Paki means: Anyone whose origins are perceived to be from South Asia or the Indian subcontinent.. It is mainly Canadian English and may not be understood outside that context. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
Paki
(UK, Canada, by extension) Anyone whose origins are perceived to be from South Asia or the Indian subcontinent.
Etymology timeline
Born ~1960 · 1 year of recorded useSeen in the wild
#Pakistan's War On The #Taliban: Can #Kabul's Regime Be Changed? www.thelevantfiles.org/2026/05/paki...
Or went "Paki bashing" in the 70s.
like paki is their slur for indian. its a real puzzler
The Blue Birds - Baro Chal [Paki, Instrumental, Psych, Folk] (1973) https://redd.it/wll6qp https://youtu.be/J418JAc1fms
I've never heard anyone use "paki", that always seemed like a very UK slur. I have however heard anti-Indian bigotry
Definitions
(UK, Canada, by extension) Anyone whose origins are perceived to be from South Asia or the Indian subcontinent.
“Or went "Paki bashing" in the 70s.”
Paki means: Anyone whose origins are perceived to be from South Asia or the Indian subcontinent.. It is mainly Canadian English and may not be understood outside that context. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
Paki means: Anyone whose origins are perceived to be from South Asia or the Indian subcontinent.. Register: informal, Canadian English. Often not understood outside its region; gloss the word on first use when writing for an international audience. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself.
“#Pakistan's War On The #Taliban: Can #Kabul's Regime Be Changed? www.thelevantfiles.org/2026/05/paki...”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Or went "Paki bashing" in the 70s.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“like paki is their slur for indian. its a real puzzler”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I've never heard anyone use "paki", that always seemed like a very UK slur. I have however heard anti-Indian bigotry”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Comments
(UK, Canada, India) A Pakistani.
Their byword is Aggro (Aggravation) and their crucial enemies are hippies, homosexuals and Pakis (Pakistanis or Indians).
“The Blue Birds - Baro Chal [Paki, Instrumental, Psych, Folk] (1973) https://redd.it/wll6qp https://youtu.be/J418JAc1fms”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Comments
(British, Canada, pejorative, racial slur) Pakistani, or perceived to be Pakistani.
Paki means: Pakistani, or perceived to be Pakistani.. It is mainly Canadian English and may not be understood outside that context. It is generally derogatory or offensive; worth a quiet word about how it lands on the person being described. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
Paki means: Pakistani, or perceived to be Pakistani.. Register: very informal, often derogatory or vulgar. Avoid in formal, business, academic, or polite writing. Even in casual speech the word can offend and is best left out of a learner's active vocabulary. Common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; always check the context before producing it yourself.
Comments
For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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🇬🇧About British & Irish slang slang
UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
See all British & Irish slang slang on Slangora.
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Related terms
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Semantically related
- Paki shop73%
(UK, Ireland, offensive, _, slang, derogatory) A corner shop run by a Pakistani or any other person of South-West Asian and South-Asian descent. Hence also any corner shop.
- Paki-bashing70%
(British, pejorative) In skinhead culture, the act of physical or verbal attacks by non-Asians against Pakistanis or other people originating from North Africa, the Middle East or the Indian subcontinent, and predominantly of a Muslim background.
- Pakis66%
In Australian and Indian cricket culture, 'the Pakis' is an informal, colloquial shorthand for the Pakistan cricket team — used among cricket fans in the way 'the Windies' refers to the West Indies team. The term carries different weight in different contexts: within South Asian cricket fandom it may be unremarkable, while in British usage it has historically functioned as a racial slur requiring care.