Does it bother you being labelled as a "Farang" when in the company of Thais?

[Luv4get1]

I am not a ferang I am a westerner 

I hate it when a Thai walks past you and grunts, and snorts foul.

[Isaan sailor]

It probably does concern me, since I have prepared my reply/qualifier for them:  “Chai (or man), American farang.”

[WineOh]

31 minutes ago, natway09 said:

Incidently, it has nothing to do with skin colour 

I would say it has everything to do with skin color mate.

They wouldn't refer to ethnically Asian people as farangs, would they?

[polpott]

12 minutes ago, Isaan sailor said:

It probably does concern me, since I have prepared my reply/qualifier for them:  “Chai (or man), American farang.”

They probably wouldn't understand you. Try "pom farang America". As you are in Issan, "Coi baxi da America" would go down well.

[Laza 45]

It doesn't bother me a bit.  I have a lot of trouble getting Thai names right.. they find it almost impossible to pronounce mine.. My father-in-law calls me Jonny because he can't pronounce my name.. I don't think they mean anything derogatory in calling me 'the ferang'.. just a easy way to identify me..

[rcuthbert]

In the 13.5 years that I have lived in Thailand, with the exception of the Insomnia bouncers, the only problems that I have had have been with loudmouthed and sneaky Westerners.

The other day, whilst getting a haircut, I said something nonsensical in Thai. Non of the Thais even smirked. There was not even the exchange of knowing looks. They just waited a while, then changed the subject.

[Thujone]

I had a car park attendant refer to me as 'papa' some time ago.

I'd guess he was around 50.

Time's passing...

 

Somebody suggesting Khun WineOh gave me a laugh.

Is that better?

(No offense to WineOh of course.)

[Saltire]

I have been gradually and politely converting my village name from farang to Saltire with some success. After 3 years my Thai has come on a bit which helps a lot. Now instead of asking 'does the farang eat pork/drink Lao Khao/like spicy food' etc, its changed to my real name.

 

I now live in baan farang (the farang house), have a mia farang (wife) and even a ma farang (farang dog) so whether it bothers me or not, I can't see it changing anytime soon. When the wife tells Lazada on the phone for directions I hear her tell them 'ask for the farang house, everyone knows it'.

 

 

 

 

 

[WaveHunter]

35 minutes ago, Luv4get1 said:

I am not a ferang I am a westerner 

I hate it when a Thai walks past you and grunts, and snorts foul.

Wow, I never have had a Thai walk past me and "grunts, and snorts foul" LOL!  Just your bad luck I guess.

[Dogbarker]

6 hours ago, WineOh said:

I'm sure this topic has been done to death on here before, but as of yet I haven't seen one.

My question is, when you are in the company of Thai people, say at a dinner, wedding or whatever, does it bother you when you are constantly referred to as the farang?

 

For me it happens quite a lot,

as I spend lots of time with thais I hear the term regularly.

When I first moved here it didn't bother me at all, but now it kind of does.

It wears you down when you hear it constantly,

like it or not but the word Farang is a label.

It creates an 'us and them' mentality amongst the locals.

The word itself may pose little harm on its own, but after years of being constantly reminded that you are a foreigner, an outsider, it gets to you.

 

Why is there a deep distrust among Thais with the farang?

I recall one recent episode that happened a few weeks ago.

one of our neighbours had just had a baby, the grandmother was there to stay.

she was more than happy to let my wife come and see him but she asked specifically not to let the farang in.

when my wife asked why, her response was 'farang mai dee. covid yer.'

this is just one example of hundreds I have experienced over the years.

Some days it doesnt bother me at all, other days like today it gets on my t*ts!

 

How about you lot?

does it bother you always being labelled a foreigner when in the company of locals? 

 

 

 No dies not bother me I learnt enough Thai to tell them that I am not a farang , they are very nice to eat and thank Mr pineapple and Mr durian ..  usually they get the point and we laugh together .

[userabcd]

6 hours ago, WineOh said:

I'm sure this topic has been done to death on here before, but as of yet I haven't seen one.

My question is, when you are in the company of Thai people, say at a dinner, wedding or whatever, does it bother you when you are constantly referred to as the farang?

 

For me it happens quite a lot,

as I spend lots of time with thais I hear the term regularly.

When I first moved here it didn't bother me at all, but now it kind of does.

It wears you down when you hear it constantly,

like it or not but the word Farang is a label.

It creates an 'us and them' mentality amongst the locals.

The word itself may pose little harm on its own, but after years of being constantly reminded that you are a foreigner, an outsider, it gets to you.

 

Why is there a deep distrust among Thais with the farang?

I recall one recent episode that happened a few weeks ago.

one of our neighbours had just had a baby, the grandmother was there to stay.

she was more than happy to let my wife come and see him but she asked specifically not to let the farang in.

when my wife asked why, her response was 'farang mai dee. covid yer.'

this is just one example of hundreds I have experienced over the years.

Some days it doesnt bother me at all, other days like today it gets on my t*ts!

 

How about you lot?

does it bother you always being labelled a foreigner when in the company of locals? 

 

 

Nope, no bother at all.

[Pilotman]

3 hours ago, polpott said:

True, and here's the definitive of what the word farang means to a Thai.

 

 

excellent video explanation.  lets hope all of those super sensitive farangs watch it. 

[Al Dow]

6 hours ago, quake said:

Did you let your wife go in ?

as in order your wife not to go?

[Mops59]

Maybe your wife needs to step up for you. The positive sides from Farang are taken for granted. It doesn't include you to their circles. Unless you speak fluent Thai. Then they have to be careful what they talk about and you can step up for yourself. Be glad you are a man. Women are seen as competition and to be ignored. Happy to be in Thailand?

[Isaan sailor]

40 minutes ago, Saltire said:

I have been gradually and politely converting my village name from farang to Saltire with some success. After 3 years my Thai has come on a bit which helps a lot. Now instead of asking 'does the farang eat pork/drink Lao Khao/like spicy food' etc, its changed to my real name.

 

I now live in baan farang (the farang house), have a mia farang (wife) and even a ma farang (farang dog) so whether it bothers me or not, I can't see it changing anytime soon. When the wife tells Lazada on the phone for directions I hear her tell them 'ask for the farang house, everyone knows it'.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s primarily an Isaan or upcountry label, as they have very few westerners in the local village.  I rarely hear it in Bangkok, other cities or the beach areas—if ever.  In my Isaan village we now have two farang houses, with a third on the way. So “farang bahn” doesn’t work anymore at the post office.

Edited February 14, 2021 by Isaan sailor

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

To me being labeled a Farang by people as I enter stores or walk down side sois and when in crowds where they grab their partner and say Farang as I walk by is like being given the red carpet treatment.  Do you ever hear the Thais tell their wives or children to move over when another Thai walks by or needs by, I never have.  Makes me feel special while at the same time denigrated.  Hmmm a conundrum it seems.

I have Thais that know me call me "P" or "Khun" or even "Mr"

Thais that don't know me refer to me as farang which is fine, if they don't know me it's a common Thai term for a foreigner... just get used to it.

If someone who knows you but calls you the farang then just ignore them.

[phetphet]

3 hours ago, WineOh said:

I would love to read that story.

Link would be great if you can find it.

Unfortunately I can't remember where or exactly when I read it. 

[Acharn]

Funny, the Thais I interact with (mostly) don't refer to me as "the farang." They might use the nickname my Thai family uses, "grandpa" (which is a term of respect, by the way), or they might use my first name, "roger." Maybe "khun roger," but that's pretty formal for them. If I'm in a place where I'm not known it seems pretty reasonable for them to refer to me (if they need to) by my most obvious characteristic

     >Why do Thais distrust foreigners?

Well, that's a more interesting question. To answer it you have to go back in history to when the Portuguese first "discovered" the route around Africa to the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese sailed into a harbor which had never seen a European, captured half a dozen fishermen, and hanged them from their yardarms by way of introducing themselves. Following that auspicious beginning European businessmen, mercenary soldiers, swindlers, and ne'er-do-wells tried to get rich by cheating the locals. Sometimes they succeeded. The Thais were lucky to have some very smart people as kings during the 19th Century, and are very proud of never having been occupied and colonized like neighboring countries. King Rama V, in particular, was a genius at unifying the rather ramshackle collection of people who made up Siam by standardizing language, religion, schools, and the legal system. He made some mistakes, like with the land registration system, but some of those were because he was thwarted by politicians and/or businessmen. I don't know if there are any English language histories of Thailand currently in print. I found a copy of Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker's "Thailand: Economy and Politics" in the used section at Amazon, but that was at least six years ago. 

 

[TKDfella]

Ha, how appropriate...there is an ad at the bottom of the page that says 'Learn to speak basic Thai...Learn from a Farang'.

Nope not a problem for me.

[oldhippy]

Again? And yet it is so simple.

 

If a Thai does not know your name, it is convenient to refer to you as "farang".

If a Thai does know your name, it is retarded or racist to refer to you as "farang".

 

I do exactly the same: the tall guy / the black guy / the girl in blue / the fat woman...... become John / George / Marina / Maria, soon as I know their names.

 

 

 

 

[ThailandRyan]

20 minutes ago, Acharn said:

very proud of never having been occupied

What would you call the Japanese take over during WW2 just an inconvenience until they were forced to accept terms of becoming part of the alliance.  Guess it was all a FACE saving maneuver.

Japanese invasion of Thailand - Wikipedia

[Dirk Z]

I don't care at all. I call myself farang and so does my wife at times.

[sead]

It would be if my gf family would talk about me as farang. But they all say my name Samsam. 

I made that clear to my gf very early in the relationship. 

[ThailandRyan]

4 minutes ago, sead said:

It would be if my gf family would talk about me as farang. But they all say my name Samsam. 

I made that clear to my gf very early in the relationship. 

You meant Hansum right not Samsam, or was Goliath your nemesis or your dogs name.

[KhaoYai]

Saying it bothers me would probably be too strong but I'd prefer the term wasn't used.  As I've pointed out to family several times - I have a name.

 

As far as I know, the term 'Farang' is normally used politely but can often be used in a derogatory sense. If you're not fluent in Thai, you might not understand how its being used - I don't.

 

Its taken a while but in family circles, I am now referred to by my name.

[AgMech Cowboy]

8 hours ago, WineOh said:

How about you lot?

does it bother you always being labelled a foreigner when in the company of locals? 

Not in the slightest. You are what you are in the land that you are in...

[bluemoon58]

8 hours ago, WineOh said:

I'm sure this topic has been done to death on here before, but as of yet I haven't seen one.

My question is, when you are in the company of Thai people, say at a dinner, wedding or whatever, does it bother you when you are constantly referred to as the farang?

 

For me it happens quite a lot,

as I spend lots of time with thais I hear the term regularly.

When I first moved here it didn't bother me at all, but now it kind of does.

It wears you down when you hear it constantly,

like it or not but the word Farang is a label.

It creates an 'us and them' mentality amongst the locals.

The word itself may pose little harm on its own, but after years of being constantly reminded that you are a foreigner, an outsider, it gets to you.

 

Why is there a deep distrust among Thais with the farang?

I recall one recent episode that happened a few weeks ago.

one of our neighbours had just had a baby, the grandmother was there to stay.

she was more than happy to let my wife come and see him but she asked specifically not to let the farang in.

when my wife asked why, her response was 'farang mai dee. covid yer.'

this is just one example of hundreds I have experienced over the years.

Some days it doesnt bother me at all, other days like today it gets on my t*ts!

 

How about you lot?

does it bother you always being labelled a foreigner when in the company of locals? 

 

 

Not at all, why would it? It's what I am and it's only a word after all! 

[oldhippy]

1 hour ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

Not in the slightest. You are what you are in the land that you are in...

Not in the slightest. You are what you are in the land that you are in...the land of the chinamen....

[Cake Monster]

When I hear " Farang " said within my vicinity, I proudly go over to them and Say " Yes, I am Farang, and you are what exactly ? "

This appears to make the person that said it all shy, and they apply that stupid look the Thais have which is akin to a Puppy that has crapped on the Carpet.

[Knocker33]

I just respond with hey you Thai.