Why is gaikokujin more politically correct than gaijin?


While in English, the word "gaijin" is far more common than "gaikokujin", I've
heard that in Japanese [外人]{がいじん} has been replaced by [外国人]{がいこくじん} for
reasons of political correctness.

What differences are there between the two words?

  1. Is it merely replacing one word with another, a case of a euphemism treadmill?
  2. Is the former perceived as a contraction of the latter, though Wikipedia claims that the former word pre-dated the latter? Contractions are often seen as derogatory.
  3. Does the latter emphasize that it's nationality that's being talked about, rather than race?




You've stepped on a potential land mine of debate there. Whether or not
`外人{がいじん}` is offensive, politically incorrect, or means something other than
just "foreigner" is the topic of a lot of heated debate. Take a look
[here](http://www.debito.org/kumegaijinissue.html) for the "gaijin is
offensive side". Take a look at the [Wikipidia
entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaijin#cite_note-Koshiro_1999_114-10) for
links to the "gaijin is just a word" side.

Which means that for starters, it can't simply be taken as axiomatic that
`外国人{がいこくじん}` _is_ more politically correct, which makes answering your
question a little tough.

As far as I know, NHK and news programs favour the use of `外国人{がいこくじん}` over
`外人{がいじん}` because it is considered more politically correct. However, if you
look at the links in [this
answer](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/2081/119), `外人{がいじん}` does not
seem to be on the list of "unbroadcastable" words (although the lists linked
to are unofficial, so perhaps broadcasters have their own in house rules).

The Wikipedia entry you (and I) link to covers a lot of the history and two
sides of the issue, so there's no need to retread them here.

I think that for the purposes of this site and wondering about usage in
Japanese, you can't be given hard rules on this one. I think the guidelines
you need to consider are:

  1. Some people do find it offensive, so know your audience.

  2. Most Japanese are unaware that it is an issue, simply because foreigners in Japan are such a tiny minority that _most_ issues relating to foreigner relations go under the radar for most Japanese.

  3. Whether offensive or not, the word is most often understood to mean non-Chinese, non-Korean foreigners.

* * *

Personally, I feel it is too simplistic to simply assert that a word like
`外人{がいじん}` is or is not offensive. People seem to want to put the entire
burden of responsibility on either the speaker or listener, on intent or
perception, but I believe language is a relationship in which two parties
participate in understanding. So `外人{がいじん}` can be made offensive, or not, it
can be understood as offensive, or not. If you and I were having coffee
together, I could show you how I can take a neutral word like "woman" and use
it as a weapon. But that becomes part of a broader debate about language and
social norms. Too broad to cover here.

