The Chinese N-Word

You may have read some articles about a US professor being suspended for using the co-called “N-word” in Chinese, so what’s the fuss all about?

What is the N-Word in Chinese?

The N-word in Chinese is actually 那个， which is pronounced as either nàgè or nèige and literally means “that one”. 那nà个ge (nà​ge) is a common Chinese filler word, similar to “um”, “er” or “uh” in English and is not a racial slur.

Unfortunately in America, 那个 has become very controversial with at least one Professor in the United States being suspended over students taking offense to his use of this very common Chinese phrase. Many learners of Chinese will be taught the pronunciation as nàgè, which avoids this misunderstanding, however many Chinese do in fact pronounce this word as nèige.

那个 used in a sentence

Here is an example of 那nà个ge (nà​ge) used in a sentence:

你nǐ要yào这zhè个ge还hái是shi那nà个ge？? (nǐ yào zhè​ge hái​shi nà​ge?)
nǐ yào zhège háishì nàgè
Do you want this one or that one?

那个。
nàgè.
That one.

那个 used as a filler

那nà个ge (nà​ge) can also be used as a filler, just like “um” or “er” in English, this is just three examples:

我wǒ要yào吃chī。.。.。.那nà个ge。.。.。.那nà个ge。.。.。.辣là面miàn。. (wǒ yào chī... nà​ge... nà​ge... là miàn.)
wǒ yào chī… nàgè… nàgè… là miàn.
I want to eat… um… er… spicy noodles.

你nǐ要yào做zuò什shén么me？? (nǐ yào zuò shén​me?)
nǐ yào zuò shénme?
What do you want to do?

那nà个ge。.。.。.我wǒ走zǒu了le！! (nà​ge... wǒ zǒu le!)
nàgè… wǒ zǒule!
Uh…. I’m going!

How to say African and African-American in Chinese?

There are several ways to say African and African-American in Chinese:

黑hēi人rén (hēi​rén) – literally black-person
非Fēi洲zhōu人rén (Fēi​zhōu​rén) – literally African-person
美Měi国guó黑hēi人rén (Měi​guó hēi​rén) – African-American, literally American black-person
非fēi裔yì美Měi国guó人rén (fēi yì Měi​guó rén) – African-descent American
非fēi裔yì美měi人rén (fēi yì měi rén) – African-descent American

A few notes here:

• 黑hēi色sè (hēi​sè) is black, literally “black colour”. Check out our post on How to say Colours and Patterns in Chinese.
• 人rén (rén) means person
• 黑hēi人rén (hēi​rén) could be literally translated as “black person”, but is not derogatory
• 非Fēi洲zhōu (Fēi​zhōu) is the Chinese word for “Africa”, thus 非Fēi洲zhōu人rén (Fēi​zhōu​rén) means “Africa person”, or just “African”
• 美Měi国guó (Měi​guó) is the Chinese word for “America”, thus 美Měi国guó黑hēi人rén (Měi​guó hēi​rén) means American African
• 美měi人rén (měi rén) and 美Měi国guó人rén (Měi​guó rén) means American
• 裔yì (yì) means descent, thus 非fēi裔yì (fēi yì) means African descent, where 非fēi (fēi) comes from the work for Africa 非Fēi洲zhōu (Fēi​zhōu)

None of these, even 黑hēi人rén (hēi​rén) should be considered as being derogatory. Keep in mind that Chinese is quite a logical language, with the component characters that make up words often giving a literal meaning.

Be aware bias, mistranslation and cultural taboos

It’s important to be aware that your customs or words you use could also be insulting to Chinese speakers. A recent example I’ve seen of this is where it was remarked in English that someone’s kids were “crazy” to the child’s Chinese parents; unfortunately the Chinese parents understood this as an insult, where crazy meant mentally disturbed in a very derogatory way, when in fact in English it was just a way of expressing frustration that the kids were overly excited, implying they needed to calm down.

When learning a foreign language or culture, it is important to appreciate that cultural norms and taboos cannot be transposed. Just because a Chinese word or phrase sounds similar to something rude in English, this doesn’t make it rude. If you ever find yourself upset with what someone has said in Chinese, consider if it you may misunderstand the English meaning. Similarly, if something is said in English by a native Chinese speaker that you find upsetting, perhaps their limited understanding of English has led to the confusion。

For everyone’s benefit, it’s best to give others plenty of latitude for mistakes when speaking a foreign language, as I’m sure you’d appreciate them showing you the same courtesy.