】 is made of three words ("person of (a)
foreign-country"), whereas 外国人【がいこくじん】 is a fixed compound meaning
"foreigner".

The difference is not large, but only 外国人 is suitable as a legal or academic
term. On the other hand, 外国の人 may sound a bit friendlier in informal
conversations, so people sometimes intentionally choose this despite its
length. They also say 外国の方 in respectful speech.

You're not asking about this, but there is also 外人, which was a safe and
neutral word in the past but is now sometimes considered sensitive. See: [Why
is gaikokujin more politically correct than
gaijin?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/4131/5010) Perhaps, one of the
reasons why Japanese people today often use the longest expression (外国の人) in
conversations is that 外人 is no longer available as the first choice.




Yes, at the grammar level, 外国の人【ひと】 is made of three words ("person of (a)
foreign-country"), whereas 外国人【がいこくじん】 is a fixed compound meaning
"foreigner".

The difference is not large, but only 外国人 is suitable as a legal or academic
term. On the other hand, 外国の人 may sound a bit friendlier in informal
conversations, so people sometimes intentionally choose this despite its
length. They also say 外国の方 in respectful speech.

You're not asking about this, but there is also 外人, which was a safe and
neutral word in the past but is now sometimes considered sensitive. See: [Why
is gaikokujin more politically correct than
gaijin?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/4131/5010) Perhaps, one of the
reasons why Japanese people today often use the longest expression (外国の人) in
conversations is that 外人 is no longer available as the first choice.

