On 5/24/2026 at 11:15 AM, Prubangboy said:

I am not like a farang who talk to strangers about my life and become their friends in 10 minutes.

Aaah, the new 10 minute friend.

These often end up in a punch up in soi Buakhou bar 😂

Edited May 25May 25 by SAFETY FIRST

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Naming people by their race is unacceptable, end of.

End of what? Also, is naming people by their country acceptable, BritMan?

22 minutes ago, LosLobo said:

The history about the French is an urban legend. The Portuguese and Dutch arrived in Siam long before the French did. The word 'Farang' actually comes from Persian traders in the Ayutthaya court who used the Persian word 'Farangi' (derived from the medieval 'Franks') to describe Europeans. Thais adopted it from the Persians and shortened it. When the French arrived much later, Thais took the existing word 'Farang' and adapted it into 'Farangset' to match Français. The word for France was built out of 'Farang', not the other way around.
You can read the full historical etymology here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farang

You are indeed correct as I cross checked your comment and the result was the same.👍

What we can take from this is also the fact it is not a derogatory word, it is word developed over time.

It is also means guava fruit in Thai. So we can be referred to as sweet in a way as long as we have had time to age and ripen. 😃

1 hour ago, roo860 said:

So you have a horse face? Should call you Mr Ed🐴

And you're called "gelding'?

21 minutes ago, ColeBOzbourne said:

End of what? Also, is naming people by their country acceptable, BritMan?

Perfectly acceptable, unless you hate your country!

41 minutes ago, orchidfan said:

In Hong Kong, where I lived and worked for many years, I and most other "westerners" ( not Indians or Africans) are referred to as a "guilo".

( there's even a beer branded "guilo")

I was told by my local Chinese (Cantonese not 'mainlanders' who refer to us as a "laowai" ....slang for 'old foreigner') friends that it's a semi derogatory term meaning literally "ghost person".... presumably because of our white skin!!

Doesn't bother me, nor does farang.

As my dear old Granny used to say "what's in a name. A rose by any name would smell as sweet "

When in HK for my first time, I arrived at my hotel's crowded footpath in my limo, and the doorman said 'gweilo, delay no more' to welcome me before quickly taking my bags to my room. At the time I didn't know what he really meant, so I gave him a fat tip thinking it was a warm welcome.

Turns out, as I later found out, it was the most offensive insult money could buy.

Edited May 25May 25 by LosLobo

32 minutes ago, newbee2022 said:

And you're called "gelding'?

Last time I looked I still have them.

1 hour ago, LosLobo said:

Actually, I live in rural Ranong's agricultural belt.

During the 1980s tin crash, this area experienced a massive palm, coffee, and rubber boom. Along with the Phuket tourism boom, it drew a huge Isan labor force. Because the Northeast was ecologically full and land was scarce, many Isan migrants found open land here to clear and settle permanently. Through chain migration, entire Northeastern enclaves formed.

While Pak Thai is the overarching regional language, my specific farming village is overwhelmingly Northeastern. Isan is absolutely the local lingua franca; most people here speak it natively, while the rest at least understand it to get by.

That's interesting...................I remember travelling from Samui via Ranong region to Krabi etc in '91 and we were stopped a few times by police/army checkpoints and they said they were looking for communists. Any insight on that relevance and your explanation?.............

23 minutes ago, Off Piste said:

That's interesting...................I remember travelling from Samui via Ranong region to Krabi etc in '91 and we were stopped a few times by police/army checkpoints and they said they were looking for communists. Any insight on that relevance and your explanation?.............

The checkpoints on the Kra Isthmus in the early 1990s were linked to the security environment after the 1991 coup and the continued use of Cold War-era internal security laws. Although the communist insurgency had largely ended by the 1980s, security infrastructure and roadside inspections remained common in strategic border and transport areas such as Ranong. Today, checkpoints in the region are still active, focusing mainly on migration control and contraband interdiction along the Myanmar border.
I live a few kms from the border and get stopped on occasions mainly travelling to Chumphon and return.

Edited May 25May 25 by LosLobo

On 5/24/2026 at 3:06 AM, Nemises said:

You are definitely not alone in feeling this way, but it helps to keep a bit of perspective. Using the word "farang" is simply what Thais have always done, and it is what they always will do. While it can certainly annoy you after living there for a decade, it really is no big deal for most people once you look at the intent behind it.

Here is why it helps to let it go:

• Language habit: It is a deeply ingrained linguistic shorthand, not a calculated insult.

• Lack of malice: In the vast majority of cases, locals use it descriptively without any negative intent.

• Community bond: Since your neighbors know you well, they likely see you as "their" farang, which is actually a sign of acceptance in their own way.

It is completely normal to feel a bit reduced by the label after ten years of integrating. However, trying to change a country's everyday vocabulary will only cause you unnecessary stress. Try to take it as a quirk of the culture rather than a personal slight.

---

Great response. Being a farang is a privilege most visitors do not have.

Why not just embrace it?

I have to smile when I see young kids point at me with their parents and say Farang with a smile on their faces

Does it upset me No is the answer life goes on

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Thai apologist!

Naming people by their race is unacceptable, end of.

That's absurd. We, in the USA and other English-speaking countries, classify and name people by their race all the time, like Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Indians, Aborigines, Aliens, Martians, etc.

Why, even you are using a racially based name to call yourself on this forum - BritManToo! 😄

Edited May 25May 25 by WDSmart

This can be a delicate subject, but some of us foreigners can be a little overly sensitive when it comes to the word farang.

That said, there are definitely situations where its use feels inappropriate.

For example, I’ve never heard Thai family or close friends refer to me as “the farang”. I’d find that quite offensive - just as I’d be appalled if my family back in the UK referred to my wife simply as “the Asian”.

On the other hand, there are plenty of contexts where the word is used completely naturally and without any negative intent. You hear things like, “I feel like farang food tonight” (said in Thai obviously) or in shops when one assistant says to another, “Go and serve that farang”.... In those situations it’s usually no more than a practical identifier.

Last night, for instance, I was chatting in Thai with a taxi driver and we ended up discussing my accent, and said it was definitely a “farang accent”, which was fair enough.

My point is simply this: there are many situations where the word farang is perfectly acceptable and harmless. Equally, there are times when it can be used lazily, dismissively, or downright rudely. Like most labels, a lot depends on the context, the tone, and the intent behind it.

On 5/24/2026 at 7:51 AM, rustinorman said:

What sometimes frustrates me is the way I am addressed. I am often simply “the farang,” a term that I personally perceive as dismissive or even somewhat derogatory, especially when I am around groups of Thai people.

If that frustrates you, after having been in Thailand for 10 years, then you're in the wrong country.

I even call myself farang when referring to level of spicy or other things. My wife calls me farang and I see it as a harmless term of endearment. Don't understand all the excitement here.

I don't have a problem with it at all and, in fact, I use the term myself when I'm talking about any foreigner.

11 hours ago, still kicking said:

I am 80

How much does your wife earn?

I tell Thais I'm Khun Khon Kaen

3 hours ago, WDSmart said:

That's absurd. We, in the USA and other English-speaking countries, classify and name people by their race all the time, like Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Indians, Aborigines, Aliens, Martians, etc.

Why, even you are using a racially based name to call yourself on this forum - BritManToo! 😄

Like all lefties, you hate countries and want a one world government.

Why not write a worthless book that nobody wants to read.

Edited May 25May 25 by BritManToo

I could care less.

I get called worse on the daily.

Next

...

On 5/24/2026 at 8:16 AM, steve187 said:

you stand out as a farang, whereas how would Thai's know your an American, or an Australian, Canadian or European, the word is used as an identifier, its not used as insulting, well that's the way i see it, you can be annoyed all you like , but you will always be identified as a foreigner, that's how you stand out in a group

On 5/24/2026 at 8:16 AM, steve187 said:

you stand out as a farang, whereas how would Thai's know your an American, or an Australian, Canadian or European, the word is used as an identifier, its not used as insulting, well that's the way i see it, you can be annoyed all you like , but you will always be identified as a foreigner, that's how you stand out in a group

The correct (and polite) word for "foreigner" is not "farang", it is "khon tangchart".

In a polite and educated environment, you won't hear "farang".

17 minutes ago, Hish said:

The correct (and polite) word for "foreigner" is not "farang", it is "khon tangchart".

In a polite and educated environment, you won't hear "farang".

Khon tang-chat is all foreigners. Farang is reserved for whitey’s, so get used to it or move on to somewhere else.

3 hours ago, Rockyroad said:

I tell Thais I'm Khun Khon Kaen

You missed the T out at the end of Khun.

Don't mention the Guava, or the L and the R variation of Fa(l)(r)ang.

Kiwi whites are called Pakeha. Reputedly because it is the indigenous Maori (politically correctly pronounced Mouldy with a semi-silent L) interpretation of bugger-ya, often expressed as a white colonial(s) frustration at their (the Mouldy) inability to follow guidance.

Maori (or Mouldy) does not have a plural. One Mouldy, many Mouldy.

Are we Guavas en masse, or simply a bunch of Guava in the singular. It's just a bunch of coconuts anyway.

1 hour ago, novacova said:

Khon tang-chat is all foreigners. Farang is reserved for whitey’s, so get used to it or move on to somewhere else.

1 hour ago, novacova said:

Khon tang-chat is all foreigners. Farang is reserved for whitey’s, so get used to it or move on to somewhere else.

I understand nowwhy people call you "farang"😅

@richard_smith237 I believe this to be quite right

"My point is simply this: there are many situations where the word farang is perfectly acceptable and harmless. Equally, there are times when it can be used lazily, dismissively, or downright rudely. Like most labels, a lot depends on the context, the tone, and the intent behind it."

Experienced a Thai woman cutting in front of me in a Supercheap supermarket line that was long and she turned to me and sort of nastily said "Farang", like it was her right to cut in as I was a foreigner in a Thai market.

Other side of the coin some Thai kids sort of playfully saying "Farang" to me and I joked back "mai, phom chop saparot!" and they all laughed.

Overall don't think too much about it and let it go.

5 hours ago, Priorexpat said:

Other side of the coin some Thai kids sort of playfully saying "Farang" to me and I joked back "mai, phom chop saparot!" and they all laughed.

Overall don't think too much about it and let it go.

The correct response would be 'Mare Mung Thai'

13 hours ago, WDSmart said:

That's absurd. We, in the USA and other English-speaking countries, classify and name people by their race all the time, like Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Indians, Aborigines, Aliens, Martians, etc.

Why, even you are using a racially based name to call yourself on this forum - BritManToo! 😄

That's true, but we don't call out Thai! when one walks by when we're with another American. And we don't, besides the prejudiced parents, teach our children to point out others who aren't white and say Black, Mexican, Asian or Chinese! It's always best to be quiet when you're referring to another when you're with someone. It also keeps many from being beaten.

6 hours ago, Hish said:

I understand nowwhy people call you "farang"😅

Lame as your weak resentment of being called a farang you farang. You find being called farang offensive goes to show how pathetically sensitive you are. Farang is a common reference for white people, apparently you never watched the any of the news here where farang is common when they’re referring to us whitey’s, and khon tang-chat is used when they’re referring to foreigners in general. Though a nincompoop who doesn’t pay attention and only gets their information asking the internet for answers wouldn’t know that now would they.

Edited May 26May 26 by novacova