# Which is more politically correct - "Asian" or "Oriental"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 2, 2005, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827 "2005-12-02T22:49:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stainz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Stainz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stainz)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/1 "2005-12-02T22:49:18Z")
Our dog has a thing about some men - specifically she hates Japanese, Chinese, Korean men - might be the dark hair, we’re not sure. So I would say that she hates “Asian” men. A friend would say the dog hates “Oriental” men. Is one term more p/c than the other? I would hate to be offending anyone … Thank you, S. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/2 "2005-12-02T22:51:43Z")
Use Asian. There is nothing technically wrong with “Oriental” - it just means _eastern_, but it is considered a bit racist these days. Just like there’s nothing technically wrong with “Negro” but you wouldn’t use it. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/3 "2005-12-02T22:53:39Z")
These days Oriental tends to be used for objects, Asian for people. I personally wouldn’t like Oriental one bit. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/4 "2005-12-02T22:54:24Z")
“Oriental” is definitely considered offensive. “Asian” is better, but usually the new standard is to call someone by their specific ethnicity (that is, if you don’t just call them by their NAME). Are you or your dog King of the Hill fans by any chance? ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/5 "2005-12-02T22:59:36Z")
Then, it further depends on what part of the world you’re in. In the UK, people of Indian ethnicity are referred to as ‘Asian’, which sounded odd at first to my Australian ears - although it is actually correct. I don’t know how it goes in North America. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/6 "2005-12-02T23:01:47Z")
> [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > Then, it further depends on what part of the world you’re in. In the UK, people of Indian ethnicity are referred to as ‘Asian’, which sounded odd at first to my Australian ears - although it is actually correct. I don’t know how it goes in North America. We may be Asian, but the Asians themselves don’t want us! Let’s be South Asian, or better yet, Indian. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Penchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/74df32/32.png) [@Penchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penchan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/7 "2005-12-02T23:04:38Z")
These days some people get offended with Asian. So to be totally PC, use Asian Pacific Islander or Asian Pacific American if you’re not sure. Don’t use Oriental when referring to people, it’s pretty offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/8 "2005-12-02T23:07:43Z")
My wife is not offended by the term “Oriental” but she says it’s perceived as archaic and colonialistic – and somewhat patronizing. She would prefer to be called “Japanese-American” if she must be called anything, but will settle for “Asian.” And of course, in the U.S. we can’t call the Indians, Indians because we’d get them all confused with the American Indians, who would prefer to be called “Native Americans.” ---
**Author:** ![YaWanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bbce88/32.png) [@YaWanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaWanna)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/9 "2005-12-02T23:08:24Z")
Yeah, the first time I heard that, my mind went “WTF?” - I’d been taught that the Indian people are not the same “race” as the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Mongolians, SE Asians, etc. I always thought of them as the same “race” as me (a whitey from Nordic descent). I just call Indian people…“Indian.” I was even more confused when I heard that some (ignorant) people consider Indian people…black. Oh, well. I’m not out to insult anyone, at least not on the basis of their skin color, ethnic group, etc. When I heard that “Oriental” was offensive, I stopped using it. ---
**Author:** ![YaWanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bbce88/32.png) [@YaWanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaWanna)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/10 "2005-12-02T23:10:04Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > My wife is not offended by the term “Oriental” but she says it’s perceived as archaic and colonialistic – and somewhat patronizing. She would prefer to be called “Japanese-American” if she must be called anything, but will settle for “Asian.” > > And of course, in the U.S. we can’t call the Indians, Indians because we’d get them all confused with the American Indians, who would prefer to be called “Native Americans.” Nope, latest info is that they now find that term patronizing, and prefer to be called by their tribe name; if that name is not known, then they prefer just “Indian.” Yes, it’s confusing. But does it matter whether you can tell which one people mean - really? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/11 "2005-12-02T23:15:36Z")
> [@YaWanna](#): > > Nope, latest info is that they now find that term patronizing, and prefer to be called by their tribe name; if that name is not known, then they prefer just “Indian.” Yes, it’s confusing. But does it matter whether you can tell which one people mean - really? Well…kind of…if you’re one of those people. I mean, I’ve had many the case where I’ve told someone “I’m Indian” and they’ve said, “Oh really? What tribe?” I’ve gotten used to saying E. Indian. Mostly. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/12 "2005-12-02T23:17:50Z")
I don’t consider being called Oriental offensive. Being of Okinawan ancestry, I dislike being called Asian, more . ---
**Author:** ![YaWanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bbce88/32.png) [@YaWanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaWanna)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/13 "2005-12-03T00:21:03Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Well…kind of…if you’re one of those people. I mean, I’ve had many the case where I’ve told someone “I’m Indian” and they’ve said, “Oh really? What tribe?” > > I’ve gotten used to saying E. Indian. Mostly. I guess what I was trying to say is, should it matter in terms of how the person is regarded. I didn’t mean to trivialize your (or anyone’s) ethnicity. It **must** be beer-thirty by now… ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/14 "2005-12-03T00:42:20Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > She would prefer to be called “Japanese-American” if she must be called anything, but will settle for “Asian.” The trouble with identifying their country of origin is that you have to be able to differentiate between the Chinese, Korean, Japanese, etc. I certainly can’t, so I use Asian if I need to describe someone’s race. Better, I think, than using “Chinese” as a catchall. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/15 "2005-12-03T01:14:19Z")
Jesus! I think correcting your racist dog is a thousand times more important than figuring out the PC way to describe its brand of racism! If this isn’t a textbook example of something or other… ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/16 "2005-12-03T01:53:35Z")
Just don’t do a Morty Seinfeld: “I know this Chinaman . . .” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/17 "2005-12-03T02:19:38Z")
Asian is less specific, since not all Asians are Orientals. The latter term is indeed considered offensive by some though, for reasons that I consider to be ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/18 "2005-12-03T02:36:30Z")
Oriental’s racist now! It’s the word I use, as asian seems rather unspecific (as others have noted it can mean Indian or even Pakistani). I mean come on, person from the orient=oriental. I can’t imagine what else you’d call someone to specify that they’re from the orient. ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_Mann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@Rich\_Mann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_Mann)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/19 "2005-12-03T02:44:22Z")
> [@Malodorous](#): > > Oriental’s racist now! It’s the word I use, as asian seems rather unspecific (as others have noted it can mean Indian or even Pakistani). > > I mean come on, person from the orient=oriental. I can’t imagine what else you’d call someone to specify that they’re from the orient. ‘South-East Asian’ is what most of the South-East Asians I know use. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2005, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827/20 "2005-12-03T03:49:48Z")
> [@Malodorous](#): > > Oriental’s racist now! It’s the word I use, as asian seems rather unspecific (as others have noted it can mean Indian or even Pakistani). > > I mean come on, person from the orient=oriental. I can’t imagine what else you’d call someone to specify that they’re from the orient. My wife sympathizes with you and says you can refer to her as “east Asian” should it ever come up. By the way, she’s not from the Orient. She’s from Cleveland. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-more-politically-correct-asian-or-oriental/333827.md?page=2)