From A Thai Woman’s Curiosity, How Can You Know “what’s His/her Nationality When He/she Just Pass By?”

[isabelle17]

Hmm this makes me wonder..am I really an american!?!?! I think I must have been born and raised in the wrong country then!

[Westerner]

Ok..Let's get back to the topic..

My turns, I did observation as well... but this is just my 2 cents, based on my homorous feeling and humbleness...

British: Their accent is quite special.....umm..I can't help to say I like this accent...it kinda sexy tone.. . They are not quite tall and lady quite a little chubby. Actually, for me - Rooney is a very good representative of british man...exactly.

Got me laughing at this one Midori. God help the British men if they all look like Wayne Rooney. The only way they'll ever get lucky is if they have his money

And God help the British women, too!!

[worldfun]

I like the idea of this post - try to guess a persons nationality based on his appearance and/or talking/behaviour.

As others have mentioned it can be a 'fun' game to play & I pride myself in often guessing right as well (usually verified by language, passport some other way or by their answer if asked) :-)

Best way to learn is to interact/work/live with as many nationalities as possible preferably by living/working in different regions and/or traveling a lot. I did/do that.

It probably also helps a lot knowing multiple languages & perhaps being of non English speaking origin not sure...

So for the OP keep on guessing & you'll likely improve your guessing day by day or even discover that persons may vary more than nationalities LOL.

If so it probably means a 1 person experience 'sample' of a nationality might actually be worse than none as it may cloud that nations perception - anyway - cheers & happy new years!!!

BTW Midori where are you from & are you partly ethnic Chinese?

Where do you think I'm from if not Thai or farangse LOL? A hint is that I got greenish eye color & bad (non sexy) english accent???

Edited April 13, 2008 by worldfun

[Thai at Heart]

People the world over will always use the differences in people to make others aware who you are talking about!

It it not rude to do so, only efficient!!

It all depends on the setting. If you are in a bar and you are refering to a farang at another table, then it is fine to say farang. If you are sitting there with your friends and your farang boyfriend and you want to tell your friend that your boyfriend just bought you a present, then you should not say that the farang just bought you a present, you should say that your "boyfriend" did, or better yet, use his name. It is ok to collectively call caucasion people farang when refering to them all. But when you refer to a single person that you know or are interacting with, you should used their name.

I completely disagree. Farang in itself is a ridiculous collective noun that bears absolutely no relation to whether a person is from North, South, East or West. To that extent it is no better than just about every other offensive and lazy collective noun in the world. If there was one word that Thai culture could do with eradicating it would be farang. In China I hear the word "weigoren" about twice a week in business discussions, in Thailand "Farang" would be 10 times a day. It is so inaccurate in description that it is to me, personally offensive.

Others may think not, and that is up to them.

"My American/British/European/Australian boss is a good/bad guy."

"My farang boss is a good/bad guy."

Just because the individual is not present you can see that grouping people in this way is absolutely without meaning. We have been discussing generalities of countries, when even within the UK, Germany or the US, people from different geographies within those countries see their ways of life as completely different.

It encourages people in Thailand to create gross generalities whilst as people have been writing, there are enormous differences in attitudes and cultures across all spheres of the farang world. As I have mentioned before, it also leads to terrible generalisations such as the word "Kaek", which while we farangs complain, is a generally derogatory word that encompasses over 1.5bn people.

But then of course, all Asians are the same aren't they. Lets see if the Chinese and the Japanese agree on that one shall we?

[jayhech]

I once heard the guy talk English but with French accent so I said to him "you must be from France". The guy was kind enough he smiled at me and said "no, I'm from Reunion Island. Do you know?" From then on I realised there's no point trying to guess or wonder where they're from since trying to pinpoint someone that they're from somewhere doesn't really help me say much about that person. I decided to ask straight away....not where they're from but the motives of what they do that makes me become curious about them.

[jayhech]

People the world over will always use the differences in people to make others aware who you are talking about!

It it not rude to do so, only efficient!!

It all depends on the setting. If you are in a bar and you are refering to a farang at another table, then it is fine to say farang. If you are sitting there with your friends and your farang boyfriend and you want to tell your friend that your boyfriend just bought you a present, then you should not say that the farang just bought you a present, you should say that your "boyfriend" did, or better yet, use his name. It is ok to collectively call caucasion people farang when refering to them all. But when you refer to a single person that you know or are interacting with, you should used their name.

I completely disagree. Farang in itself is a ridiculous collective noun that bears absolutely no relation to whether a person is from North, South, East or West. To that extent it is no better than just about every other offensive and lazy collective noun in the world. If there was one word that Thai culture could do with eradicating it would be farang. In China I hear the word "weigoren" about twice a week in business discussions, in Thailand "Farang" would be 10 times a day. It is so inaccurate in description that it is to me, personally offensive.

Others may think not, and that is up to them.

"My American/British/European/Australian boss is a good/bad guy."

"My farang boss is a good/bad guy."

Just because the individual is not present you can see that grouping people in this way is absolutely without meaning. We have been discussing generalities of countries, when even within the UK, Germany or the US, people from different geographies within those countries see their ways of life as completely different.

It encourages people in Thailand to create gross generalities whilst as people have been writing, there are enormous differences in attitudes and cultures across all spheres of the farang world. As I have mentioned before, it also leads to terrible generalisations such as the word "Kaek", which while we farangs complain, is a generally derogatory word that encompasses over 1.5bn people.

But then of course, all Asians are the same aren't they. Lets see if the Chinese and the Japanese agree on that one shall we?

How about "Chao Tang Chart" (foreigner - though this word is a big taboo in Halifax, Canada, my direct experience) if you don't know the nationality?

As I'm sitting here trying to think of those terms used to call people from different nationalities by Asian countries, I can't help but recalling those words I heard from my "farang" friends (too many of them it will be a long list if I try to write them all here) who talk about chink, jap, nip, sand nigger, darkie, etc. Am I write to say there are all sorts of names out there for everyone? Or am I steering to racism issue? My intention is not.

Anyways, as the OP said she wanted to understand the mentality and characters of people who come from other countries (I'm guessing be it the west or the east) and I'm sure she's learning a great deal.

[Thai at Heart]

People the world over will always use the differences in people to make others aware who you are talking about!

It it not rude to do so, only efficient!!

It all depends on the setting. If you are in a bar and you are refering to a farang at another table, then it is fine to say farang. If you are sitting there with your friends and your farang boyfriend and you want to tell your friend that your boyfriend just bought you a present, then you should not say that the farang just bought you a present, you should say that your "boyfriend" did, or better yet, use his name. It is ok to collectively call caucasion people farang when refering to them all. But when you refer to a single person that you know or are interacting with, you should used their name.

I completely disagree. Farang in itself is a ridiculous collective noun that bears absolutely no relation to whether a person is from North, South, East or West. To that extent it is no better than just about every other offensive and lazy collective noun in the world. If there was one word that Thai culture could do with eradicating it would be farang. In China I hear the word "weigoren" about twice a week in business discussions, in Thailand "Farang" would be 10 times a day. It is so inaccurate in description that it is to me, personally offensive.

Others may think not, and that is up to them.

"My American/British/European/Australian boss is a good/bad guy."

"My farang boss is a good/bad guy."

Just because the individual is not present you can see that grouping people in this way is absolutely without meaning. We have been discussing generalities of countries, when even within the UK, Germany or the US, people from different geographies within those countries see their ways of life as completely different.

It encourages people in Thailand to create gross generalities whilst as people have been writing, there are enormous differences in attitudes and cultures across all spheres of the farang world. As I have mentioned before, it also leads to terrible generalisations such as the word "Kaek", which while we farangs complain, is a generally derogatory word that encompasses over 1.5bn people.

But then of course, all Asians are the same aren't they. Lets see if the Chinese and the Japanese agree on that one shall we?

How about "Chao Tang Chart" (foreigner - though this word is a big taboo in Halifax, Canada, my direct experience) if you don't know the nationality?

As I'm sitting here trying to think of those terms used to call people from different nationalities by Asian countries, I can't help but recalling those words I heard from my "farang" friends (too many of them it will be a long list if I try to write them all here) who talk about chink, jap, nip, sand nigger, darkie, etc. Am I write to say there are all sorts of names out there for everyone? Or am I steering to racism issue? My intention is not.

Anyways, as the OP said she wanted to understand the mentality and characters of people who come from other countries (I'm guessing be it the west or the east) and I'm sure she's learning a great deal.

Chao Tang Chart, is to me at least accurate, but then again wouldn't be used to describe a foreign Asian would it.

I didn't want to write down all the derogatory words that exist because they are pointless. And yes these words exist everywhere, but fortunately are being used less and less commonly.

Racism is a terrible thing and collective nouns demean everyone. It is just that in Thailand, farang is so engrained in part of the language people can't see past their own noses about how lazy it is as a description. One only has to watch opinion pieces on Thai news from supposedly educated people to see how poor their understanding of the outside world really is. Farang this, farang that, bla bla bla.

Your only hope of working out quickly and with only about a 60% chance of accuracy is to listen to them speak, and then listen to them speak a bit more. Then be careful not to offend by calling asking a Belgian if he is French or a Scotsman if he is English.

[BugJackBaron]

If they are handsome, polite and muscular they must be Canadian!!

Are there are Canadians here, eh? -

[jayhech]

People the world over will always use the differences in people to make others aware who you are talking about!

It it not rude to do so, only efficient!!

It all depends on the setting. If you are in a bar and you are refering to a farang at another table, then it is fine to say farang. If you are sitting there with your friends and your farang boyfriend and you want to tell your friend that your boyfriend just bought you a present, then you should not say that the farang just bought you a present, you should say that your "boyfriend" did, or better yet, use his name. It is ok to collectively call caucasion people farang when refering to them all. But when you refer to a single person that you know or are interacting with, you should used their name.

I completely disagree. Farang in itself is a ridiculous collective noun that bears absolutely no relation to whether a person is from North, South, East or West. To that extent it is no better than just about every other offensive and lazy collective noun in the world. If there was one word that Thai culture could do with eradicating it would be farang. In China I hear the word "weigoren" about twice a week in business discussions, in Thailand "Farang" would be 10 times a day. It is so inaccurate in description that it is to me, personally offensive.

Others may think not, and that is up to them.

"My American/British/European/Australian boss is a good/bad guy."

"My farang boss is a good/bad guy."

Just because the individual is not present you can see that grouping people in this way is absolutely without meaning. We have been discussing generalities of countries, when even within the UK, Germany or the US, people from different geographies within those countries see their ways of life as completely different.

It encourages people in Thailand to create gross generalities whilst as people have been writing, there are enormous differences in attitudes and cultures across all spheres of the farang world. As I have mentioned before, it also leads to terrible generalisations such as the word "Kaek", which while we farangs complain, is a generally derogatory word that encompasses over 1.5bn people.

But then of course, all Asians are the same aren't they. Lets see if the Chinese and the Japanese agree on that one shall we?

How about "Chao Tang Chart" (foreigner - though this word is a big taboo in Halifax, Canada, my direct experience) if you don't know the nationality?

As I'm sitting here trying to think of those terms used to call people from different nationalities by Asian countries, I can't help but recalling those words I heard from my "farang" friends (too many of them it will be a long list if I try to write them all here) who talk about chink, jap, nip, sand nigger, darkie, etc. Am I write to say there are all sorts of names out there for everyone? Or am I steering to racism issue? My intention is not.

Anyways, as the OP said she wanted to understand the mentality and characters of people who come from other countries (I'm guessing be it the west or the east) and I'm sure she's learning a great deal.

Chao Tang Chart, is to me at least accurate, but then again wouldn't be used to describe a foreign Asian would it.

I didn't want to write down all the derogatory words that exist because they are pointless. And yes these words exist everywhere, but fortunately are being used less and less commonly.

Racism is a terrible thing and collective nouns demean everyone. It is just that in Thailand, farang is so engrained in part of the language people can't see past their own noses about how lazy it is as a description. One only has to watch opinion pieces on Thai news from supposedly educated people to see how poor their understanding of the outside world really is. Farang this, farang that, bla bla bla.

Your only hope of working out quickly and with only about a 60% chance of accuracy is to listen to them speak, and then listen to them speak a bit more. Then be careful not to offend by calling asking a Belgian if he is French or a Scotsman if he is English.

I agree. Usually nationality isn't the first thing I find out about the person. It often comes after a bit of a talk if it's really relevant.

However, I do believe that "Chao Tang Chart" or "Tang Dao" imply to any one in Thailand that doesn't hold Thai nationality.

[sgunn65]

If they are handsome, polite and muscular they must be Canadian!!

Are there are Canadians here, eh? -

I usually look for the mullet haircut

[grantbkk]

LOL!

Shirtless or just a tank top in BKK: British

Came for two week holiday with money for one week: British

Looking around in wonder/confusion: American (like me)

Dressed for golf all the time: Japanese

So drunk they can't stand or talk: Irish or British

Sory Grantbkk, I couldn't resist, you missed this one out.....

Complaining about the price of ice cream, and calling for a boycott of the product.: American

Actually the ice cream product comes from the Canadian arm of an American conglomerate, produced in France and franchised to a company in Hong Kong then distributed in Thailand at a controlled price. Maybe that is why it is so expensive.

Good eye Mr. Toad!

[MidoriApple]

Hi, guys... I had been lost so long..... bz works!!

Trying to answer by individually, but seem like I can't, too much to do in just a little time.

So the conclusion come out like it is not always guessed by their looks, accent... best is directly asking...

This one seems like the best reason why.....

Regarding the Nationality of Caucasians. As a Caucasian, no idea. We may guess, but as a bit less than 2000 years ago Europe was shook up by tremendous migrations all over the continent, and subsequent empires having been built and fell again, all of Europe (and the US and Australia) is a huge ethnic mix.

Certain fashions may be more typical to some nationalities (germans - white sox and sandals, big beergut, brits - football shirts with vomit stains ), so we may make an educated guess, but not more.

[MidoriApple]

If a Farang walks past you and is muttering under his breath about how everything in Thailand is useless and so much better where he comes from, you may not have any idea of his Nationality.............

.......but, he's probably a member of a Thai related Internet Forum.

I like your answer..... It seems EXACTLY right!!!!

[MidoriApple]

fa-rang-mang-kha ฝรั่งมังค่า (I don't know the meaning)

I am told by my friends that this is an adjective and means "like/similar" to a farang................. a thai would say that someone who isn't a farang but acts like one

not sure if its right or not but am sure it will spark some debate.

Thanks for the information.. Never known before....

[MidoriApple]

Ok..Let's get back to the topic..

My turns, I did observation as well... but this is just my 2 cents, based on my homorous feeling and humbleness...

British: Their accent is quite special.....umm..I can't help to say I like this accent...it kinda sexy tone.. . They are not quite tall and lady quite a little chubby. Actually, for me - Rooney is a very good representative of british man...exactly.

Got me laughing at this one Midori. God help the British men if they all look like Wayne Rooney. The only way they'll ever get lucky is if they have his money

Ha..ha... Jing Jing!!! But this is just my 2 cents...

I just thought what if 3 Westerners pass by, and one them look similar to Rooney...

I can immidiately point out he is British... 100%...

[MidoriApple]

I like the idea of this post - try to guess a persons nationality based on his appearance and/or talking/behaviour.

As others have mentioned it can be a 'fun' game to play & I pride myself in often guessing right as well (usually verified by language, passport some other way or by their answer if asked) :-)

Best way to learn is to interact/work/live with as many nationalities as possible preferably by living/working in different regions and/or traveling a lot. I did/do that.

It probably also helps a lot knowing multiple languages & perhaps being of non English speaking origin not sure...

So for the OP keep on guessing & you'll likely improve your guessing day by day or even discover that persons may vary more than nationalities LOL.

If so it probably means a 1 person experience 'sample' of a nationality might actually be worse than none as it may cloud that nations perception - anyway - cheers & happy new years!!!

BTW Midori where are you from & are you partly ethnic Chinese?

Where do you think I'm from if not Thai or farangse LOL? A hint is that I got greenish eye color & bad (non sexy) english accent???

Thanks that you like my Q, also keeping on guessing & find the answer is what I intend to do so....

Like playing game for me as well as others said......besides, i feel really good to get knowing new people day by day...

BTW Midori where are you from & are you partly ethnic Chinese?

Actually, I must say I am fully-Chinese, but I was born and live all my life here in Bangkok.

So I am supposed to called "khon Thai", my family remains our lives along the Chinese's belief and culture... (not strictly)

(Is my English a bit weird..... "word - remains our lives along"?)

Where do you think I'm from if not Thai or farangse LOL?

A hint is that I got greenish eye color & bad (non sexy) english accent???

I do have answer in my mind right now, from the hint "you have bad, non-sexy english accent"

But I am always a bad guesser, please give me some more hints.... and I will try....once again

[tijnebijn]

You definitely can spot a Brit easy . Most have a face like Gary Lineker ( old soccer player ) .

Or the mix of Rooney and the other ManU player , Paul Scholes is the name . Some get lucky like Beckham .

The woman are more famous though ......

Think the French are more easy to spot , then I'm thinking why I am replying on this thread ....

[MidoriApple]

Belgian: I have no idea, but all i know now is their chocolate and waffle are extremely delicious

So, if one have some chocolate spots on one's T-shirt, one have to be belgian ?

What if that Belgian one has his waffles as well, he would be my favorite, no doubt!

[MidoriApple]

People the world over will always use the differences in people to make others aware who you are talking about!

It it not rude to do so, only efficient!!

It all depends on the setting. If you are in a bar and you are refering to a farang at another table, then it is fine to say farang. If you are sitting there with your friends and your farang boyfriend and you want to tell your friend that your boyfriend just bought you a present, then you should not say that the farang just bought you a present, you should say that your "boyfriend" did, or better yet, use his name. It is ok to collectively call caucasion people farang when refering to them all. But when you refer to a single person that you know or are interacting with, you should used their name.

I completely disagree. Farang in itself is a ridiculous collective noun that bears absolutely no relation to whether a person is from North, South, East or West. To that extent it is no better than just about every other offensive and lazy collective noun in the world. If there was one word that Thai culture could do with eradicating it would be farang. In China I hear the word "weigoren" about twice a week in business discussions, in Thailand "Farang" would be 10 times a day. It is so inaccurate in description that it is to me, personally offensive.

Others may think not, and that is up to them.

"My American/British/European/Australian boss is a good/bad guy."

"My farang boss is a good/bad guy."

Just because the individual is not present you can see that grouping people in this way is absolutely without meaning. We have been discussing generalities of countries, when even within the UK, Germany or the US, people from different geographies within those countries see their ways of life as completely different.

It encourages people in Thailand to create gross generalities whilst as people have been writing, there are enormous differences in attitudes and cultures across all spheres of the farang world. As I have mentioned before, it also leads to terrible generalisations such as the word "Kaek", which while we farangs complain, is a generally derogatory word that encompasses over 1.5bn people.

But then of course, all Asians are the same aren't they. Lets see if the Chinese and the Japanese agree on that one shall we?

How about "Chao Tang Chart" (foreigner - though this word is a big taboo in Halifax, Canada, my direct experience) if you don't know the nationality?

As I'm sitting here trying to think of those terms used to call people from different nationalities by Asian countries, I can't help but recalling those words I heard from my "farang" friends (too many of them it will be a long list if I try to write them all here) who talk about chink, jap, nip, sand nigger, darkie, etc. Am I write to say there are all sorts of names out there for everyone? Or am I steering to racism issue? My intention is not.

Anyways, as the OP said she wanted to understand the mentality and characters of people who come from other countries (I'm guessing be it the west or the east) and I'm sure she's learning a great deal.

Chao Tang Chart, is to me at least accurate, but then again wouldn't be used to describe a foreign Asian would it.

I didn't want to write down all the derogatory words that exist because they are pointless. And yes these words exist everywhere, but fortunately are being used less and less commonly.

Racism is a terrible thing and collective nouns demean everyone. It is just that in Thailand, farang is so engrained in part of the language people can't see past their own noses about how lazy it is as a description. One only has to watch opinion pieces on Thai news from supposedly educated people to see how poor their understanding of the outside world really is. Farang this, farang that, bla bla bla.

Your only hope of working out quickly and with only about a 60% chance of accuracy is to listen to them speak, and then listen to them speak a bit more. Then be careful not to offend by calling asking a Belgian if he is French or a Scotsman if he is English.

I agree. Usually nationality isn't the first thing I find out about the person. It often comes after a bit of a talk if it's really relevant.

However, I do believe that "Chao Tang Chart" or "Tang Dao" imply to any one in Thailand that doesn't hold Thai nationality.

Seem like I do have to take all responsibility to word "Farang" all Thai people say, right?

I know how you, Caucasions people feel... In here is not the first time I have heard of this unhappy-feeling.

All I intend to do, so far... I will carefully not say any word of "Farang" anymore.

Just call the westerners like "Chao-Tang-Chat" (ชาวต่างชาติ), "Chao-Tang-Pra-Thes" (ชาวต่างประเทศ), Caucasions and Westerners...

But not "Chao-tang-dhao" (ชาวต่างด้าว) --- This word is too official and a bit too old-fashioned.

IMO, Chao-tang-dhao" (ชาวต่างด้าว) mostly mean foreigners who migrant to stay within the country for very long time,

Chao-tang-dhao" (ชาวต่างด้าว).... I am not sure that they need to register and have Tang-dhao License I/O Thai I.D.Card

and no need to use their own passport....

They will have the right quite similar to local people but cannot do the vote in Political Activities.....

My grandparents are called Chao-tang-dhao (ชาวต่างด้าว) as they live all their life but not born here...

Btw, please don't take this as the fact, I will do more research if I have time....

So... guys, I am begging you "STOP talking/arguing about this "farang" word" at least, to me..

I have done all my best to assure that this word is not RUDE at all...

This is all I can do, I can't make all Thai people not to say this word...

if it's not enough..I afraid I have to respectfully suggest you to pack all your things and leave here!!!!!

I agree that Racism is a terrible thing, and I have had taken this so oftens from the foreigners...even here in my own country.

I felt sorrow but not anymore as I've been already used to it.

No point for me to make complaint of this racism/discremination.

You guys never know how I feel when traveling alone to western countries and had sometimes been treated like half-human.

I'd never done anything wrong but have to accept word from a Westerner "Thailand has the the most prostitutes in the world"

Will you think I am happily accepting the truth?

RACISM/DISCREMINATION ARE DONE ALL OVER THE WORLD...

whoever does, he will take the same as he did to others...

[MidoriApple]

Quote_ You definitely can spot a Brit easy . Most have a face like Gary Lineker ( old soccer player ) .

Gary Lineker? Not very British to me...

By the way, it is unfair to Rooney, unintentionally made a joke on him.

He deserves compliment as he is so good in his career...

Can I take one more representative of English People?

Is "Scottish" a part of them?

A Scottish, my all the time favorite...Sir Thomas Sean Connery....

He is pretty handsome at this age... more than when he was younger than this.

Quote_ then I'm thinking why I am replying on this thread ....

So, Why?

[mrtoad]

LOL!

Shirtless or just a tank top in BKK: British

Came for two week holiday with money for one week: British

Looking around in wonder/confusion: American (like me)

Dressed for golf all the time: Japanese

So drunk they can't stand or talk: Irish or British

Sory Grantbkk, I couldn't resist, you missed this one out.....

Complaining about the price of ice cream, and calling for a boycott of the product.: American

Actually the ice cream product comes from the Canadian arm of an American conglomerate, produced in France and franchised to a company in Hong Kong then distributed in Thailand at a controlled price. Maybe that is why it is so expensive.

Good eye Mr. Toad!

[scotwumman]

Midori still think this is troll if not and apologies are in order you have mine in advance. No one should ever mistake a

Scot for an Englishman and vice versa.

Well not if they'd rather not be the cause of WW3.

Not much mai pen rai in this neck of the woods, also do not get either of them started on the football.

[merck]

Ok..Let's get back to the topic..

My turns, I did observation as well... but this is just my 2 cents, based on my homorous feeling and humbleness...

British: Their accent is quite special.....umm..I can't help to say I like this accent...it kinda sexy tone.. . They are not quite tall and lady quite a little chubby. Actually, for me - Rooney is a very good representative of british man...exactly.

Got me laughing at this one Midori. God help the British men if they all look like Wayne Rooney. The only way they'll ever get lucky is if they have his money

And God help the British women, too!!

I don't know. I think you and Rooney would make a nice couple, sbk.

[wilko]

I've not read all of this interesting thread yet, but it seems that some posters are confusing genetic make up with a false idea of "race" which as a concrete entity does not exist.

normally we identify other "westerners" by cultural triggers and are frequently wrong.

e.g. if they are fat and noisy they are German, very, very fat - American, or fat and smelly - British.

these are stereotypes and although amusing, not terribly helpful in the long run.

my family spans ancestors from 4 continents over the last 150 years but you wouldn't guess it to look at me.