1 minute ago, Pete1980 said:

If you can read thai, but are struggliing with the tone rules send me a message and i will send you the easiest way to learn them.

Dude, I speak, read and write Thai better than you can possibly imagine.

You've made a beginners mistake, you don't want to believe me, feel free.

14 hours ago, VBF said:

So very true 

 

I always tell them my name is not Charlie but I am ประหยัด (Prah̄yạd) meaning (I believe!) frugal ????

i tell them my name is Charlie Checkbin.

Post removed.

 

PLEASE do not use Thai script in the forums, it is reserved for the Thai language forum as per forum rules.

(With specialist term exceptions)

20 hours ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

No, but it's fun

Here we go again!!!  ????????????

 

Is it your opinion or you ex-wife’s ? 

20 minutes ago, Daveyh said:

There is no cheaper charlie than a Thai! ................. Com'on guys get real. When it comes to paying bills on a night out rest assured you'll be expected to pay. It's also expected that we give all our savings away to a complete stranger & their family if you become romantically involved .......... "it is what it is" here! You just try getting your money back afterwards when you have paid for something, or loaned money in good faith etc .......... it just ain't gonna happen. I think it's a ploy to try & embarrass us into giving money away. They have learned our weaknesses & play on them. There is no such thing here as a "Cheap Charlie", especially with the rate of exchange being what it is today ....... fact. Rising costs here are becoming unacceptable for some ....... don't expect any local help when financial issues become reality.

i disagree, thais are rarely tightarses, if they have money they will spend it today and worry about tomorrow later. 

You are confusing being a tightarse with having no money. 

And if you are giving all your money away to be romanticly involved, you shoyld look elsewhere for romance.

I’m proud to be called “Cheap Charlie”. 

It means that I’m not a fool, in fact a smart one. 

7 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Dude, I speak, read and write Thai better than you can possibly imagine.

You've made a beginners mistake, you don't want to believe me, feel free.

dude, look it up. The naa prefix is not the same as face.It is a different word completly, kee isnt.

i dont believe you because you are wrong.

Take a look at any dictionary.

i think you imagine you can read thai well, but you obviously cant, thr prefixes are the basics. And you are wrong.

 

Mum always told me, if you correct someone, make sure of your facts, otherwise you will look like a goose.

 

2 hours ago, dotpoom said:

When I lived in View Talay 2A Jomtien (before I had a motorbike or car) I used to walk into Pattaya ..even thought the Baht Bus is only 10 Bt. (5 Bt. before it went up). I suppose some might call me a "Cheap Charlie" for walking....In fact, by walking it cost me more than 10 Bt....I would never give less than 20 Bt. to someone begging on the Soi...people I wouldn't be passing had I not walked.

I walk a lot when I am in Pattaya instead of using a baht bus regularly, it is nothing to do with being a Cheap Charlie, but all to do with getting exercise.

I would do the same thing even if the Baht buses were free. The same applies with the Skytrain in Bangkok.

24 minutes ago, Pete1980 said:

Mum always told me, if you correct someone, make sure of your facts, otherwise you will look like a goose.

1

My mom always said, never argue with stupid people (kee ngo), they don't know they're stupid.

3 hours ago, metempsychotic said:

Khi means shit. Every adjective utilizing Khi is negative. 

 

It does not simply mean a tendency to. 

Khi or khee doesn't mean shit if it acts as a prefix. Did anyone say the adjectives associated with khee were positive?

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

My mom always said, never argue with stupid people (kee ngo), they don't know they're stupid.

despite your claims of being able to read to brilliantly, i am thinking you cant at all.

If you could, instead of arguing with me, you would just spend 10 seconds to look it up and realise that you are wrong.

naa face, and naa the prefix are different words.  With different spelling.

 

Your mum was right.

 

You cant really read thai can you? 

So not only are you wrong, you are a liar.

1 minute ago, Pete1980 said:

despite your claims of being able to read to brilliantly, i am thinking you cant at all.

If you could, instead of arguing with me, you would just spend 10 seconds to look it up and realise that you are wrong.

naa face, and naa the prefix are different words.  With different spelling.

 

Your mum was right.

 

You cant really read thai can you? 

So not only are you wrong, you are a liar.

Welcome to my ignore list.

28 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Welcome to my ignore list.

i am shattered.

Call me anything you like, but don't call me late for dinner. 

I think some guys simply don't have much spending power and try to stretch their $$ (Bt).. as far as they can.. Some have deeper pockets but complain that some places charge a Bt or 2 more for a beer than they pay at their regular stop.. to me they are the Cheap Charlies.. 

2 hours ago, Daveyh said:

There is no cheaper charlie than a Thai! ................. Com'on guys get real. When it comes to paying bills on a night out rest assured you'll be expected to pay. It's also expected that we give all our savings away to a complete stranger & their family if you become romantically involved .......... "it is what it is" here! You just try getting your money back afterwards when you have paid for something, or loaned money in good faith etc .......... it just ain't gonna happen. I think it's a ploy to try & embarrass us into giving money away. They have learned our weaknesses & play on them. There is no such thing here as a "Cheap Charlie", especially with the rate of exchange being what it is today ....... fact. Rising costs here are becoming unacceptable for some ....... don't expect any local help when financial issues become reality.

 

Daveyh, Probably the best post on this subject.

 

When beers were around 45-55 baht in the open air lady beer bars of Pattaya and the like and the GBP was around 70 baht, many people, especially on holidays were much more free with the money. Nowadays, with the GBP around 40 at the minute, it is an expensive exercise, particularly for those on budgets.

 

As you rightly say, as soon as the cash runs out, you will neither receive assistance nor help, in fact, you will be ostracized as a ' cheap charlie ' or a fool and his money, or even a show off that has had his comeuppance.

 

I would hardly lose sleep at being called cheap charlie by a local whore. Look at the ' fake smiles and applause ' when somebody ' rings the bell ' or orders all the girls a drink. They wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire outside their working hours.

 

 

6 minutes ago, Laza 45 said:

I think some guys simply don't have much spending power and try to stretch their $$ (Bt).. as far as they can.. Some have deeper pockets but complain that some places charge a Bt or 2 more for a beer than they pay at their regular stop.. to me they are the Cheap Charlies.. 

No one complains about paying "a baht or 2" more in one establishment over another though .

   Some people will not buy a ladies drink though because they disagree paying a lady to sit with them 

The phrase used in the Merch was 'tight as a fish's arse at 10,000 fathoms'.

Guys,

I am not on holidays I live here as quite a few know. However, I used to be in the entertainment industry many moons ago.

 

Are some of you aware that there are regular meetings held with the girls, boys, and manager as well as Mammasan of the bars, be they open air or beer bars or go-go bars?

 

the purpose of these meetings is for the ' newbies ' as staff constantly changes, to become familiar with the rules of the bar. These most definitely include getting the lowdown on how to embarrass foreigners into spending more money as was pointed out by Daveyh.

 

The girl does not give a dam how much you are paying for a cheap glass of dilute orange as long as she is getting her 20-50 baht commission from it. It's the same as the ' Ring the bell ' or ' Jingle bells ' as they call it at Christmas. They are constantly on the lookout for guys coming in with plenty of cash and time on their hands. This is all well and good for the guy on R n R from the oil company but not so good for the retiree on a budget.

 

There is nothing wrong with being street smart or street savvy. I will tell you something for free. The majority of girls in the bars are much more receptive to a ' polite well-mannered ' customer who does not have money to throw around than they are ( behind the customers back obviously! ) to the boorish guy spending big money and announcing it to everybody, calling all those that don't match his spending cheap Charlies.

 

There are no cheaper Charlies than Thais themselves. They view it personally as an attribute, not a fault! It is a terminology that has been instilled in them by bar owners.

I don't care what anyone calls me. I just give it back redoubled. The insults I do get on rare occasions lack talent and imagination.

12 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I don't care what anyone calls me. I just give it back redoubled. The insults I do get on rare occasions lack talent and imagination.

if a hooker in a bar insults you just politely ask her what does she do for a living.

22 minutes ago, Pete1980 said:

if a hooker in a bar insults you just politely ask her what does she do for a living.

Then if "she" turns out to be a "he"....RUN! 

Although I am no expert on the term , it seems to me that it was a popular term in go-go bars 20 years ago and the term isnt used much these days .

   Back 20 years ago, when sex tourism was popular with Westerners , 2 week millionaires were spending freely in bars and for 2 weeks they had more money than sense , the guys were rich and the girls were poor and the guys would go on spending sprees .

   That was the norm .

Then there were the guys who choose not to be 2 week playboy millionaires and didnt want a 2 week wife , these were the guys that got called cheap charlies

In fact bar girls throw the comment around freely if a customer in the bar refuses to buy them a drink – really, it beggars belief. It is actually very offensive.

 

Now who fixes the price of a bar girls services? Is it fair to bargain the price of the wares you are seeking from them? And who goes bar hopping with an empty pocket?

 

This is similar to complaining about the 20K Baht (USD 630) the Immigration officers are requesting to show when entering Thailand! If a foreign tourist considers  USD 650 as a high risk to have in the pocket at he airport... Cheep Charlie is justified 100%!

 

Never heard of a Thai using that term, but herein at the TVF, it is very popular!

1 hour ago, ravip said:

Now who fixes the price of a bar girls services? Is it fair to bargain the price of the wares you are seeking from them? And who goes bar hopping with an empty pocket?

1

I was always happy to buy a lady drink for a slim young girl that would sit with me for 15-25 minutes playing Jenga, etc. (which was how it was 10 years back)

Today, a chubby 40-year-old, her ladyboy friend, don't forget the fatty behind the bar, no. 

I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard anyone say it.

5 hours ago, bannork said:

Khi or khee doesn't mean shit if it acts as a prefix. Did anyone say the adjectives associated with khee were positive?

So, same spelling, same tone but as a prefix it's a different word. 

 

Not buying it nor has any Thai I have asked. 

 

Negative Thai personality traits are prefaced with khi, no matter how you wish to explain it away. 

 

The terms are colloquial, and all the more colorful for it. 

25 minutes ago, metempsychotic said:

So, same spelling, same tone but as a prefix it's a different word. 

 

Not buying it nor has any Thai I have asked. 

 

Negative Thai personality traits are prefaced with khi, no matter how you wish to explain it away. 

 

The terms are colloquial, and all the more colorful for it. 

So how do you explain khi len? len means play, khi len means playful.

songsan means to feel sorry for- khi songsan means compassionate.

7 hours ago, bannork said:

So how do you explain khi len? len means play, khi len means playful.

songsan means to feel sorry for- khi songsan means compassionate.

I have never heard khi songsan used to mean compassionate. In fact, I've never heard that at all. It is usually "mee kwam songsan" in my experience.  I would imagine khi songsan, if I heard it, to have a much more negative meaning, such as being a gullible pushover.  Could be different in different areas of the country I suppose, or my experience may just be limited.

 

khi len of course is a different story. I suspect that may have changed over time. I can imagine the original context to mean playful and not responsible. But due to common usage, I think it just means "playful" now today, without such a strong negative opinion.

 

Still, I think with very few exceptions, any adjective using the prefix khi is almost always negative and simply translating as "too much" usually gives the required meaning. So khi neow is simply "too much sticky", meaning holds onto money too tightly. Khi ngo, my wife's favorite word when arguing with me, means "too stupid". Much more so than just plain old ngo.

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Monomial said:

I have never heard khi songsan used to mean compassionate. In fact, I've never heard that at all. It is usually "mee kwam songsan" in my experience.  I would imagine khi songsan, if I heard it, to have a much more negative meaning, such as being a gullible pushover.  Could be different in different areas of the country I suppose, or my experience may just be limited.

 

khi len of course is a different story. I suspect that may have changed over time. I can imagine the original context to mean playful and not responsible. But due to common usage, I think it just means "playful" now today, without such a strong negative opinion.

 

Still, I think with very few exceptions, any adjective using the prefix khi is almost always negative and simply translating as "too much" usually gives the required meaning. So khi neow is simply "too much sticky", meaning holds onto money too tightly. Khi ngo, my wife's favorite word when arguing with me, means "too stupid". Much more so than just plain old ngo.

 

 

 

Too much often works but it doesn't always give that sense of a tendency, a characteristic which I think khi does. If we say old people are forgetful khi leum it's not the same as saying forget too much which is disparaging. 

He drinks too much  khi mao- could be the same as he is a pis- artist but I think the latter suggests more permanency.

I've never heard khi ngo- it sounds very harsh!