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

[fredwiggy]

2 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

Do you know your girlfriends mother and fathers names?

Do you use them?

I just say hi and Wai. They know I've been good to her all along. They think just like most Thais my age.  They didn't like her husband because he was bad in many ways, so they look at all men as not good. At least until they prove themselves, but I'm a foreigner so you surely know how most old school Thais look at us.

[MalcolmB]

1 minute ago, fredwiggy said:

She speaks English so we speak English together. She doesn't need to explain everything because most of it doesn't involve me. If it does, she'll answer for me. Not a problem.

Well there is a Thai saying ฝรั่งรู้มากไม่ดี Farang who knows too much is not good. Farang roo maak mai dee.

 

Some women like to keep their farang boyfriends in the dark. 

[BangkokReady]

28 minutes ago, Packer said:

Just a different culture where simply labeling a person in the vicinity isn't an insult.

 

No.  They will call other Thais by their names.

[MartinL]

11 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

 

มันฝรั่ง mun farang is potato

 

 

That looks to read MAN farang to me.

[fredwiggy]

2 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

A question fine.

But what about a conversation with multiple people in a social setting? It takes a special kind of arrogance to not care what people are saying around you.

Their conversations are the same as if I wasn't there. If they want to ask me anything, I answer them through her. It's arrogance to monopolize a conversation but not to sit in silence until someone wants to talk to you. Many people in  social setting are quiet. That doesn't make them arrogant.

[BritManToo]

I thought 'Ni How' was Hello in Chinese, and all the Thais like to boast about their Chinese ancestry.

So how can it be offensive?

 

 

[MalcolmB]

11 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Hello, what's your name? Referring to a foreigner as farang when you aren't there isn't a problem, and if you are, you ask their name.

So you expect Thais to all know your name but you you don’t know or use their names?

A special type of arrogance and self importance.

 

3 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

I just say hi and Wai. They know I've been good to her all along.

perhaps next time instead of saying “Hi” you could throw in a “Sawasdi krap” with you wai? 

 

[mikebike]

1 hour ago, BangkokReady said:

 

That's great, but Thais are still going to refer to you as farang, even if they know you.

Most Thais I know refer to me as leung Mike... Those that don't are my age and call me Mike.

[zyphodb]

27 minutes ago, watchcat said:

 

 

Yes you're right but what about aliens  as the Immigrations use?

 

 Even worse...

[MalcolmB]

1 minute ago, MartinL said:

 

That looks to read MAN farang to me.

Pronounced mun. Man would be แมน

[BritManToo]

12 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

A question fine.

But what about a conversation with multiple people in a social setting? It takes a special kind of arrogance to not care what people are saying around you.

Easy, I don't socialize with bunches of Thais ........ problem solved.

Just me, and one female Thai is enough.

[fredwiggy]

3 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

Well there is a Thai saying ฝรั่งรู้มากไม่ดี Farang who knows too much is not good. Farang roo maak mai dee.

 

Some women like to keep their farang boyfriends in the dark. 

Yes, and some are actually honest and tell you everything. Doesn't take too long to see a person for what they really are when you spend a lot of time with them. Most of what goes on here doesn't concern us anyway. There are many, many foreigners here who have wives and girlfriends who don't speak their language. It's always best to avoid toxic people wherever you are, and if you aren't accepted, you find a place where you are.

[Hellfire]

1 minute ago, mikebike said:

Most Thais I know refer to me as leung Mike... Those that don't are my age and call me Mike.

Not behind your back

[MartinL]

10 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

Pronounced mun. Man would be แมน

 

Not by my wife and others I know. What you've written would be MAIRn farang (as in แม่, mum, mother).

 

Why write มัน... with a letter/vowel symbol for 'a' when there a a number of letters with a 'u' sound?

[Hellfire]

Just now, BritManToo said:

Easy, I don't socialize with bunches of Thais ........ problem solved.

Just me, and one female Thai is enough.

Agree. One Thai person is more than enough.

[BangkokReady]

1 minute ago, mikebike said:

Most Thais I know refer to me as leung Mike... Those that don't are my age and call me Mike.

 

In the third person, probably not.

[MalcolmB]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

I thought 'Ni How' was Hello in Chinese, and all the Thais like to boast about their Chinese ancestry.

So how can it be offensive?

 

 

There is a derogatory word for Chinese Thais and non Chinese Thais will not brag about be Chinese.

 

The word is เจ็ก Jek 

It is a good one to throw around 

[fredwiggy]

2 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

So you expect Thais to all know your name but you you don’t know or use their names?

A special type of arrogance and self importance.

 

perhaps next time instead of saying “Hi” you could throw in a “Sawasdi krap” with you wai? 

 

If they want to know my name, they'll ask. In all 4 + years I've known her, no one says anyone's names but just sawadeekrup or ka. I do say this with the wai automatically. Stop with the arrogance assumptions. You aren't there and only know the people that are around you, not any of the rest of us on this forum and what we do.

[BritManToo]

7 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

There are many, many foreigners here who have wives and girlfriends who don't speak their language. It's always best to avoid toxic people wherever you are, and if you aren't accepted, you find a place where you are.

I've found a wife that can't speak my language is an advantage.

Zero interest in her wittering on 24/7.

Sadly mine learnt to speak English very quickly.

[fredwiggy]

Just now, BritManToo said:

I've found a wife that can't speak my language is an advantage.

Zero interest in her wittering on 24/7.

Sadly mine learnt to speak English very quickly.

I couldn't live that way as I like communication. This is one real reason my ex and I had problems. She wanted someone to give her money and not talk, just like she has now with her new Polish husband, who speaks less English than I do.

[Stiddle Mump]

I was referred to as a 'long leg alien' once. Hurt my feeling big-time. I confronted her. She said she didn't like me clapping when I wanted a cup of Rosy. So I agreed to stop. Just a whistle does the trick now.

 

The two worst four-letter words we could be called are 'dead' and 'lazy'. Though not necessarily in that order.

 

 

[Cameroni]

Of course it could be worse, they could call us "long nose monkeys", like in Indonesia.

[MalcolmB]

4 minutes ago, MartinL said:

 

Not by my wife and others I know. What you've written would be MAAn farang (as in แม, mum, mother).

No maan  “aa” would use a า มาน 

 

Anyway it just goes to show the importance of learning the thai alphabet.

 

if you read out loud the word “man” in English it is not the same sound as if you were saying “it” in Thai.

มัน is pronounced mun, not man. 
 

I hope that clears up your misunderstanding.

 

 

[fredwiggy]

27 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

So at a party your girlfriend translates every sentence everyone says for you?

Gee that would be hard work.

 

Most farangs do not know that there are other farang words that do not refer to us.

 

มันฝรั่ง mun farang is potato

ฝรั่ง guava 

หมากฝรั่ง maak farang is chewing gum 

 

ฝรั่ง farang is not racist 

However if you hear ไอ้ฝรั่ง it becomes a racist thing.

 

I hope that clears it up for you Fred. 
 

 

 

I'll clear it up for you. Using farang when you're sitting there and they know your name is ignorance and laziness. Referring to foreigners as farang, to other Thais, isn't ignorance. It's the same thing if I was talking to another in the US about Thais. I would say "he was a Thai man". If I wanted to know someone, I would ask their name. If I saw a Thai walking down the street, I wouldn't point to him and say Thai, Thai, to my children or anyone else. I know the words for many foods here as I've been eating Thai for 7 years now.

 

[MalcolmB]

6 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

I couldn't live that way as I like communication. This is one real reason my ex and I had problems. She wanted someone to give her money and not talk, just like she has now with her new Polish husband, who speaks less English than I do.

Sounds like she likes living as a เมียฝรั่ง  Mia farang which can be used as a derogatory term

 

 

 

[MalcolmB]

1 minute ago, fredwiggy said:

Using farang when you're sitting there and they know your name is ignorance and laziness.

But not knowing your girlfriend’s parents names is not ignorant or lazy? 

[BritManToo]

9 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

No maan  “aa” would use a า มาน 

 

Anyway it just goes to show the importance of learning the thai alphabet.

 

if you read out loud the word “man” in English it is not the same sound as if you were saying “it” in Thai.

มัน is pronounced mun, not man. 
 

I hope that clears up your misunderstanding.

 

 

She translates English 'hot potato' to 'problem' when speaking Thai.

Not sure what that has to do with anything on this thread.

 

I used to sit in the cinema listening to the English movie, and reading the Thai subs ....... they never matched. 

[fredwiggy]

Just now, MalcolmB said:

Sounds like she likes living as a เมียฝรั่ง  Mia farang which can be used as a derogatory term

 

 

 

Yes, she's his wife. A foreigners wife.

[Cameroni]

7 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

if you read out loud the word “man” in English it is not the same sound as if you were saying “it” in Thai.

มัน is pronounced mun, not man. 

 

Ever since you missed the "black foreign tourists" bit in the other thread I have grave doubts about your Thai ability, to be honest.

[fredwiggy]

1 minute ago, MalcolmB said:

But not knowing your girlfriend’s parents names is not ignorant or lazy? 

Did I say I didn't know their names? Do you go to your girlfriend's (if you have one) parents and say sawadee krup so and so? No, even Thais don't do that. All you hear is sawadee krup or sawadee ka.