Why do we call Caucasians Ang Moh?

[duffluver]

Isn't it insulting? It may be Hokkien slang, but to call them that, I feel is just taking it too far.

[acidboy]

... it is just a Hokkien way of calling them. Then why are Malay called "Huan Na". Or chinese are called "teng lang". Or why chinese in chinese is called "Hua Ren"? It just a way of calling them. It is not a nickname for them. so why is it insulting?

[serious_thinker]

i agree with acidboy. its just a name

[raymondED]

i agree with acidboy. its just a name

Actually- they are names with a racist intent. In a multi-racial community like singapore, its actually very dangerous to use it. "huanna" other then using that for describing malays, has a more degrading meaning to it i think. But i cant recall it so ~ Even if i did i won't reveal it here.

Anyway, try to keep this topic as unoffending as possible~ Very sensitive subject yesyes.

[pepamint_lee]

but then again, when we go overseas, they call us "Chinks" too, which is definitely derogatory...
Ang mo means red hair. When we explain that to our ang mo friends, they find it amusing, and sometimes refer to themselves as ang mo too! Hence I don't think it is offensive to call caucasians ang mos

[gambit]

Maybe the name was started during our ancester time :D or maybe most of them stayed at Ang Moh Kio:confused:

[surferholic]

i think is because ang is for red..and some of them are red heads..that's y we called them ang moh..haha

[TingTing]

We use these terms so often that it's become part of our Singlish dictionary already lor, but according to my folks:

Caucasians are termed "Ang Moh" cos it means "red hair" literally, but I don't understand why they're not called "Kim Moh" meaning "gold hair" since most of them are blonde anyway... :confused:

Malays are known as "Huan Na", but if you translate it back to Chinese, it's "Fan1 Ren2", which probably means they're aboriginal. Not that wrong anyway, since the Chinese were the immigrants in the olden days and the aboriginal Malays were the ones who've been living in Singapore for a long time.

But one thing I don't understand is why are Indians called "Geh Lengs"?? I understand if my gramps refer to them as "mang-ka-li", because people from Bengal are known as Bengalis anyway. But why "Geh Leng"??

[Astute33]

In today's context, I don't find the term Ang Moh to be a derogatory. Its just a simple way to refer to caucasions.