Gay in Tagalog

In Tagalog, there isn't a non-offensive phrase for "gay." To express "gay" in a non-offensive manner, one would simply use "gay" in English, as it were. The two Tagalog synonyms for "gay" are "bakla" and "bading," neither of which is without negative undertones; "bakla" probably carries a more adverse connotation than "bading," it seems.

The s-word?

It rhymes with Missy…My gay friends get affronted by its usage.

It rhymes with Missy…My gay friends get offended by it.

Oh, I preferred suckcocker instead, personally.

Urdu: Gandhu, that is, literally, 'ass guy'.

Italian: Gay. Additionally, there's "omosessuale," but younger individuals tend to employ the English word.

In Dutch, the term "homo" is still utilized - and it isn't seen as offensive.

.Italian typically uses gay; there's also finocchio 'fennel,' but I'm not certain regarding its derogatory nature.

Finocchio is definitely disparaging. While not exceptionally offensive, it's not a neutral term.

He who lives by the s-word dies by the s-word.

The word 'gai' (meaning 'happy' in French originally) seems to be gaining popularity among French speakers to mean the same as the English 'gay' (homosexual.)

That's absolutely accurate in Montreal (the location of EmilyG). "Gai" and "gaie" are seemingly the words for homosexuals and lesbians, it would seem.

There is a restaurant in the vicinity owned by a Lesbian. Her place is actually located on the isle of Lesbos.

In Norwegian, the least offensive term, as I suppose, is "skeiv," which translates to "bent" or "askew," namely, not straight. This term is, in my experience, gender-neutral, and I've never heard it utilized in a pejorative way. The more typical terms are "homo" and "lesbisk" (self-explanatory), which are fairly neutral, and which I've often heard employed by gays and lesbians. "Homse" was once derogatory when I was a child, but, based on my experiences, it's largely been reclaimed by the LGBT community and has lost much of its negative connotations.

Words such as "soper" (literally, "sweeper," not in the soccer-related sense) or "skinkerytter" (ham-rider) for gays or "flatbanker" (lit. "flat-hammerer") for lesbians are still regarded as offensive. With the exception of "skinkerytter," I lack any understanding of those words' etymology.
How about in Swedish, for instance? Is "bög" still offensive? I get the impression that the LGBT community has reclaimed it, akin to "homse" in Norwegian.

he walks down the other side of the road

It's interesting that you have that in Spanish. In Norwegian, we may very well say, "he drives in the opposite lane" if we aim to be euphemistic.

ETA: This provides us with a double entendre: "Lane" translates to "fil" in Norwegian, and we employ "homofil" and "heterofil" far more often than "homoseksuell" or "heteroseksuell"

In Angola, gay men are referred to as "veado," which represents the Portuguese term for "deer." Additional terms like "Bambi" and "gazela" are also in use.

Gay women are called "fufa" or "sapatona," with the latter word translating to "big shoes."

I simply refer to them as individuals.

That's certainly true in Montreal (the location of EmilyG). 'Gai' and 'gaie' seem to be the words for gays and lesbians.

There is a restaurant around town owned by a Lesbian. His is actually from the isle of Lesbos.

Wouldn't that classify them as Lesbosian? At least, this is what Trivial Pursuit stated.

In Norwegian, I guess the least derogatory term is 'skeiv', which translates to 'bent' or 'askew', i.e. not straight.

The term "Bent" (denoting "not straight") was or maybe still is utilized in England more so than "gay."

In Turkish, the only colloquialism I am aware of for "gay" is "parlak," which signifies "bright." I'm not quite sure about how offensive it is nowadays.

In Chile, we solely say "gay"; it's the sole non-derogatory term, aside from "homosexual," and I recently checked out of curiosity that it's in the RAE dictionary.

In Spanish from Spain, nowadays, the polite word is gay, and it has been around long enough to be pronounced as if it really was a Spanish word (gái vs the original English pronunciation, which would be géi in Spanish phonics).

It's the same case in Panama; I've seen it utilized in newspapers. It's also employed and understood by the Colombians I know.

The same pattern is observed in Slovenian (and probably other Slavic languages). There are no other non-offensive terms aside from "homoseksualec/ka," "gej," and "lezbijka." If you desire offensive ones... Then, I can surely locate a few unique expressions.

Well-behaved gossiping matrons would, naturally, rather comment along the lines of, "Look, there goes the chap who is fond of boys," or something similar.

Urdu: Gandhu. Literally 'ass guy'.

I've always heard "hijra"? I'm supposing it is offensive, but is it more or less offensive compared to "ass guy"?

The terms "Gay" and "homosexual" represent the polite terms (for a homosexual man) in Puerto Rico, and they're utilized by the media and government. "Pato" and "loca" are two slightly offensive terms (or, at least, less offensive compared to other terms) that one might hear on the streets.

However, considering offensiveness as relative, since intent and context can be more crucial, there's also that song, "Pluma gay," which is a parody of the Romanian song "Dragostea din tei," that employs one of the more offensive terms, even though it's an anti-homophobic song (in all its flamboyant glory).

I believe "the s-word" (I despise this trend of employing the initial letter for "bad words") is swish.

I appreciated William S. Burroughs' viewpoint on it; essentially, during the time he wrote "Queer," there were two common terms - this is from my recollection of his introduction: queer and queen. He firmly declared he was a "queer" but not a "queen."

I am uncertain about how offensive either of them is, yet I've found the distinction beneficial as I utilize both of them.

I know that maricon, at least in some Spanish-speaking countries, means gay; however, I am unaware of the degree of offensiveness that the word entails.

A coworker from El Salvador mentioned that in most Spanish-speaking countries, "cabrone" is somewhat equivalent to "buddy," but it's essential not to utter it to a Columbian, and if a Columbian utilizes the word towards you, brace yourself for a confrontation, unless the speaker has captivating bedroom eyes.

I learned "tapette" from a French-speaking friend of mine during my grade 9 year. He didn't specify that it was offensive, but 25 years ago, straight 14-year-olds didn't care about such matters. He stated that it signified "flyswatter."

Apologies; I presume this entire post is somewhat "contra-OP" since the majority of the terms I've referenced seem to be offensive to a certain degree.

Then again; discover any term that doesn't offend at least a portion of the people it describes.