Huan-a
Huan-a is a Hokkien word which means foreigner. 番 means 'foreign', and 仔 is a Hokkien diminutive noun suffix. This term may be perceived as derogatory by non-Chinese speakers in certain countries, such as in Taiwan.
Chinese Indonesians, Chinese Singaporeans, Chinese Filipinos and Chinese Malaysians use this word to refer to non-Chinese Southeast Asians. During the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, the Japanese were called huan-a by Native Taiwanese, with geisha called hoan-á-ke and the wives of Japanese men called hoan-á-chiú-kan. Huan-a is now commonly used in Taiwan to refer to indigenous peoples. In Penang, Malaysia, huan-a is used to refer to Malays, whereas ang moh refers to Europeans and Kling na refers to Tamils. In the Philippines, huan-a is what Chinese Filipinos use to refer to native Filipinos.
In previous times, the term was used by Han Chinese to refer to Mongolian invaders. Basically, Huan-a connotes "alien foreigner". In another case, the word fan-kui ( is a Mandarin Chinese word which means evil foreigner. 鬼 means 'ghost' or 'evil'. This phrase is used by overseas Chinese to imply non-Chinese people who are known for their bad habits or rude character..
