There are numerous offensive terms given to people, depending on their nationality. Many of these have a pejorative association, some are considered as racist. See also List_of_ethnic_slurs.

Offensive terms for Austrians

• Ösis or Ötzis used in Bavaria. Both terms are supposedly joking, slightly teasing expressions.
• Schluchtenscheißer (one who shits in canyons) used in Germany.

Offensive terms for Arabs

• Camel rider or Camel jockey, referring to archaic modes of transport.
  • Camel humper (implying Zoophilia) is a further variant.
• Mohammad A name mocking the fact that that many Arab men are named after the prophet, because of their presumed religion, Islam. Sometimes Abdul and Ahmet are substituted.
• Towelhead, Raghead or Diaperhead, referring to the head coverings worn by some Arab men.
• Sand-nigger, an adaptation of an offensive term for American blacks and a reference to the fact many Arabs live in the deserts of the Middle-East. Related terms include:
  • Sandmonkey
  • Sandwalker
  • Dune Coon
  • Dune Nigger
• Bint from the Arabic word for "girl" or "daughter," a derogatory term for an Arab woman, sometimes used in the UK for foreign women in general.

Offensive terms for Azeri

• Azer (азер) Russian, after the Azeri language word azәri, which literally means Azeri. A non-offensive Russian word for Azeri is Azerbaydzhanets (азербайджанец).
• Chyorny (чёрный) Russian, meaning black.
• Chyernozhopy (черножопый) Russian, meaning one whose ass is black, black-ass. Considered significantly more rude than "chyorny", this term is probably the most offensive of all.
• Churka (чурка) Russian, meaning firewood (analogy from the phrase "dumb as firewood"). The use of this term is not restricted to denoting Azeri; in Soviet army it was a common vulgarism for low-educated conscripts from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and the like. In Russian army (since 1991) it is used of low-educated conscripts from smaller, mostly islamic, peoples of Russia.

Offensive terms for the British

• Gottons: deformation of "goddam"; old-fashioned (XIXth Century).
• Inselaffe, Island monkey, is a term occasionally used in Germany.
• Les rosbifs , "The roast beefs", is a term encountered in France, named either after a food perceived to be popular amongst the British or as a reference to the sunburn seen on some British tourists.
• Les fuck-offs , is a term encountered in France, come from the common English expletive.
• Limey, a term used mainly in America, believed to have originated from British sailors' use of limes to control the disease scurvy. It is not necessarily regarded by British people as offensive.
• Pom, whinging pom or pommy bastard, Used mainly in Australia & New Zealand and usually against the English. There are several possible etymologies; it is possibly a reference to the pomegranate-like features of florid face. A popular myth has it as an acronym for Prisoner of (his/her) Majesty, in reference to practice of penal transportation.
• Tommy or Tommy Atkins is somewhat dated, and usually refers specifically to British soldiers. It has been widely used for a century or more and may derive from Thomas Atkins, the name printed on specimen forms of the Soldier's Account Book from 1815 onwards. It is not necessarily regarded by British people as offensive.

Offensive terms for Chinese

• Chinaman - Chinamen. Considered pejorative, despite its rather benign word root.
• chinetoque in French
• Ching Chong - Relating to the perceived sound of the spoken languages of China to the Western ear
• Chink
• Gook - Originated from U.S. military slang during the years spent fighting the Korean and then Vietnam wars. Now common in other countries
• Grjóni - Literally means "Ricey". Sometimes used in a pejorative way by Icelanders.
• sárga ("yellow") and or ferdeszemű ("tilted eyed") in Hungarian
• Schlitzauge ("slit-eye") in German
• Slope
• Slant
• Slanteye or slit-eye - Referring to the shape of the eye.
• Żółtek after word "żółty" meaning "yellow" (polish)
• Kitayoza (китаёза) - from the Russian name for China: Kitai (Китай), postfixed by vulgar "-yoza" (-ёза).

Offensive terms for the Czechs

• Pepik , Pepiczek, or Pepiczek, Polish offensive referring to the diminutive forms of Czech name Jozef that sound bizarre in Polish.

Offensive terms for the Dutch

• cloggy referring to clogs
• Gouda cheese variety
• Käsekopf (cheese-head) is common in Germany, referring both to the cheese produced in the Netherlands, as well as an insinuation that they are a foolish or unintellegent people.

Offensive terms for the Finnish

There are quite a few offensive terms for the Finnish, some of which have a pejorative association. The Russians used to frequently refer to Finns (and Estonians) as Chukhna (the actual name of these nations in Imperial Russia, now considered derogatory). The Estonians use poro (literally "reindeer") presumably to both play on geographical location, and the fact that Finns purportedly navigate the streets of Tallinn on all fours after having drunk themselves legless.

The Swedish refer to Finns as Finnjävel (literally "Finnish devil") Both the Swedes and Norwegians can use the name Pekka, signifying the fact that they feel the first name is typical for Finns. (However, some Norwegians erroneously use the name "Peeka", mainly because they can't spell worth a damn.)

Offensive terms for the French

• cheese-eating surrender monkey In 2003, the phrase came into common usage as a pejorative term for the French, in the United States. The phrase originated on the popular animated series The Simpsons, in the episode "Round Springfield" (originally aired April 30, 1995) when Scottish character Groundskeeper Willy addresses a French class with "Bonjourrrrrr, you cheese-eatin' surrender monkeys". The phrase was popularized in the media by Jonah Goldberg, a columnist for the rightwing weekly National Review, and was adopted by conservatives expressing displeasure at the French for opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq. See Anti-French sentiment.
• frenchie A more neutral but possibly derogatory term for the French. As an example of a non-derogatory use, "Frenchy" is the name of a female friend in the musical Grease
• frog A historic pejorative term for the French. The word is probably derived from "frog-eater" (German: Froschfresser), a term listed in the 1913 Webster Dictionary. The term is primarily used in the UK to refer to a French national, but is also used in other English-speaking countries. In the United States towns with large French immigrant populations are sometimes called "frog town".
• csiga Hungarian for snail. Refers to the fact that French eat snails.
• "gabacho" A pejorative term for the French in the Spanish language.
• Dirty French relating to a stereotype of the french as being unclean, and often that their women are unshaven.
• żabojad meaning frog-eater in Polish

Offensive terms for Germans

The word Kraut has to some extent succeeded Hun as an insulting term for Germans in the English language. Another term, Jerry, could also be used pejoratively, as could the word Nazi. Germs is a less commonly used abbreviation.

Whenever Austrians want to insult Germans they use the word Piefke (pronounced "peefke") or the word Marmeladinger, whereas Bavarians prefer the word Saupreiß ("Prussian Sow", pronounced "sow price") for non-Bavarian Germans (this is nowadays perceived as a mild or even affectionate insult).

In both World War I and World War II, the French called the Germans "les Boches" or "les shleus", but the last one is rare nowadays. The Dutchmen use Mof, Poles say Szkop or Szwab, Hitlerowiec, Gestapowiec, Gebels, fryc, Faszysta and American often use the historical term Nazi.

In Hungary the historical term náci (nazi) is pretty offensive, and fritz is still used, which was the main term around the World War II.

In Russian, "fritz" is used, but mostly in reference to the times of Nazi occupation. Also, the term nemchura (немчура) is in use from old times. In fact, the Russian word "nemets" (немец) for "German person" itself originated from a derogatory word for a European who cannot speak Russian. It literally means "dumb (mute) person" (in modern Russian, "mute" is translated as "nemoy" (немой)).

The song Don't let's be beastly to the Germans by Noel Coward exemplifies many of these terms in use. This was a popular song in the UK and U.S. during World War II.

The term boxhead can be applied to Germans, supposedly because of their uniformly square shaped heads.

In the UK, Germans are also frequently mocked for their lack of a sense of humour, and their zest for claiming the best sunloungers at hotel swimming pools first thing in the morning before others are awake. The supposed national passion for sunlounger claiming, to the detriment of other nationalities, was famously used in the 1990s by an advertisement on ITV for Carling Black Label in which a group of Germans ( dressed in lederhosen, alpine hats, and with beer bellies, shouting things like "ja!" loudly ) are seen making a mad dash from a hotel to the poolside as soon as the morning sun was up: just before they have staked their claim on the sunloungers, a heroic British man is seen to appear on his hotel bedroom balcony from where he athletically throws his rolled up towel ( Union Flag pattern ) through the air where it lands on a sunlounger and unrolls itself along the length of a sunlounger, revealing the flag pattern to the Germans and revealing a can of Carling Black Label concealed inside. From the appearance of the British man on the balcony onwards, the action is accompanied by the theme tune to the Dam Busters, as the camera follows the path of the rolled up towel through the air, over the turned heads of the astonished German party, who see the towel bounce off the surface of the swimming pool ( in bouncing bomb fashion ) coming to a climax as the towel lands on the sunlounger and the victory in the sunlounger claim war is achieved. [1]

The only widely used Finnish derogatory term for Germans is sakemanni, presumably after the Finnish name for Germany, Saksa. This term was particularly popular immediately after the Winter War, when the Germans broke their treaty with the Finnish and burned several towns in Lapland.

Offensive terms for the Irish

• Mick, from the common prefix Mc-/Mac- on Irish surnames.
• Paddy, from the given name Patty (short form of Patrick), a presumably popular name in Ireland (paddywagon for "police car" is derived from this slur)
• Bogtrotter, a reference to use of the peat cut from bogs as fuel, a traditional practice in Ireland.

Offensive terms for the Italians

• Dago, (pronounced "DAY-go") known as a pejorative term referring to Italians in the US. The same term is known in Australia, where in the 1950s folklore has it a chain of shops called "Sundown" used it with the slogan "Shop here before the day goes" ("Sundowner" is also an Australian term meaning "down and out".)
• Digó in Hungary, probably related to the dago above
• Ginzo used in U.S. as a slur for those of Italian birth or descent.
• Guido used in the USA
• Guinea and wop are two common anti-Italian ethnic slurs. The former alleges that Italians are not white and are in fact "sub-standard" because of their Guinea (African) blood.
• Itaker in Germany
• Mobster, referring to the Italian Mafia, an organized crime group.
• Reißfresser or Katzlmacher in Austria
• Rital in France, or Macaroni (referring to Italian pastas).
• Wogs used in Australia, along with Chockos (rhyming slang: Chocolate Frog = Wog) (Wog can also be used for Greeks and other Mediteranian immigrants)

Offensive terms for Japanese

• Japs - used primarily in World War II due to the Japanese attack on the United States military bases in Pearl Harbor in 1941. This could be confused with the semi-pejorative acronym "JAP", short for Jewish American Princess (see Offensive terms for Jews)
• Nips - used primarily in World War II, abbreviation for Nippon-koku, which is the Japanese word for "Japan".

Offensive terms for Jews

• Christ-killer
• Heeb, Heebie. However, this should not be confused with the non-pejorative word "heebie jeebies ", which was invented as a nonsense word by cartoonist Billy De Beck in 1923
• Hymie, from a supposedly typical Jewish first name "Hyman", which comes from the Hebrew word for "life".
• Kike
• Jap, jocular abbreviation for Jewish American Prince(ss)
• Jew-boy
• Jewess
• Yid
• Zhid (жид) - Russian term, in many countries (like Czech Republic or Poland) not pejorative

Offensive terms for Mexicans

• Spic – apocopation of Hispanic.
• Wetback – name given to illegal immigrants entering the United States of America by swimming across the Rio Grande, which constitutes a long portion of the border between Mexico and the United States. See wetback, Operation Wetback.
• Beaner, from the stereotypical staple food of Mexico.

Offensive terms for the Poles

• Polack American English referring to the word Polak meaning a Pole in Polish. However, Pollack is also a common surname, such as Academy Award winning directory Sydney Pollack.
• Polacke Used in German-speaking countries.
• pshek Used in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Possibly because the Polish language sounds to Poland's eastern neighbours as a succession of consonant clusters (especially of the plosive + fricative type) that are impossible to pronounce.

Offensive terms for the Romanians

• hairy feet (szőröstalpú) in Hungarian
• rumuny in Polish

Offensive terms for the Russians

• "Commie" , or "Red" (short for "communist") is another offensive term, which may also refer to people from other "ex-Soviet-bloc countries".
• ''Iwan In Germany, common names were used in former times.
• Kacap , Rusek , and Sowiet Are offensive words used in Poland.
• Katsap Ukraine
• Morca Tatar, used for Russian women, means chimney; now the word lost its offensive meaning.
• Moskal Ukraine, referring to the Muscovy.
• Popov Used in France.
• Ryssä Used in Finland.
• "Russki" Main offensive word used in the English speaking world that refers to Russians as well as several "ex-Soviet-bloc countries", such as Hungary.Ironically, the word is not at all offensive to the English-speaking Russians, since it simply means "Russian" (русский) in Russian.

During the Winter War, the Finnish had many offensive terms for Russians, or other people from the Soviet Union. These included iivana (from the Russian name Ivan), iippo, vanja (from the Russian name Vanya), toveri ("comrade"), suippolakki ("pointed cap", from the Soviet military uniforms), leipämaan veikko ("fellow from the bread country") and others. The terms fell into disuse soon after the war.

Offensive terms for the Serbians

• Jugos A supposedly "not too offensive" term the Germans use. "Jugos" (= Yugoslavians)

• Tschusche Sometimes used in Austria.

Offensive terms for South Africans

• Boer , referring to Afrikaners, meaning "farmer"; originally in universally accepted usage, the term is now obsolete and used pejoratively.
• Clutchplate, used by English South Africans to refer to Afrikaners
• Hotnot, used by Afrikaners to refer to coloured people; very offensive
• Kaffir , referring to South African blacks, literally meaning "non-believer" in Arabic; extremely offensive
• Rock Spider, used by English South Africans to refer to Afrikaners - also an Australian prison slang term for a paedophile
• Rooinek' , used by Afrikaners to refer to English South Africans, meaning "red neck", from the sunburn fair-skinned English-speakers get in South Africa
• Sout piel , used by Afrikaners to refer to English South Africans, meaning "salty penis", because English-speaking South Africans are said to have one foot in South Africa and the other in England

Offensive terms for the Spanish

• Dago, originally of British usage, also known as a pejorative term referring to Italians in the US
• Don, a British term almost never used in modern times, this term prevailed from around 1500 to 1800
• Spic, American, abbreviation for Hispanic, also referring to Latin Americans
• Gachupín, Mexican pejorative term referring to Spaniards
• Xarnego (spelled in Spanish as Charnego), Catalan pejorative term for Spaniards from other parts of Spain, especially if they live or work in Catalonia, and for persons of mixed descent (e.g. half-Catalan half-Spanish)
• Maketa (spelled in Spanish as Maqueta), Basque pejorative term for Castilians
• Polaco, Spanish pejorative term for Catalans
• Métèque, early 20th century French derogatory term for Spaniards (and other foreigners from the South)
• Gallego, a Spanish word referring to the province of Galicia, used in derogatory fashion in the southern half of South America to describe anyone from Spain

Offensive terms for the Swedish

Hurri is a Finnish derogatory term for Swedes in general.

Finland-Swedes are sometimes derogatorily called bättre folk (Swedish for "better people"). This is intended to mock the perceived feeling of superiority Finland-Swedes are thought to feel towards Finnish speakers.

Offensive terms for the Tatars

• Tartar, English, sounds like Tatar. The word is also used to describe Mongolian tribes in historical context. When used in relation to modern Tatars, it implies their relation to barbarians.
• Tatarva (татарва), Russian, used mostly as plural.
• Chaplashka (чеплашка), Russian, after the word for Tatar traditional hat known as tübätäy. Now seems to be uncommon.
• Abdulla (not so offensive; after the Tatar name Ghabdulla).

Offensive terms for the Turkish

In Western Europe sometimes the term Kanacke (Polynesian for human) is used. In the German speaking areas offensive words for the Turkish are Kümmeltürke (caraway turk) or Knoblauchfresser (garlic-eater / garlic glutton), based on the Turkish cuisine.

The term wog was originally used in Britain to signify Turks, but it has become used as a general derogatory term for people from Southern Europe (particularly Italians and Greeks) and the Middle East, and to some extent, foreigners in general.

Offensive terms for the Ukrainians

In Poland, offensive word is Upowiec or Banderowiec, from the abbreviation "UPA" (Ukrainian Insurrection Army) and its leader Stepan Bandera, known for massacres of Poles. Other terms are similar to those used for Russians, like Kacap or Rusek.

In Russia and other Russian-speaking post-Soviet countries it is khokhol.

Offensive terms for citizens of the United States of America

• Amerloque – also French slang
• Ami ; German slang sometimes used offensively ("Ami go home!")
• cowboys – considered patronizing and mockery by Europeans, but many Americans are not offended. (The implication, for those who use the word in derogatory sense, is that Americans are rough and primitively vitalistic.)
• Damnyankee – Used in the Southern US for people from the North.
• gavacho (or gabacho) – Used in Mexico. For origin, see under "Offensive terms for the French"
• Gringo – From the Spanish griego (foreigner, literally meaning "Greek")
• merkin – a caricature of pronunciation but also a word with a meaning of its own.
• 'murrican – caricature of the way some Americans pronounce the word "American".
• Ricain – French slang (shortening of the usual américain)
• Septic, seppo – British and Australian term for Americans (rhyming slang for septic tank = Yank.) Originated from WW2 (U.S. soldiers became known for 'being full of shit' or untruthful); A septic tank is used in rural Australia for storage and decomposition of human waste
• Yank – short for Yankees; Yanqui in Spanish, jenki in Hungarian, jenkki in Finnish
• Redneck; symmetric to "Yankee", used to emphasise perceived similarities in modern US policies and Dixiecracy. Also refers to Southerners when seen as rural and agricultural (reference to the sunburned skin of farm workers)
• Kałboj; derived from "cowboy" and the word "kał" meaning "solid byproduct of digestion" in Polish language
• Bushmen ; sometimes used in Poland, meaning both "men of G. W. Bush" and men living in forests
• americanata; something that is in bad taste, vulgar (literally, a typically American thing). Italian (with cognate words in other European languages).
• amer (амер); Russian, mild. The stress is on the first syllable.
• amerikos (америкос); Russian, more offensive than "amer", but still mild. The stress is on the last syllable.
• pindos (пиндос); Russian, more offensive than "amerikos", but mild all the same. The stress is on the last syllable. Allegedly, the use of this term to refer to Americans originated in Yugoslavia during the war of 2000-2001, and was imported to Russian in the course of (rather hysterical) "brotherhood of slavonic peoples" media campaign of that time.

Offensive terms for citizens of Vietnam

• Charlie - shortened from radio code "Victor Charlie", meaning "V.C." ( Vietcong) used in the Vietnam War

Related articles

• List of ethnic slurs, sorts the terms alphabetically
• Term of disparagement
• Hate speech