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Chink is an English-languageethnic slur usually referring to a person ofChinese descent,[1] but also used to insult people withEast Asian features. The use of the term describing eyes withepicanthic folds is considered highly offensive and is regarded as racist by many.[2][3]
Various dictionaries provide different etymologies of the wordchink; for example, that it originated from the Chinese courtesyching-ching,[4] that it evolved from the wordChina,[5] or that it was an alteration ofQing (Ch'ing), as in theQing dynasty.[6]
Another possible origin is thatchink evolved from the word for China in anIndo-Iranian language, ultimately deriving from the name of the Qing dynasty. That word is now pronounced similarly in variousIndo-European languages.[7]
The first recorded use of the wordchink is from approximately 1880.[9] As far as is ascertainable, its adjective form,chinky, first appeared in print in 1878.[10]
Around the turn of the 20th century, manywhite Americans in theNorthern United States perceived Chinese immigration as a threat to their living standards. However, Chinese workers were still desired in theWestern United States due to persistent labor shortages. Chinesebutcher crews were held in such high esteem that whenEdmund A. Smith patented his mechanized fish-butchering machine in 1905, he named it theIron Chink[11][12] which is seen by some as symbolic of anti-Chinese racism during the era.[13][14] Usage of the word continued, such as with the story "The Chink and the Child", byThomas Burke, which was later adapted to film byD. W. Griffith. Griffith altered the story to be more racially sensitive and renamed itBroken Blossoms.
Althoughchink refers to those appearing to be of Chinese descent, the term has also been directed towards people of other East and Southeast Asian ethnicities. Literature and film about the Vietnam war contain examples of this usage, including the filmPlatoon (1986)[15][16] and the playSticks and Bones (1971, alsolater filmed).[17]
The termsChinaman andchink became intertwined, as some Australians used both with hostile intent when referring to members of the country's Chinese population, which had swelled significantly during theGold Rush era of the 1850s and 1860s.[18]
Assaults on Chinese miners and racially motivated riots and public disturbances were not infrequent occurrences in Australia's mining districts in the second half of the 19th century. There was some resentment, too, of the fact that Chinese miners and laborers tended to send their earnings back home to their families in China rather than spending them in Australia and supporting the local economy.
In the popular SydneyBulletin magazine in 1887, one author wrote: "No nigger, no chink, nolascar, nokanaka (laborer from the South Pacific islands), no purveyor of cheap labour, is an Australian."[9] Eventually, since-repealed federal government legislation was passed to restrict non-white immigration and thus protect the jobs ofAnglo-Celtic Australian workers from "undesirable" competition.
In India, the ethnic slurchinki (orchinky) is frequently directed against people with East Asian features, including people fromNortheast India,[19] who are often mistaken for Chinese, despite being closer toTibetans and theBurmese than toHan Chinese peoples.[20]
In 2012, theIndian Ministry of Home Affairs recognized use of the term "chinki" to refer to a member of theScheduled Tribes (especially in the North-East) as a criminal offense under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act with a penalty of up to five years in jail. The Ministry further warned that they would very seriously review any failure of the police to enforce this interpretation of the Act.[21]
Chinky: Strongest language, highly unacceptable without strong contextualisation. Seen as derogatory to Chinese people. More mixed views regarding use of the term to mean ‘Chinese takeaway’.
— Broadcasting regulatorOfcom,Attitudes to potentially offensive language and gestures on TV and radio (2016)[22]
Chinky (orchinky chonky[23]) is slang for aChinese takeaway restaurant or Chinese food and Chinese people[24] which, in parts ofnorthern England, are known as achinkies, always in the plural.[citation needed]
The 1969 top 3 UK hit single forBlue Mink, "Melting Pot", has the lyric: "take a pinch of white man/Wrap him up in black skin. [...] Mixed with yellow Chinkies. You know you lump it all together/And you got a recipe for a get-along scene/Oh what a beautiful dream/If it could only come true".[25] In August 2019, British broadcasterGlobal permanently deleted the song from itsGold playlist after a complaint about offensive language was lodged with British broadcasting regulator Ofcom. Under the direction of theCommunications Act 2003, Ofcom ruled that "the phrase 'yellow Chinkies' had the potential to be highly offensive"[26]: 16 and "that the use of derogatory language to describe ethnic groups carries a widespread potential for offence".[26]: 17 Ofcom considered that the passage of time since the song's release and the song's positive message of racial harmony did not "mitigate the potential for offence."[26]: 17–18 Ofcom determined that the "potentially offensive material was not justified by the context"[26]: 18 and ruled the case resolved as the licensee Global had removed the song from Gold's playlist.[26] In September 2019, Scottishcommunity radio station Black Diamond FM removed "Melting Pot" from its playlist and "planned to carry out refresher training with its staff" after two complaints about the song's broadcast were lodged with Ofcom. Ofcom ruled in December 2019 that Black Diamond was in breach of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code because "the potentially offensive language in this broadcast was not justified by the context".[27][28]
In 1999, an exam given to students inScotland was criticized for containing a passage that students were told to interpret containing the wordchinky. This exam was taken by students all over Scotland, and Chinese groups expressed offence at the use of this passage. The examinations body apologized, calling the passage's inclusion "an error of judgement."[29]
In 2002, theBroadcasting Standards Commission, after a complaint about theBBC One programmeThe Vicar of Dibley, held that when used as the name of a type of restaurant or meal, rather than as an adjective applied to a person or group of people, the word still carries extreme racist connotation which causes offence particularly to those of East Asian origin.[30]
In 2004, the commission's counterpart, theRadio Authority, apologised for the offence caused by an incident where a DJ onHeart 106.2 used the term.[31]
In a 2005 document commissioned byOfcom titled "Language and Sexual Imagery in Broadcasting: A Contextual Investigation" their definition of chink was "a term of racial offence/abuse. However, this is polarising. Older and mainly white groups tend to think this is not usually used in an abusive way—e.g., let's go to the Chinky—which is not seen as offensive by those who aren't of East Asian origin; Chinky usually refers to food not a culture or race however, younger people, East Asians, particularly people of Chinese origin and other non-white ethnic minorities believe the word 'Chinky, Chinkies or Chinkie' to be as insulting as 'paki' or 'nigger'."[32]
In 2006, after several campaigns by theScottish Executive, more people inScotland now acknowledge that this name is indirectly racist.[33] As of 2016[update], British broadcasting regulatorOfcom considers the word to be "Strongest language, highly unacceptable without strong contextualisation. Seen as derogatory to Chinese people. More mixed views regarding use of the term to mean 'Chinese takeaway'".[22]
In 2014, the term gained renewed attention after a recording emerged ofUKIP candidate Kerry Smith referring to a woman of Chinese background as a "chinky bird".[34]
ThePekin Community High School District 303 teams inPekin, Illinois were officially known as the "Pekin Chinks" until 1981, when the school administration changed the name to the "Pekin Dragons". The event received national attention.[35][36]
During early 2000,University of California, Davis experienced a string of racial incidents and crimes between Asian and white students, mostly amongfraternities. Several incidents included "chink" and other racial epithets being shouted among groups, including the slurs being used during a robbery and assault on an Asian fraternity by 15 white males. The incidents motivated a school-wide review and protest to get professional conflict resolution andculturally sensitive mediators.[37]
Sarah Silverman appeared onLate Night with Conan O'Brien in 2001, stirring up controversy when the wordchink was used without the usualbleep appearing over ethnic slurs on network television. The controversy led Asian activist and community leaderGuy Aoki to appear on the talk showPolitically Incorrect along with Sarah Silverman. Guy Aoki alleged that Silverman did not believe that the term was offensive.[38]
New York City radio stationHot 97 was criticized for airing the "Tsunami Song". Referring to the2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, in which over an estimated 200,000 people died, the song used the phrase "screaming chinks" along with other offensive lyrics. The radio station fired a co-host and producer, and indefinitely suspended radio personalityMiss Jones, who was later reinstated. Members of the Asian American community said Miss Jones' reinstatement condoned hate speech.[39]
APhiladelphia eatery,Chink's Steaks, created controversy beginning in 2004 with articles appearing in thePhiladelphia Daily News and other newspapers.[40] The restaurant was asked by Asian community groups[41] to change the name. The restaurant was named after the originalJewish-American owner's nickname, "Chink", derived from the ethnic slur due to his "slanty eyes".[42] The restaurant was renamed Joe's in 2013.[43][44][45][46][47]
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In February 2012,ESPN fired one employee and suspended another for using the headline "Chink in the Armor" in reference toJeremy Lin, an Americanbasketball player of Taiwanese and Chinese descent.[48][49] While the wordchink also refers to a crack or fissure andchink in the armor is anidiom and common sports cliché, referring to a vulnerability,[50] the "apparently intentional"double entendre of its use in reference to an Asian athlete was viewed as offensive.[51]
In September 2019, after it was announced thatShane Gillis would be joiningSaturday Night Live as a featured cast member, clips from Gillis' podcast in 2018 resurfaced, in which Gillis made anti-Asian jokes, including using the word "chink". The revelation sparked public outcry, with several outlets noting the disconnect of hiring Gillis along withBowen Yang, the show's first Chinese American cast member.[52][53] After Gillis issued what was characterized as anon-apology apology,[54][55] a spokesperson forLorne Michaels announced Gillis would be let go prior to his first episode due to the controversy.[53]
In May 2021, American comedianTony Hinchcliffe was videotaped insulting Peng Dang, anAsian American comedian who had introduced Hinchcliffe after performing the previous set at a comedy club inAustin, Texas, by referring to Dang as a "filthy little fucking chink".[56] Dang posted the video onTwitter, resulting in heavy backlash against Hinchliffe, who was subsequently dropped by his agency and removed from several scheduled shows.[57]
In July 2025, theLove Island USA season 7 contestant, Cierra Ortega, was removed from the show one week before the season finale after social media posts from years prior resurfaced of her using the term. After her removal, she finally spoke out onInstagram on the matter, "I am deeply, truly, honestly, so sorry. I had no idea that the word held as much pain as much harm, and came with the history that it did, or I never would have used it," she said. "I had no ill intention when I was using it. But that's absolutely no excuse, because intent doesn't excuse ignorance."[58] There were two posts that resurfaced on social media of Ortega using the term—one from 2015 and another from 2023—both of which show Ortega using the term to describe her own appearance. Viewers and fans of the show quickly began asking Peacock to remove Ortega from the show, including over 17,000 people signing an online petition.[59]
The myth arose that Edmund Smith had designed the machine specifically to fire Chinese workers