Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

laowai

/laʊˈwaɪ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
lao-wai
IPA
/laʊˈwaɪ/
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A foreigner in mainland China or Taiwan, (particularly) a Western one.

Colloquial

Etymology

From Mandarin 老外 (lǎowài, literally “old outside[r]”).

Word Breakdown

Usage

Inflected Forms

laowais (plural) lao-wai (alternative) Lao Wai (alternative)

Frequently Paired Words

gweilo

Synonyms

white person

Questions

How do you pronounce laowai?
The recorded pronunciation is /laʊˈwaɪ/.
What does laowai mean?
A foreigner in mainland China or Taiwan, (particularly) a Western one.
Where does laowai come from?
From Mandarin 老外 (lǎowài, literally “old outside[r]”).

How to pronounce laowai

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “laowai”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/laʊˈwaɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “laowai”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “laowai” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.