I used to have a little joke with my friend, Leslee Kurihara, that went along the lines of “Once you go happa, you can’t stoppa”. She was a little half breed of Japanese / European heritage like myself. Here are some other terms used to describe our mixed ethnic backgrounds (not all very politically correct).

Hapa (or happa)

A person with one Asian or Asian-American parent and one non-Asian parent

Evolving from the Hawaiian pidgin term hapa-haole (literally “half-white”), the term had a mildly pejorative connotation at one time [and] has since become widely used, especially in Hawaii. While some commentators object to the term’s appropriation and perceived misuse outside of its original Hawaiian and colonialist contexts, “hapa” has increasingly entered the local languages and jargons of a variety of Asian ethnic groups both in Hawaii and on the mainland.

Amerasian

An American with one Asian or part-Asian parent and one non-Asian parent

The definition of “Amerasian” has been in flux for many years now. In addition to the above definition, some authorities have reserved the term to describe those children born of Asian mothers (primarily Southeast Asian) and American fathers (usually servicemen)–in the spirit of the Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1987, allowing the transfer of Vietnamese-born, war era Amerasians to the United States. “Amerasian” also enjoyed fleeting use as a term for Americans of Asian ancestry–in lieu of “Oriental,” for example.

1.5 Generation

Immigrants and refugees born abroad but educated and socialized in the U.S.

Young 1.5-ers are “a generation straddling two countries and two cultures” who “helped bridge the gap between the older generation(s)” and American-born Asian Americans.

Banana

“Yellow on the outside and white on the inside”
A generally derogatory term, similar in usage to “Oreo” among African Americans.

“Issei, Nisei, Sansei, Yonsei”

“First, Second, Third, Fourth” - For the record, I am of the Sansei generation.

From the Japanese root for the number one, “Issei” is the designation for immigrants to America — significantly, it has throughout this century conveyed a sense of the first American generation, despite long-standing historical prohibitions on their naturalization. “Nisei” is a designation for the American citizen children born to Issei parents, and so on. While properly speaking, a new immigrant today could be conceived of as an Issei, the terms have come to be associated with specific characteristics of specific generations of Japanese Americans since the first major immigration waves in the late 1800s.