Opinion Russian Teacher to Thais: Drop ‘Farang’ if 'Ni Hao' Offends

[recom273]

7 hours ago, WDSmart said:

"Thais use the word “farang” to describe or reference white-skinned foreigners. In Thai the word is spelt ฝรั่ง. It is a contraction of the Thai word for French/France, ‘ farangset ‘, which dates back to French Indochina in the 17th Century." Source: What Does 'Farang' Mean in Thai & Should I Be Offended? 

It refers to the Franks, a major European group during the Middle Ages. This term was used broadly in the Middle East and Asia to refer to Western Europeans. It passed into Persian as “farangi”, then into Arabic and eventually into South and Southeast Asian languages. 

 

 

[ross163103]

Just now, BangkokReady said:

If someone said "I saw a farang in the town today, he was very tall", I don't think anyone would have an issue with it.  If your father in law, who you have known for years, says to your wife, "What is that farang doing today", it is obviously offensive.

 

Exactly how I feel.

As you pointed out; the difference being a stranger I don't know saying it, or someone close to me using it. Obviously my family and close Thai friends don't use it concerning me.

[MalcolmB]

45 minutes ago, blaze master said:

When the word is supposed to mean foreigner and a Chinese person is a foreigner.

No it doesn’t, it means Caucasian.

[blaze master]

15 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

No it doesn’t, it means Caucasian.

 

If you say so 

[MikeN]

One thing I don't like about this falang business is that it's khon gaoli, khon yippoon but not khon falang....no honorific. I asked my Thai language teacher why she used "khon" when addressing the Asian students in my class "how do khon yippoon do this or that" but with me, the only white guy, it was how do falang do something. She got really uptight at me just for asking a simple question, so much so that I asked the head teacher to be transferred into a different class.

[Nabbiex]

"Ni Hao" has two sides of the meaning so "Farang" too.  Very nuanced...🤔  

[Dakhar]

11 hours ago, StandardIssue said:

 

Another mind reader. LOL ... whatever. Most of the punters on this board never learn Thai or the culture. Pretty sad really. Look how I got all thumbs down about my post. It's because it hits home. Years and years in Thailand and don't even learn Thai. What a joke.

 

Ambassador for Thailand I presume. Jokes on you, you are not Thai & will never be Thai despite all your efforts. You are no more accepted in Thai society than someone fresh of the plane & that's just the reality of how things work.

[Dakhar]

11 hours ago, StandardIssue said:

 

Another mind reader. LOL ... whatever. Most of the punters on this board never learn Thai or the culture. Pretty sad really. Look how I got all thumbs down about my post. It's because it hits home. Years and years in Thailand and don't even learn Thai. What a joke.

 

Ambassador for Thailand I presume. Jokes on you, you are not Thai & will never be Thai despite all your efforts. You are no more accepted in Thai society than someone fresh of the plane & that's just the reality of how things work.

[safarimike11]

13 hours ago, bubblegum said:

I live in Soi Farang according to the delivery people 😆

I used to live just off soi BJ in Pattaya.

[Maxbkkcm]

14 hours ago, impulse said:

 

+1

 

I don't think the average outsider realizes just how tolerant the average American is.  I always figure that's the way it is around the world.  But it's not.

 

Do you think american are more tolerant than Thai or Asian?

[lamyai3]

18 hours ago, webfact said:

"a Thai-Scottish former ranger, highlighted an incident where a tourist's “Ni Hao” greeting was deemed disrespectful." 

 

Could've been worse. He could have said "Och aye the noo"... 

[rabang]

10 hours ago, Screaming said:

Most Thai's that I talk to do not consider Russians to be Farangs. They are something else altogether on the level of Indians, so they say.

How can they see the difference?

[rabang]

Of course farang is offensive, same way as n-word is in the West. Back in the 80's in my country black people were still widely called n***s even in the media and still are by some older people but anyone should understand that the term is derogatory. Farang is in the same way a racist, dehumanizing and categorizing term.

[balo]

I don't like the idea of a Russian telling Thais what to do or not.  He think is a farang.     

[hotsun]

If you tell them to stop saying farang, you have to at least tell them to drop dual pricing too. Many discriminatory parts of the culture

[RocketDog]

22 hours ago, impulse said:

Russian Teacher to Thais: Drop ‘Farang’ if 'Ni Hao' Offends

 

Here's a thought.  Quit being a snowflake. 

 

What happened to the good old days when we jokingly referred to each other as Pollocks, Guineas, WOPs, Rednecks and a hundred other familiar greetings that would trigger a lefty tantrum today?  Back then, we could take a joke.

 

Why were these terms a joke 'back then'? Well, because they were understood to be derogatory but used in a kidding way. So without other body language cues they would rightfully be taken as derogatory.

When I was in junior high school we would playfully call each other queer and faggot. Was that OK then? Of course gay/lesbian people existed even then. Some of them may have been my friends but certainly never came out of the closet in 1955. They of course laughed along with everybody else but how did that make them feel?

 

Bottom line: if one stops using such terms misunderstandings would never occur. Seems like a simple change to make that avoids a lot of drama especially in a foreign country. 

 

Just find other ways to kid your buddies.  Is Red ok for the redhead kid? Shortie for the short or tall kid? Fatso or bean pole? Even in high school my friends called me 'brainiac" because my language and math skills were obviously better than theirs. But it was exclusionary and I certainly got that part and it didn't feel good. 

The problem is that when using such terms you reveal what you see as their shortcomings compared to yourself.  That is almost always offensive or demeaning whether the person in question admits it or not. In the end it's just bad social skills.

 

So I don't buy your glib rationalization. The truth is such jokes are never truly appreciated by anybody and weren't even 'back then'.

 

Even if you think you can take a joke just soberly consider if you ever enjoyed being referred to in negative ways. It's always just a way to demonstrate that someone is different from you in a way offensive or amusing to you.

 

We're all different is some way, and that's wonderful. So why muddy the water for the sake of low grade humor and the possibility of being offensive/hurtful? We're not in gradeschool anymore.

 

I'm not a snowflake but just don't see the point of or reward for being offensive.

 

Learning a Thai person's name (or more often their nickname) nevers fails to get a positive reaction from the Thai people I know as well as any Thai person overhearing it even if I get the pronunciation wrong. Smiles instead of frowns, scowls or questioning gazes; I'll  take that win every time.

 

My Thai wife is from a large family and has several generations of in-laws and friends. If I am around any of them very often I make it a point of learning their names. It takes an effort to be sure but is ALWAYS rewarding. I allow them all considerable leeway is using my name because it doesn't transliterate easily for native Thai speakers. They don't use 'farang' in a negative way either and I understand that but it still demonstrates exclusion in some degree or another. A few of the more enlightened ones have learned to mangle my name and I give them credit for being more empathetic than the others. I feel immediately that we've formed a relationship and they do too. Is that not a significant gain? Funny how enlightenment is contagious isn't it?

 

If I hear "man" (it) I am offended and immediately let them know even if they aren't speaking to me. From my in-laws I never hear it and they readily acknowledge that it is offensive.

 

People are given names for a reason and are never offended by their use. Give up the puerile humor and learn to use names to make everybody's life easier.

[scorecard]

Translation:  "Ni hao" (你好) in Mandarin Chinese translates to "hello" or "hi" in English. It's a common greeting..."

 

No issue or negative involved...

[impulse]

1 hour ago, RocketDog said:

Why were these terms a joke 'back then'? Well, because they were understood to be derogatory but used in a kidding way. So without other body language cues they would rightfully be taken as derogatory.

When I was in junior high school we would playfully call each other queer and faggot. Was that OK then? Of course gay/lesbian people existed even then. Some of them may have been my friends but certainly never came out of the closet in 1955. They of course laughed along with everybody else but how did that make them feel?

 

Bottom line: if one stops using such terms misunderstandings would never occur. Seems like a simple change to make that avoids a lot of drama especially in a foreign country. 

 

Just find other ways to kid your buddies.  Is Red ok for the redhead kid? Shortie for the short or tall kid? Fatso or bean pole? Even in high school my friends called me 'brainiac" because my language and math skills were obviously better than theirs. But it was exclusionary and I certainly got that part and it didn't feel good. 

The problem is that when using such terms you reveal what you see as their shortcomings compared to yourself.  That is almost always offensive or demeaning whether the person in question admits it or not. In the end it's just bad social skills.

 

So I don't buy your glib rationalization. The truth is such jokes are never truly appreciated by anybody and weren't even 'back then'.

 

Even if you think you can take a joke just soberly consider if you ever enjoyed being referred to in negative ways. It's always just a way to demonstrate that someone is different from you in a way offensive or amusing to you.

 

We're all different is some way, and that's wonderful. So why muddy the water for the sake of low grade humor and the possibility of being offensive/hurtful? We're not in gradeschool anymore.

 

I'm not a snowflake but just don't see the point of or reward for being offensive.

 

Learning a Thai person's name (or more often their nickname) nevers fails to get a positive reaction from the Thai people I know as well as any Thai person overhearing it even if I get the pronunciation wrong. Smiles instead of frowns, scowls or questioning gazes; I'll  take that win every time.

 

My Thai wife is from a large family and has several generations of in-laws and friends. If I am around any of them very often I make it a point of learning their names. It takes an effort to be sure but is ALWAYS rewarding. I allow them all considerable leeway is using my name because it doesn't transliterate easily for native Thai speakers. They don't use 'farang' in a negative way either and I understand that but it still demonstrates exclusion in some degree or another. A few of the more enlightened ones have learned to mangle my name and I give them credit for being more empathetic than the others. I feel immediately that we've formed a relationship and they do too. Is that not a significant gain? Funny how enlightenment is contagious isn't it?

 

If I hear "man" (it) I am offended and immediately let them know even if they aren't speaking to me. From my in-laws I never hear it and they readily acknowledge that it is offensive.

 

People are given names for a reason and are never offended by their use. Give up the puerile humor and learn to use names to make everybody's life easier.

 

That's sure a lot of words.

 

I agree with Candace Owens.  Life's tough.  Get a helmet man.

 

[Freddy42OZ]

18 hours ago, Cameroni said:

 

You greet people in Thailand with "Jo San"? Do you do this in Brtain too? I guess not because you'd get smacked in the mouth. You seem to be one of these people who just because they're in Thailand think they can do anything they want, wear no shirt on the street and no underpants, greet people with "Jo San". Well, normal rules of social intercourse still apply, and if you walk around with no shirt, no underpants and greet people with "Hey man, Jo San", people WILL look at you strange.

 

Say hello in Russian or Chinese or German to a Thai person?  What are you, taking the pxxx now?

 

I definitely don't think we should be allowed to do anything we want, that is just ridiculous.

Just this morning a friend from New Zealand called me and greeted me with "Jo San" when I answered his call. 

But I don't see why anyone would be offended, if someone, used ANY language to greet them.

I can say Hello in multiple languages.  My friends can all understand hello in different languages.  Most educated people (from the West at least) can understand a few words in multiple languages, even just from watching TV and Movies.  

 

There is no reason why I should be forced to say hello in English only to English people, hello in French only to French people and hello to Thais only in Thai.  If a Thai person doesn't understand Bonjour or Gutentag then they also probably have no idea whether I'm English, French or German.  

Maybe those Italian tourists had heard people say 'Ni Hao' and weren't aware it was Mandarin, but though it was Thai.  What if they had said "Ciao" ?

I use "Ciao" a lot and I use "Hey Esse!" with some friends even though we are not Spanish speaking gang members.

We say "Whassup!" to each other a lot too.... like the famous Bud commercial.  
 

 

[zakalwe]

Best solution: No farangs in Thailand. No farangs to say ni hao and no farangs to call farang. Peace achieved.

[impulse]

3 minutes ago, Freddy42OZ said:

But I don't see why anyone would be offended, if someone, used ANY language to greet them.

 

The sad reality is that many people have gotten so thin skinned that it's impossible to interact with them and not trigger them.  Then add in language and cultural issues from traveling overseas.

 

Fortunately, I was called a dumb Polack so many times growing up (by friends and family) that I'm pretty much immune.  And I'm not even Polish, though my name sounds like it.

 

 

[Cameroni]

6 minutes ago, Freddy42OZ said:

I definitely don't think we should be allowed to do anything we want, that is just ridiculous.

Just this morning a friend from New Zealand called me and greeted me with "Jo San" when I answered his call. 

But I don't see why anyone would be offended, if someone, used ANY language to greet them.

I can say Hello in multiple languages.  My friends can all understand hello in different languages.  Most educated people (from the West at least) can understand a few words in multiple languages, even just from watching TV and Movies.  

 

There is no reason why I should be forced to say hello in English only to English people, hello in French only to French people and hello to Thais only in Thai.  If a Thai person doesn't understand Bonjour or Gutentag then they also probably have no idea whether I'm English, French or German.  

Maybe those Italian tourists had heard people say 'Ni Hao' and weren't aware it was Mandarin, but though it was Thai.  What if they had said "Ciao" ?

I use "Ciao" a lot and I use "Hey Esse!" with some friends even though we are not Spanish speaking gang members.

We say "Whassup!" to each other a lot too.... like the famous Bud commercial.  

 

You're twisting my melon Man!!!

 

Of course if it's a good buddy you can greet him with "Wazz up manwhore", who cares, I thought' you'd greet a Thai park ranger with "Jo San". I hope not for your sake.

 

"Hey Esse" is not Spanish, what are you talking about?

 

Don't greet people in Russian. Just don't. Be cool,. Just. BE. COOL.

[Cameroni]

2 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

The sad reality is that many people have gotten so thin skinned that it's impossible to interact with them and not trigger them.  Then add in language and cultural issues from traveling overseas.

 

Fortunately, I was called a dumb Polack so many times growing up (by friends and family) that I'm pretty much immune.  And I'm not even Polish, though my name sounds like it.

 

 

 

Order your soup slowly, step to the side and DON'T look him in the eye!

[Packer]

The Go to another country, tell the locals how to behave brigade. 🙂

[Rickman66]

On 4/22/2025 at 2:07 PM, Cameroni said:

Quite a lot. You're in Thailand, so you should greet people in Thai, not some Chinese, Korean or Japanese. Your work colleagues probably think you're a bit of a dick behind your back.

 

Imagine if you greeted your British work colleagues with "Guten Tag", that would get you fired in some City offices.

 

it's not about "heritage issues", it's about respecting the country you live in.

What a load bollards there is nothing wrong with saying hello in any language to any race of people 

[ThailandGuy]

If a tourist says "Hello" to a Thai is he/she insulted?  Then why when somebody says "Ni Hao"?

[DjSilver08]

On 4/22/2025 at 8:55 AM, fredwiggy said:

I don't see it as racist but ignorant and disrespectful. They're calling you "foreigner". If you aren't around, and they're talking to another Thai, that's the word used to describe someone born outside Thailand and not Asian. Example. "Today I saw a foreigner walking across the street naked". It's the same as "Today I saw a farang walking across the street naked", Both meaning a foreigner that wasn't Asian.

 

When you're walking down the street, and just going from one place to another, and someone points at you and says "farang", that's ignorance and disrespectful. We've been coming here long before the Vietnam era and aren't aliens from another planet. 

 

They teach their children the same thing, which is also ignorant. It's something that in that way needs to change. 

 

In the US, we don't point at Thais and say "Thai". We don't say anything unless we want to meet them, where we would say, "Hi, what's your name"? This isn't like calling blacks the N word. That's derogatory, although they do it to each other. Yes, the thinking is still behind here, because old school thinking is still around. I see young ones pointing at me saying "farang' all the time. Adults are the ones who need to stop this, although it's so ingrained in them it will take a long time.

We can always point back at the Thais and call them "aihia" when they call us farang 🤣

[pacovl46]

22 hours ago, Airalee said:

Nope.  Portugal has France beat by over a century.

 

Using the “history of the word Farang” is a lazy excuse.   If it was acceptable, the N word would be fair game.

Ok, let me spell it out like to a three year old then: the word farang DOES NOT have a negative connotation, while the N-word noat definitely does. Comparing the two is just silly! 

[pacovl46]

19 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Yes the know/knew my name very well but when Thai people are talking with eachother in Thai they still call you the farang..

Yeah, so? Again, it does not have a negative connotation. It's all just in your head. I've been asking numerous Thais of all ages about that word and all of them, independently from each other, have said the same, even that 60 year old, extremely polite female teacher....

[Airalee]

21 minutes ago, pacovl46 said:

Ok, let me spell it out like to a three year old then: the word farang DOES NOT have a negative connotation, while the N-word noat definitely does. Comparing the two is just silly! 

Still a lazy excuse.