Comments on: Confusing Chinese “N” word: 那个(nà ge/ nèi ge)

By: Someone

Someone — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 12:01:40 +0000

This is simply American hybris. There is a similar situation in some European languages, where the “classic” word for darker colored people almost all derive from the Latin word “niger” – which is simply the word for “dark (colored)”. In German “der Neger”, in France “le nègre”, in Spanish “el negro”, Italian “il negro”. During that time there was no judgement nor bias upon those words, it simply described dark(er) colored people. When black people from the states go to Europe and then read these words somewhere they often assume that it is the same word as the “N-word” but totally ignore that Europe didn’t have the US-slave-period nor many dark people at all. The first few “people of color” (from Africa) I saw in real life was at my university. Nowadays those words are also kind of bad connoted and I’d avoid using them. But they are still quite normal in literature till the 80s, even in children books. Some thing: “black facing”. In Europe just a way to simulate dark colored people in theater and carnival, in the US historically racism. And then US people start to yell at European children(!) in carnival to be racist. Just stupid, but well, USA.

By: Derek Ye

Derek Ye — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 00:59:06 +0000

Great article! Hopefully, more people will read this and reduce a lot of misunderstanding.
(I’m Chinese myself)

By: Jamie Nei Ge

Jamie Nei Ge — Tue, 08 Sep 2020 19:48:12 +0000

Speak chinese wherever, whenever you dont say weather or not a chinese person says something because it makes you Feel sad 🙁 , what you do instead is jump off a cliff and join the rest of your SJW buddys in death as you all fail natural selection

By: Hackinthebox

Hackinthebox — Mon, 07 Sep 2020 23:22:09 +0000

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT_tLCeOW48
2020 sucks. A teacher got fired for talking about this subject to his class in the context of understanding language differences.

By: James Wells

James Wells — Mon, 07 Sep 2020 23:07:44 +0000

I met my wife in China over 20 years ago. I heard her and her friends saying this, often. A friend explained that it is like Americans saying “uhhh, ummmm….”.
I’m from the South. I told her: Do NOT say this when you get to America! Nobody will believe me. They will say ‘Well, it’s obvious you are prejudiced and have taught her what to call black people’.
I hope someday people will not act like they are going to die because they heard a word. If you’re that sensitive, I don’t know how you survive at all.
ALL racism needs to end. I’m so sick of hearing black people call me “White Boy” or “That Old White Dude”. Sick of all the ‘sensitive’ hypocrites. But I don’t fall over and scream that I suddenly need psychiatric help because some idiot called me a name.
The first to cry “racism” are far too often the most racist people in America. Move on already.

By: SC

SC — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 19:39:37 +0000

Great read. I used to travel to China and heard that word ALL THE TIME!!!! I also thought it sounded exactly like the N word. I would also ask what it meant but they never understood what I was asking. Now it makes sense.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 18 Jul 2019 02:24:46 +0000

Thank you for this! I have chinese coworkers and I swear they were saying the n word over and over but i was sure it was just another word in Chinese dialogue. Thanks for clarifying!

By: Carl johnson

Carl johnson — Mon, 16 May 2016 00:58:00 +0000

Great article! I have been here in China for 5 years and always wondered what Nei ge meant. I often would ask and, as you stated, the speaker never understood what word I was referring to and look at me quizzically and say that they did not say any such word. Now I know it is just a filler word. Thank you