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Nov 26
Inspired by an idea of Mon earlier on this post, I searched the net far and wide to find the most common stereotypes about Nationalities.
Generalizations about cultures or nationalities can be a source of pride, anger or simply bad jokes. Some people say that in all stereotype there is some basis in reality, as they don’t develop in vacuum.
To give a more serious definition: “National Stereotype is a system of culture-specific beliefs connected with the nationality of a person. This system includes beliefs concerning those properties of human beings that may vary across nations, such as appearance, language, food, habits, psychological traits, attitudes, values etc.”
True cold-blooded scientists warn, that “National character stereotypes are not even exaggerations of real differences: They are fictions.”
But why judge, before we know what we are talking about?
Please take everything below with a grain of salt; as I only summed up what others wrote on the internet. We all know that there are black and white sheep in every herd. I tried to strike a balance between positive and negative national or personality traits – but sometimes it was very difficult, due to lack of positive stereotypes. :-(
There are plenty of scientific studies about this subject on the net as well. I tried to spice up my findings a bit and take out the seriousness of some of those dry papers; if you are interested how it could look if done by psychologists; check out the picture further below to the right.
So without further ado – let’s steal each others sunshine (just a bit) and start here with some general, sometimes contradicting, often nasty, but also some positive stereotypes: 
- American – arrogant; assertive; open-minded; materialistic; ambitious; progressive; efficient; straight-forward; alert; practical; US-centered world view; egoistic; anxious; fast food eaters; war mongers; God is with us!
- Arabs – intelligent; modest; insecure; anxious; impulsive; “billionaires, bombers and belly dancers“, men wear beards and are womanizers; have subservient and repressed women who wear burka or headscarf; “play & pray” attitude; love celebrations and ceremonies; tea and shisha are important; God is great!
- Argentinians – disagreeable; megalomaniac; warm and friendly people; can be vain & arrogant; beautiful women; cultured society; lazy; disrupting protesters
- Austrians – anxious; traditional; wearing ‘Lederhosen’; yodel the whole day to ‘Volksmusik’; polite; efficient service people, but bureaucratic; modest; not superior-minded; old-fashioned; somewhat cosmopolitan; honest; love the little treats in life like ‘Sachertorte’, beer and good wine
- Australians – party animals; nature lovers; surf all day – drink all night; have surfer chicks; heavy binge drinkers; neurotic; extroverted; sometimes shallow but honest; open-minded; free spirited; love to joke; “hail-fellow-well-met” or “chummy” attitude; men are useless dads; have barbie loving home cooking mums; uncultured; Crocodile Dundee outsider types; sports lovers; meat eaters; bush battling rednecks
- Bangladeshis – poor; unconventional; adaptive; open-minded; agreeable; hardworking; politically inactive; intelligent but poorly educated; productive; inoffensive; often corrupt; poor personal hygiene; taking side-steps to get things done; community and family-oriented; working long hours for minimum pay; masculine behavior of men, showing manliness is important; naturally very friendly and hospitable towards foreigners; younger generation well educated
- Belgians – make good beer; poor personal hygiene; good at mathematics; dishonest in money matters; make bad lovers; hermetically private food-lovers; penchant for building houses and garden sheds; fake ornament decorations; distrust of authority; tax evaders; often run shady side businesses; introverted; modest; impostors for other nationalities; but sometimes overly patriotic; everyone is a neighbor – but more stupid then oneself; eat only french & fries, except chocolate and other sweet stuff; multi-lingual; everyones owns diamonds; “pee where they go”
- Bulgarians – survive on tomato, cucumber and goat cheese only; colorful traditions; natural; open-minded; skiers or sun-worshipers; open, warm and kind people; traditional; let bears dance on fire; skilled craftsmen, farmers and artisans; nationalists; “catastrophic” social consciousness; tolerant; feeble religiousness; lack of fanaticism; condescending attitude; curiosity and openness to the “otherness”; anxious; fearful; efficient; accurate; precise; hardworking; disciplined; clever; highly qualified; drama kings and queens; overly suspicious
- Brazilians – body-centric; party animals; impulsive; incestuous; megalomaniac; most women are super-models, most men are gay or machos; always late; carnivals addicts; soccer and coffee lovers; criminals and robbers; lazy/manana attitude; bean and meat eaters; beach and sun-worshipers; bikini (called: dental floss here) inventors; active; inventive and constructive people; always trying to outwit government and regulations; impossibly favor-oriented; family- and community-oriented
- British (UK) – drinkers; lousy food; stiff upper-lips; ultra-traditional; steady-on, old chaps; bulldog spirit; bad teeth and hygiene; rude; thin; smoke cigar or pipe; scruffy hair; “fitted” clothing; heavy binge drinkers; swear all day long; artistic; “fashionable”; deep thinkers; intelligent and articulate; boastful; anti-American; ride bikes; God save the Queen!
- Canadians – submissive; neurotic; agreeable; modest; open-minded; progressive; efficient; straight-forward; polite; respectful; anxious; law-abiding; orderly; caring for handicapped/elderly/minorities; tolerant; multi-lingual; moderate; no hero/celebrity worshiping; don’t like successful people; anti-American; passive; boring; socialist mindset; eat blubber; wear funny hats; live in igloos further north
- Cayman Islanders – secretive; money-oriented; tax evasive; unsavory; hospitable; but introverted
- Colombians – impulsive; aggressive; violent; kidnappers & narco-traffickers; merengue dancers; passionate; educated; hard-working; caring and listening people; nature lovers
- Czech – agreeable; heavy beer drinkers; bohemian lifestyle; live and let live attitude; tolerant; “He’s a Czech, he never smiles at people he doesn’t know”; easy-to-get women; introverted; frightened and defensive attitude toward other cultures and the outside world
- Chinese – stingy and noisy spitters; fast-learners; open-minded; ambitious; progressive; efficient; materialistic; do kung fu and other material arts; great at mathematics; can’t hold their liquor; terrible drivers; arrogant; assertive; very “short” somewhere private but “bigger” than Japanese; wear glasses; pirate and copy everything; don’t value contracts; cheap labor; drink green tea; eat everything that lives – even tiger balls, bear gall bladder, rhino horns and sea cucumber; smoke opium; business-oriented; money rules the world; prepare for world domination
- Danish – open-minded; somber; introverted; prudish; cold-resistant; decadent hedonists; urban; jovial; untrustworthy; beer-drinking; happy-go-lucky; vaguely unhygienic; profoundly disorganized; sociable and relaxed; easy-going
- Dutch – polite; open-minded; well-traveled; no commitments; boring, but provoking; organized and efficient; harmless; “a nation of rosy-cheeked farmers who live in windmills, wear clogs, have a garden full of tulips and sit on piles of yellow cheese”; opinionated; can be stubborn and incurably mean; downright devious in business affairs; formidable merchants; “Where a Dutchman has passed, not even the grass grows anymore” a Japanese saying goes; an English pamphlet raged: “A Dutchman is a Lusty, Fat, Two-legged Cheese worm. A Creature that is so addicted to eating butter, drinking fat, and sliding (skating) that all the world knows him for a slippery fellow” – at this time the English language gained a whole array of new insults such as “Dutch courage” (booze-induced bravery), “Dutch comfort” (“Things could be worse”) and “Dutch gold” (alloy resembling gold). Others include: “Double Dutch” (gibberish), “Dutch cap” (contraceptive diaphragm), “Dutch wife”/”Dutch widow” (prostitute; sex doll), “Dutch uncle” (harsh admonisher)
- Finnish – vodka-lovers; modest; polite; somber; introverted; reserved; honest; curvy straight-talkers; trustworthy; quiet; serious; diligent and humble; tough negotiators and demanding businessmen; nit pickers; melancholic; very tall and blond; they love nature; frugal; calm; sturdy; sauna fans; have attractive women
- French – good lovers; best cuisine in the world; chaotic; irresponsible; introverted; selfish; cultured; social “players”; do not like to work – prefer to strike; always surrender in war; don’t speak English; rude to tourists; anti-American; ungrateful; live in a bureaucratic Socialist system, totally dependent on the state; don’t use soap; arrogant and conceited; distant and difficult to meet; don’t respect religious freedom; snobs; God who?
- Germans – mechanical; organized; boring; no sense of humor; conscientious; drink beer all day – beer-bellied; always shake hands; born with a monkey wrench in their hands, eating vast quantities of sausage and sauerkraut; men have dodgy facial hair, women are icy Teutonic beauties with blond hair and blue eyes; legendary bureaucracy; both sexes loathe inefficiency, love the Fatherland, have never been late for anything in their lives, and would secretly like to invade Europe, even if they have to do it via the EU; eat about five huge meals a day; follow blindly rules and regulations like “don’t walk on public lawn” and “before crossing the road, wait for the little green man to show even if there is no car in sight”; pedophiliac
- Greek – are big and overweight; lazy; eat souvlaki and olives and drink Ouzo or red wine all day; always break their plates after meals; can’t drive – especially when its dark; disorganized; heavy meat eaters; own all oil-tankers in the world; live the easy life; corrupt; impossible planners; cultured, inefficient; live in “unkempt” buildings with “raggedy curtains”, empty beer cans, kegs or rusted automobiles clutter their yards; have beautiful women, as long they are young – men are mainly homosexual or sexual predators
- Hungarians – good drivers; salami addicts; hot cuisine full of pepper and paprika; use oversized pencils; “a small nation struggling and surviving against the odds”; oppressors turned troublemakers; indigenous; often desperate and hopeless; calm and objective way of thinking; courage; audacity and insistence on ideas
- Indians – unconventional; adaptive; open-minded; agreeable; manipulative; hardworking; politically inactive; studious; intelligent; productive; inoffensive; poor personal hygiene; meditating or walking over fire, pinching needles through their mouth, in hands, legs and other private parts; spiritual, generally poor; snake charmers; legendary bureaucrats; huge families; love to watch soap operas; will outsource the whole world
- Indonesians – fearful; neurotic; extroverted; conscientious; warm and friendly people; lazy; live for today – who cares about tomorrow; no planners; religious; family-oriented; supportive; invented the rubber-time/rarely on time; corrupt; superstitious; slow; inferior; polite; lacking discipline; use feeling not logic; do not follow rules; hypocritical; resistant to change; tolerant; low profile; unwilling to confront or give ‘bad news’; silent in meetings; can’t swim
- Italians – Gigolos; live with their Mamas; even more chaotic than the French; possessive; passionate; pizza/pasta freaks; creative accountants; smooth-talking; manipulative; dishonest; women have mustaches; fashion-addicted; Casanovas; mafia or gang members;
- Irish – loud; no sense of cuisine; impulsive; glass of whiskey or beer in his/her hand; Celtic music fanatics; have red hair and “white-white” skin; live and sleep with their sheep; religious fanatics and protesters
- Israelis – arrogant; religious; strong family relations; well-traveled; anxious; noisy; rude; curse locals on travels; travel in packs only; ruin things if not satisfied; argue over the price of anything – even a cup of tea for a few cent; don’t respect local people; party all night; take a lot of drugs; if people say something against them, then they are surely Nazis; fancy and fashionable women in tight swimsuits; dream of migrating to other countries if their mother would let them; God help us!
- Jamaicans – lazy; grass-smokers; reggae and rasta maniacs; modest; impulsive; loud; boisterous and aggressive; most look like Bob Marley in the morning; strong sense of self and their culture; innovative musicians who influenced many genres; survivors – willing and able to create something from nothing; strong traditional families; caring for others in need; proud God fearing people; want American women and American dollars; don’t like American blacks; not too smart; the life goal of men is to have plenty of babies with multiple women; like patties, Winston, Stella, Ackee and Saltfish; always late; live in trees; walk barefoot and live generally very primitive; want to migrate some place else; every man in Kingston owns a gun; Jamaican women go to the Bahamas and the rest of the Caribbean to look for foreign men; all Jamaican men are uncircumcised; all they care are weed, beach, women and rum; God is Bob Marley!
- Japanese – disciplined; organized; very techy; fearful; neurotic; extroverted; competent; short; wealthy due to being a running dog of the US; workaholics; perverted; bathe in unisex public showers; buy sex toys and porn from vending machines; very “short” somewhere private but “bigger” than Chinese; women are subservient to men and make perfect devoted wives; raw-fish eaters; suicidal, arrive in packs
- Korean (South) – ‘kimchi’ is the only food; open-minded; ambitious; progressive; efficient; materialistic; arrogant; assertive; women are passive; ultra-modern; tech-savy; love gossip; traditional; women may be viewed by outsiders as having low status, being economically dependent, living in social isolation, and being virtual slaves; but actually, they were never confined to the house; they visit friends, shop, and go to popular theater presentations; women, as they grow older, speak their mind with impunity
- Laotians – religious; Buddhists; family-oriented; weed smokers; MSG lovers; warm & friendly people; relocated & traumatized refugees; Boat People; farmers; copy the Thai cuisine; eat only sticky rice; wear baggy trousers; hospitable; relaxed; know how to enjoy life; believe in karma and spirits; politically inactive and uninterested
- Luxembourg – all rich bankers; shady characters with black hats; manipulative; secretive; introverted; live from money laundering and fund managing; hard-working, intelligent; good in mathematics and monetary transactions
- Malaysians – lazy; anxious; neurotic; manipulative; survive by cronyism and nepotism; introverted; have inferiority complex; arrogant; have speed traps everywhere; ultra-religious, but sell porn everywhere; inhospitable, hate Westerners; boring; have great varieties of food; embrace multi-culturalism; wear bright, colorful clothes; every long-term visitor is expected to convert to Islam; love to watch soap operas; men chauvinistic, have mistresses; women traditional but with modern thinking
- Mexicans – heavy tequila drinkers; impulsive; wear huge sombreros; religious; family-oriented; neurotic; modest; megalomaniac, men overweight with golden teeth and 3-day-beard, women attractive and easy to get; all women look like Salma Hayek; sneaky; banditos; maids or illegal immigrants; lazy; never finish anything – not even revolution; either sleeping, leaning against a cactus or bored; warm & friendly people; hospitable; great food (enchiladas, tortillas, burritos) and cheap cost-of-living; a real land of the free; mystical cults; human traffickers into the US
- Moroccans – wants everything gratis; look like Ali Baba; live in an Oasis in the desert surrounded by palm trees; traditional; hospitable; nomads roaming the sands on camels; mysterious; have exotic food; human traffickers into Europe; poor people; lost paradise; polygamists; Casablanca!
- Nepalese – poor and unemployed, but religious; peace-loving separatists; love colorful clothes, flags and fabrics; illiterate; suppressed and exploited women; tolerant; struggling to survive; anti-Indian; cultured; enlightened
- New Zealanders – neurotic; extroverted; strong; unemotional; kiwi-eaters and farmers; provincial; pastoral; lack of sophistication; without any modern cosmopolitan nature; quainted; laid-back; relaxed; productive; opportunity-offering and seeking; multi-racial, tolerant; MacGyver mentality; unconventional; the 3 R’s: “Rugby, Racing & Beer”; independent; unfeminine women, wearing only masculine clothing; disregard intellectuals; farming Frodos; distrust politicians
- Nigerians – internet scam artists & drug dealers; violent; neurotic; open-minded; modest; manipulative; hard-working; creative; enjoy life; practice bizarre cults; sacrifice their first-born children; corrupt; love money; always horny; women enjoy house management works
- Norwegians – modest; somber; introverted; trolls, blond-haired, blue-eyed; rational and bored; boring; dependent on welfare state and petroleum; lax rules of sexual morality; institutionalized yearning for nature and simplicity; alcoholics; uneducated; stupid country bumpkin; rural traditions; rustic and unsophisticated fish-eaters; lamentable manners and muddy boots; stunning petroleum wealth
- Pakistani – hardworking; politically inactive; studious; intelligent; productive; and inoffensive; low-paid; do dirty jobs; cricket-addicted; anti-Indian; wild-eyed fanatics; militaristic; emotional
- Philippines – “region of natural and man-made disasters”; religious; have large, extended families; neurotic; modest; love to watch soap operas; cars are old patched American jeeps (jeepneys); tricycles are everywhere; chaotic traffic; colorful; kidnapping of foreigners is a favorite past-time – besides cock-fighting; obsession with cellphones and SMS; women call their husbands ‘master’; everyone has at least 3.000 pair of shoes; drama kings and queens; oversea workers sacrifice comfort, endure loneliness and abuse to work abroad to support & satisfy their families neverendingly; exotic foods and fruits; 7.000 exotic islands; warm & smiling people; love Karaoke; cheerful bantering; “Hey, Joe!”; God is Jesus, Mary and the holy trinity!
- Polish – neurotic; never smile but complain a lot; hard bargainers; babysitters; intolerant; heavy alcohol users; your car will be stolen, once you cross the border; easy-going; conservative; intellectual; attractive women, aggressive men – always up to pick a fight; excellent drivers; hard-working; helpful; listen to folk music; sit in church all day if nothing else to do; very religious
- Portuguese – ignorant; violent; love buffoonery; kind; rural people with ‘Singer’ sewing machines; bull fighters; meat eaters; drink port wine; love celebrations; well traveled hundreds of years ago – now more introverted; always longing for something, but don’t know what; feel lonely; nostalgic; “the past old days were the best”; waiting for the next hero to come; prefer to live a simple life and mocks the powerful
- Romanians – directly related to Dracula; everyone owns a mystic castle in the Carpate mountains in Transylvania, backwards-oriented; primitive; refuse to work; have to many children; slow; ingenious; trying hard – but never succeed; mistrust police and government; love to celebrate; “women are mothers and wives, trafficking of women, prostitution, domestic violence and sexual harassment is their own fault”; manipulative; nationalists; stable and value-oriented
- Russians – aggressive; rude; good tippers, big spenders; generally generous; open-minded; agreeable; love their “babushkas” and the last Czar; either spys or communists; alcoholics (primarily Stolichnaya vodka); mainly poor – with a few shiny billionaires; buy football clubs around the world (mainly in England); love ice hockey, gymnastics, wrestling, weight lifting; organized crime (the Russian Mafia) is everywhere; overweight; have deep hearty laughs; threatening nuclear war; want to invade with MIG fighter jets; ultra-orthodox Christians; love to secretly poison their enemies with uranium injections; warmongering similar to Americans
- Singaporeans – adaptive; super-efficient; fearful; anxious; crime-averse; rich; selfish; money-oriented; hard-working; clean; stylish; organized; disciplined; tolerant; introverted; career- and certificate-oriented; multi-cultural; love to eat chicken rice; over-regulated; obedient to government and hierarchies; fashionable; against chewing gum and smoking; are ‘kiasu’ – an extreme fear of losing/missing out; “women are materialistic, superficial, high-maintenance, have their heads too high up in the clouds, narcissistic; men are similar, just add boring, egoistic and they live with their parents”; love shopping – love SHOPPING!; the 5 C’s: “Cash, Car, Credit Card, Condominium, Country Club Membership”
- South Africans – impulsive, racists; disease-infested; tribal; poor; community-oriented; strong masculine men; repressed women; proud; love to sing and dance; colorful celebrations; have short life; live in a dangerous country; suspicious; materialistic; apathetic; regretful; egoistic; pessimistic; revengeful; love TV; enjoy life to the fullest
- Sri Lankis – aggressive separatists; lazy; jealous; rebellious; ardent defenders of faith; friendly & warm people; conservative; strong beliefs in cultural norms; extreme traditional; uneducated, unskilled and unemployed; patriarchic and devoted women; believe in “natural evolution of things”; entrepreneurs; sometimes naughty deal makers; opportunist linguists – ‘Neither here nor there’
- Spaniards – lazy; party animals; womanizers; food lovers (Paella); extroverted; untidy; conscientious; impulsive; megalomaniac; bull fighters; always late; “know how to live”; wine-drinking and ham-eating; temperamental; affectionate; look like Antonio Banderas; emotional cry-babies; sophisticated; everybody smokes and talks all the time; proud and patriotic; fashionable, love to dance; relaxed; nationalists; cultured; respect their rights and duties; history and ancestry are important; leisure culture; open-minded and warm people;
- Swedish – conscientious; blond-haired, blue-eyed; wealthy; enlightened; rational and bored; boring; dependent on their welfare state; lax rules of sexual morality; institutionalized yearning for nature and simplicity; heavy drinkers; modest; introverted; sophisticated and modern
- Swiss – rich; competent; introverted; modest; anxious; serious; multi-lingual; brand-affine; nit pickers, hard bargainers; watch makers; sit in the mountains, ‘yodel’ and milk their cows; play 12m long Alpine horns; ruddy cheeked; pretty smug because of the fresh mountain air; their trains always run on time; their diet is chocolate and holey-cheese; women are mostly blond, never grow old, like to help milking the cattle and are usually called Heidi; live in wooden huts on the mountainside; each room has at least one cuckoo clock; except people in Zurich: those are sharp-suited secretive bankers hoarding Nazi gold and helping out corrupt politicians and gangsters; obsessed with the environment, cleanliness and punctuality; tight on the rules; very private
- Taiwanese – ambitious; progressive; super-efficient; materialistic; descended from the Kuo Min Tang, the running dogs of the American imperialists who fled to Taiwan in 1949, taking enough priceless national treasures with them to ensure their wealth right up to the present day; tech-savy, independent, proud
- Thai – impulsive; manipulative; fun-loving (“Sanuk”); conservative; speak/sing a funny language; most women are hot and sexy and work in massage parlous or in bars; men rent out motor bikes or get drunk on Mekong Whiskey on the beach – except ladyboys; nationalists; suspicious towards foreigners; polite; good care-takers; can cook well; greedy; narrow-minded; promiscuous; dishonest; traditional; shy in public; family-oriented; religious; self-confident; independent; intelligent; ignorant; can get very violent and unreasonable very swiftly; can’t pronounce ‘R’; proud and patriotic; superiority-complex; resourceful; street-smart; emotional; Long live the King!
- Turkish – neurotic; conscientious; impulsive; lazy; oppressive; nationalists; intelligent; belly dancers; live from Kebab and Raki; men wear long bended swords in baggy trousers and turbans, have long beards; women wear a headscarf;
- Vietnamese – modest; mystical; obscure, wear funny hats and sleep in rice fields; eat baguette and strawberry jam or pate; hard-working; friendly; helpful
An interesting read is as well is this list of Ethnic Slurs, that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or to refer to them in a critical, disrespectful, disapproving or contemptuous, or downright insulting manner in the English-speaking world.
After reading all those stereotypes, I’m a bit shocked that a lot of them – if not most – are pretty negative or even insulting. Don’t you think it’s a bit strange, how much effort most people around the world invest, to classify their neighbors? After all we are made from the same wood and soil; but somehow that seems to got lost along the way.
Anyway – I hope you could smile a bit from time to time, even though most of them *are* quite nasty. It’s maybe part of the human conscience to concentrate on bad or negative things, instead of concentrating on the things that connect us.
Please feel free to comment and to add your own experiences.
And please correct the worst quoted nightmares which peek in your eyes!
Maybe we can all help to put some of the worst stereotypes to rest. 
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That part about the Filipina wives calling their husbands as “masters” is the only thing that is wrong about your “streotypes” about the Filipinos. Actually there is a term here in the Philippines that we call husbands as “housebands”-for husbands who tend their kids… you know prepare the meals… clean the house… wash the laundry and stuff while the wife is away in the office (this was the case with my parents when I was still young but as we grew up my father finally figured out that he must also work) or “Under the Saya” (Under the skirt)- for men who have bossy and extremely nagging wives and who are left to say yes to everything that she says.
However, ideally, Fathers are viewed as the “haligi ng Tahanan” (wall of the home- [home is the right word for tahanan])… meaning the father is expected to provide and give the protection and income for the family…
while the mothers are ideally called as “Ilaw ng Tahanan” (Lamp of the home) because they are expected to guide the children in how to behave well. It is usually viewed as the mother’s fault if the kids are troublesome… In our family my mother usually do the spanking.
This is a nice post by the way.
PS you mentioned Paella for Spain… I would love to learn how to cook that dish. Hey, why don’t you write about the cuisines and exotic foods from different regions that you have visited.
Mon, don’t worry too much about the stereotypes listed here. They are just that – stereotypes. You have good and bad people in every nation and most people with fixed stereotypes or prejudices are pretty narrow-minded anyway. I was just curious to find out, what people think about other countries’ people. And honestly it was quite shocking for me to see that most of them are rather negative.
But what to do? You and me we know that it’s much better to accept people how they are and give everyone at least one chance, better two to proof you wrong. Right?
For your tip with the different cuisines and exotic foods – thanks a lot for it! I will take it up and post one of the next articles about it! Where shall I send the royalties? ;)
Quite a long read and I enjoyed it so much, Hahaha!!!
No, I won’t mention any stereotypes here but maybe I’ll try to mention those nationalities I get acquainted sometime, and you figure it out how was my experience with them ;) (in no geographical order – and only those whom I can remember)
1. Korean college students (men & women) – on student exchange projects
2. German – a missionary (he’s one of my favorite)
3. Austrian
4. Nepalese – a badminton instructor
5. Japanese
6. Taiwanese
7. Hungarian – a good conversationalist and a pal in my Palawan adventures. Love motorcycles, too. He also designed and construct his own boat
8. Italian
9. Vietnamese
10. Bangladeshi
11. Americans – a lot…
12. Brazilian women
13. Thai – my former lady manager in the travel agency
14. old Korean couple
15. Korean bachelors
Well, I lost count. I’ll add up the list if I can still remember any. The stereotyping somewhat holds true but not necessarily accurate for every individual is unique in their attitude. I knew it very well having been expose with different nationalities and culture…
I sign off for now but I’ll come back here again ;)
[...] 55 Nations – Stereotypes that will Ruin or Make your Day [...]
Entertaining list; I found it odd though, that my culture was not mentioned (Trinidadian) even though Taiwanese was mentioned and even some other smaller cultural groups!
Surreal – the reason for it is that I did chose the “biggest” nationalities not by size of country or population, but from my visitor statistics. Then I tried to look up common stereotypes via Google, which was unexpectedly difficult for some of the smaller ones already. In the end I simply had to reduce the number of included countries.
I’m sorry that I didn’t add Trinidad right away, but maybe you want to add some of the typical stereotypes for Trinidadians?
I just checked my Stats again and Trinidad is on my all-time-list on #92, with 34 visitors in the lifetime of this site so far, just behind Guam and Ivory Coast, but ahead of Maldives, Costa Rica and Algeria.
Hi chris, I did quote a paragraph about Indonesian from your article here, for post in Indonesian forum at hddstudio.net and I am also give your permalink there.
Hope you don’t mind
thanks
Andi – don’t worry, you are most welcome to quote. Unfortunately I can’t access the forum, maybe I just have to check out how to subscribe there…
Very funny! Love it.
Try visiting the Philippines too and drink our San Miguel Beer.
http://christopherjohndavid.blogspot.com
Oh yeah! I love San Miguel, Red Horse – and Tanduay Rum. I will probably visit the Philippines again sometime around 2nd half next year. ;)
[...] artikel cukup menarik tentang stereotype orang2 dari 55 kebangsaan yang berbeda termasuk Indonesia. Dia pernah hidup nomaden di beberapa negara dari 55 negara yang ditulis tersebut dan sekarang tinggal [...]
hmmm….
yup..i can’t swim
good job bro.. =D>
That’s how people see us, Indonesian. OMG
I’m only half Indonesian then 
[...] teman blogger dari Jerman menulis artikel cukup menarik tentang stereotype orang2 dari 55 kebangsaan yang berbeda termasuk Indonesia. Dia [...]
[...] first shed some light on Karaoke and some stereotypes – on what most people believe to understand about [...]
Ha Ha I’m mexican-american and I thought it was funny, though I didn’t know there werre stereotypes for all these countries
Also is it true asian women are hard to maintain and are very materlistic??
Isabel, that is a typical stereotype as well. The truth lies as always in the eyes of the observer.
[...] moments, especially when you take it as what it really is: a Horror Holiday Comedy. Oh yeah – and Greeks ARE always drunk or too [...]
I am really interested in your writing. I know about the stereotypes much now…
[...] bule Jerman menulis artikel cukup menarik tentang stereotype (baca: karakter) orang2 dari 55 kebangsaan yang berbeda termasuk [...]
1. Koreans are not open-minded. In fact they are the only country in the world to hire teachers on the basis of their nationality and not on their qualification. If you plan to teach English – sod it even if you have a PHD, but if you dont hold an American, Canadian, Irish, Australian, British, irish and South African passport- forget it. Never mind if that they hire someone with no English skills at all. Case in point, when I was in Korea, I was appalled at the very basic grammatical mistakes that most of the so-called ESL teachers make. A Canadian guy spelled ‘pagoda’ as ‘pogoda’. Ha! One Aussie friend got spat on the face because a Korean thought he was American. I got cursed by a Korean lady because I couldnt speak their dirty language. Interracial marriages are frowned upon in Korea as well- with the wife and the kids bearing the brunt of racial ostracism in their respective communities.
2. Koreans doesnt have any respect for the environment- entire hills and mountains are being bulldozed to make way for crappy looking buildings. In fact, they just reclaimed a very critical wetland (saemangeum project) to build a theme park (‘to make Korea a happy place’ according to ads) at the expense of migratory birds who feed in these area. They export these brand of environmental destruction to places like the Philippines – they tried to build a spa in the middle of an active volcano; and basically shaved a mountain to put up a housing project for their Korean managers. One just have to check out Seoul for the unbelievable smog that thickly covers the capital – best viewed on top of the 63 Building in Yeouido Island, on the banks of the muddy, sewage filled Han river.
3. Korea does not have a unique culture of their own. Everything was borrowed from China, Mongolia and Japan. Kimchi is actually a Chinese dish that appeared in an ancient Chinese poetry book. Even the so-called ‘scientific’ hanggeul – their form of writing has its roots from China. Koreans who claim that their cuisine is known for spiciness, brace for this, chilli only came to Korea in the 18th-19th century via Portuguese merchant ships. Their much-vaunted hallyu, is nothing but a gross, cheap imitation of the J-Pop phenomenon that have swept the globe in the previous decades.
4.Korean men does have apparently has the most sex every week – only because they are known to be the worst of lovers according to a survey by International Men’s Health Magazine. According to a study published in the Spanish Society of Andrology, Korean men has the shortest penis in the world – around 2 inches flaccid and about 3 inches erect. According to the Korean Government, there are about 800,000 Korean prostitutes right now in a population of just about 50M, which makes it about 1 in 8 Korean women in the ages of say, 18-35 are working in the flesh trade. New York City Police also note that 80% of the prostitution arrests every month in recent years are of Korean prostitutes smuggled in from Mexico and Canada.
5.Korean employers are the worst in the world – by personal experience. They would cheat, lie, steal to make a buck. One just has to troll horror stories of ESL teachers in Korea who found out that the taxes and health insurance that were being deducted from their salaries were not remitted to the proper authorities. In the Hanjin shipyard in the Philippines, at least 20 workers has died because of poor working conditions.
6.Korean travellers are the most disgusting of the lot that they are actually banned in at least 5 golf courses, several 5 star hotels in the Philippines for their annoying behavior. They tend to be noisy (noiser than the Chinese), and leaves the room in such a mess so bad that they would try flushing towels and smear feces on the walls. It is not uncommon that other travels, would make a specific request that they would not be included with a Korean travelling group.
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Having said that, the list is quite exhaustive. And I have to agree with Mon, the Filipino stereotype is quite spot on (except the 3,000 pairs of shoes and the ‘masters’ thing.) ‘Haligi ng tahanan’ means pillar of home. ‘Haligi’ is pillar not a wall (‘dingding’). Cheers
Ryan, interesting insight about Koreans from your point of view. Now I would be very much interested, what a Korean citizen would have to say about that!
Not very happy I suppose Chris. ;)
Perhaps the trashy, inbred, ignorant attitude about other cultures that you and other (unfortunately always SO outspoken) Americans employ is the reason people want to spit at you and your pal.
1) Get real. Everybody knows that beautiful people are more commercially desireable in every country. Did somebody cancel your ESL contract because they discovered you were ugly at the airport? I probably got your job. I got all the jobs you applied for back in the ‘States, too.
2) In America, we like to outsource the prostitution of Mother Nature. You know. To places like Korea.
3) Every culture is “borrowed.” Every language is a conglomeration of countless others. Especially English.
4) The nature of this part of your commentary is very illuminating. Maybe you need to get laid and lighten up a bit.
5) I am beginning to wonder if your negative attitude has impacted your professional life. I suspect your apparent inability to string two coherent thoughts together might be a cofactor. And it’s “trawl,” not “troll.” On the internet, a “troll” is a person like you who will spend hours and hours trying to be as hateful as possible.
6) Can you just please, please stop making Americans look like retarded assholes. I mean really. We’re tired of people spitting at us.
# Jill UNITED STATES Says:
MyAvatars 0.2 March 5th, 2009 at 7:20 am
Perhaps the trashy, inbred, ignorant attitude about other cultures that you and other (unfortunately always SO outspoken) Americans employ is the reason people want to spit at you and your pal.
1) Get real. Everybody knows that beautiful people are more commercially desireable in every country. Did somebody cancel your ESL contract because they discovered you were ugly at the airport? I probably got your job. I got all the jobs you applied for back in the ‘States, too.
2) In America, we like to outsource the prostitution of Mother Nature. You know. To places like Korea.
3) Every culture is “borrowed.” Every language is a conglomeration of countless others. Especially English.
4) The nature of this part of your commentary is very illuminating. Maybe you need to get laid and lighten up a bit.
5) I am beginning to wonder if your negative attitude has impacted your professional life. I suspect your apparent inability to string two coherent thoughts together might be a cofactor. And it’s “trawl,” not “troll.” On the internet, a “troll” is a person like you who will spend hours and hours trying to be as hateful as possible.
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6) Can you just please, please stop making Americans look like retarded assholes. I mean really. We’re tired of people spitting at us.
Sorry, Christian to rant back here. I have heaps of American friends who are not like a cultural retard such as the person above me, because they have proper jobs and a proper education.
So Jill, lighten up *****. Have a good day, dont go loco on cheap soju.
Jill and Ryan, as much as I appreciate a healthy discussion of different viewpoints, I don’t have the time and mood to edit direct insults of other readers here all the time.
Of course, stereotypes are a controversial topic, but please refrain from racist or insulting comments in the future. Let’s please be more civilized, as otherwise I will simply delete those comments.
Hi Chris,
interesting blog ! However, I must note that you did not present an “analysis” of one single nation from ex-Yugoslavia (Serbs, Croats, Slovenians) ! How come ?
Hope to read something about us soon !
Regards,
D.
serbianguy, true! Initially I put together the stereotype based on the visitors I got to this site, to make it most interesting for them. So that means, that unfortunately less than a handful of Serbs, Croats or Slovenians visited at that time – or even none at all. What would you see as typical stereotype for these nationalities?
Hi Chris,
I can only comment on Serbs/Croats/Bosnians who are essentially the same nation divided only by crazy polliticians and cllerics throughout history.
(Nowdays, even some “Montenegrians” are appearing, which is probably the newest nation on the planet; so don’t be fooled they’re just some Serbs gone awry). Anyway, here are a couple of defining features that characterize most Serbs/Croats. I would not call them stereotypes, because they really have something to do with reality. If you visit ex-Yugoslavia, particularly Adriatic coast, you would have a chance to check them out first hand:
So, Serbs/Croats/Bosnians are:
- warm-hearted (most of them, particulaly people from Dalmatia and southern
Serbia are in a very sharp contrast with Scandinavians in this sense; I
can be free to ay so because I extensively travelled throughout these
regions)
- friendly and welcoming (particuarly with foreigners)
- conservative (in the sense of traditional family values)
- homophobic, and sometimes even gay-bashing
- nationallists (though nowdays less and less so in both Serbia and Croatia)
- reliant and helpful
- very good connoisseurs of fish meet in Dalmatia (southern Croatia) and pork meet in Vojvodina (northern Serbia)
- nostalgic (for old good Yugoslavia)
- optimistic (before joining EU)
- more Russia-oriented than pro-EU (Serbs)
- more West-oriented than pro-Russia (Croats, Bosnianas)
- sceptical of fundamental changes in their societies (like euthanasia, gay-liberal laws, anti-corruption measures)
- christian orthodox (Serbs)
- catholics (Croats)
- muslims (Bosnians)
Unfortunately, I cannot comment on Slovenians because they are really a different nation from the rest of ex-Yu. Even their language is completly different (it’s very simillar to Slovakian), and even in Yugoslavia I
remember that they were considered a totally different entity.
serbianguy, thanks for sharing! That’s interesting insight into the new countries of former Yugoslavia. I know that many Germans love to visit Croatia (the Adria coast). Unfortunately I never made it there, but I liked to enjoy Yugoslavian food back in the 90′s (we had a nice restaurant in my town in Eastern Germany), like Cevapcici and Burek and the delicious sweet liquor drunken out of small bottlikis, but I forgot the name of it…..arlgglglgll!
Hi Chris,
Great job! Many comments coincide to my impressions about the people I have met. Would appreciate to know what other think about Ukrainians?
This made me laugh. It was hilarious.
Ahh, life..
I am a Brit who moved to Sweden 7 yrs ago and I find the Swedes to be the most State/controlled, uptight, sombre, boring people on the planet…. They are very sweet an all but are so repressed in all ways that its very hard to get to know them.
Oh and their cuisine is naff too. Still, its a beautiful country and the friends I have made are wonderful so its not all bad – just bloody expensive …. and cold!
Good, that this article still finds his/here fans.
I am Polish. That’s really true about polish people except “excellent drivers” and “helpful”
Wow, Mr Dir. So the general perception of Polish seems more positive than reality?
Haha. Funny stuff right there with the Malaysian stereotypes.
To Chris,
Most Poles are rude, disagreeable, pugnacious, finding quarrel in a straw, unpunctual. Most women complain a lot, waiting for the perfect man… in vain.
Most Polish women believe that they beauty …even ugly women, smart and so on…Most Polish people go to church every Sunday…Why? Because of Faith?…no,
because of parents, new dress, new car, etc. It’s a so disingenuous. Remember, don’t smile to Polish…Why? They think You laughing at them.
To Mr Dir,
you say that most polish women complain a lot…and what’s about you? Your opinion about polish people (by the way it seems that you’re are talking also about yourself) is not a complaint?
Besides, how can you estimate the majority? On what basis? Do you know every person in Poland and can predict their behaviour in each situations?
It’s natural that extremely negative conducts will be most visible and will jump out but it doesn’t mean that they’re common!
each situation*, sorry ;)
Believe me, maybe people in Poland are not angels but they’re not so horrible as well;) Unfortunately, we will remember rude, ugly waiteress behaving like Miss World better, than e.g. ordinary man giving out some newspapers.
I find it interesting to read about Malaysian stereotypes on a whole. The line about ‘traditional women with modern thinking’ is really accurate, as with ‘ultra-religious, but selling porn everywhere’. Haha.
In a way, we’re a bunch of confused people stuck between ultra-conservative and secular-urban.
im French and I thought it was funny! the french stereotype actually sounds like my friend. some people say that, for a stereotype, french always wear striped jumpers/shirts and beirets
stereotypes are not what actuall people are like – they are not real! im not anti-american i really dont care if america is there or not stereotypes not real! its nothing to get upset about (i may be a bit chaotic 
really chaotic 
)
“mistrust police and government” and “love to celebrate” which is definitaly the true romanian. Most politicians are the way the stereotypes say but the not-so-rich romanians are actually really nice and warm hearted even through we have a strange mocking sense of humor.Also you could add that romanians men love drinking.
After reading this it bought a nostalgic feeling… Ah, what we were and what have we become! I really hope another Vlad comes and impales all those lunatics.
I’m french as well as itsme but when I read the stereotype for the French, I couldn’t stop laughing. I love being in the UK! The English stereotype is funny too!
I have to say this is quite a successful and entertaining collection of Stereotypes. When I saw there was a Bulgarian category I was expecting way more negative entries, given the fact what a circus it is here.
Oh lawlz! I lol’d at my country xDD .. Mabuhay Philippines!! ^___^
It’s true… everything.. but whoa! 3,000 shoes?! good heavens, I think you’re talking about vendors on the street, selling flip flops, sandals and shoes O___o I only have three pairs of flip flops, a pair of rubber shoes and two pairs of sandal…. And Wives calling husband “master”? I never heard of any wives calling one, unless it’s a joke, like my sister calling me one when I jokingly demand something. xD
Vietnamese must love this post. There’s only one negative phrase there, exclude the funny hat because all southeast asians wear those. (here in Philippines, we call it salakot!
only used by farmers though ^^;) Oh and you forgot two or three things about them… Motorbike is their car, noodle-lover and wears white ao dai as their school uniform.
Koreans (specifically teenagers) are generally friendly to me. Girls, yes, but boys…. SOME are kinda sadistic or whiny. My opinion of course. I’m not quite sure for adult ones… I only get to talk with my Korean classmates, usually about what today’s homeworks, upcoming projects or thesis xD I have to agree Ryan, Koreans are not open-minded. they tend to keep their opinion themselves… and yeah… I heard many news that some cheated just to live in to an apartment. But hey, we’re not perfect. To me, they’re really smart and has a sense of humor. (remembers Infinity Challenge in Philippines
)
yeah, I love Americans, Canadians, Europeans and Mexicans!
I wish I can visit there! (YM emoticons ftw!)
Only 2 African countries? fail. Most of these stereotypes are retarded.. especially the drinking ones. The only countries that make me think about alcohol are Germany, Russia, and Ireland. And I guess Japan too, cause of sake
My bad, 3 African countries.. counting Morocco. More violence happens in “civilized” countries like America or the UK than in Nigeria.
Wow that is quite a list. I have actually lived in the Philippines before and that is what led me to your original blog that brought me here. I have to say I have unfortunately witnessed much of these stereotypes/prejudices in action. I am very open minded and hold no prejudice to any people or culture. In fact learning and interacting with so many different people is absolutely amazing in my book. Keep on keeping on Chris
Interesting to see the image of Rio de Janeiro is the one chosen to “represent” Brasil, here. Probably because it is the only city most foreigners know. It’s a stereotype other regions in Brasil have, too, about “cariocas” (people who are born in Rio).
However, Brasil being a 190-million-people country and the fourth biggest in the world, the stereotype couldn`t be farther from reality. Mainly when we consider the southern region (massively influenced by germans and italians), the northeastern region (heavy influence of the french and the dutch) and the rest of the southeast (where Rio is located), which differs a lot from Rio de Janeiro.
There would be a lot to say about the amazon, too, which is almost a distinct country. Anyway, I found the text really interesting and it also shows how judgemental we all are toward others.