Brits traveling in Spain may hear the word ‘guiri’ and not know what it means.
As it turns out, there is good news and bad news.
The bad news is that guiri – pronounced “gi-ri” – is a derogatory slang word for foreigners from the UK and other parts of northern Europe. And neither often said to their faces.
Marta Fernandez, who runs the Spanish-language tutoring service Spanish, shared a TikTok video with her 87,200 followers about the meaning behind the word, noting that it refers to “rude foreign tourists, especially from the UK.”
Reinforcing this negative connotation, Urban Dictionary says it is a “somewhat derogatory term for a foreigner, usually a tourist, who happens to be in Spain and clearly stands out as not a local”.
The word “Guiri” is used by Spaniards to describe tourists or foreigners – but it can sometimes have negative connotations
It adds that the term is “commonly used to refer to light-skinned people from, for example, the United Kingdom or Germany”.
Leah Pattem, a Madrid-based British-Indian journalist, says that someone referred to as “Guiri” “could be classified as naive and/or ignorant because of a refusal or failure to integrate and get caught up in their own culture become”.
The good news is that it can also be an expression of affection.
Spanish news site The Local notes that when newspapers reported the death of Michael Robinson, a British ex-footballer who lived in Spain for decades, the papers dubbed it “el guiri mas querido de Espana”, which translates to “the most popular foreigners in Spain” means ‘.
A graffiti gate in Palma, Mallorca spells out the words ‘Eat the Guiri’
The word is believed to have originated in the Carlist Wars, a series of civil wars in 19th-century Spain, reveals the Spanish news website El Pais. Carlists, the supporters of Infante Carlos, son of King Charles IV of Spain, used the term “guiris” to describe their opponents, supporters of Queen Maria Cristina de Borbon.
“Guiri” is similar to the word “gringo” used in Latin American countries to describe a foreigner.
Other slang words for Britons used abroad are the derogatory words ‘limey’ used mainly by Americans and ‘pommy’ used mainly by Australians.
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James is an author and travel journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a love for exploring new cultures and discovering unique destinations, James brings his readers on a journey with him through his articles.
