According to my husband, using Na gliat to anyone (other that a very close friend in jest) is likely to have the result of getting your face punched

The best way I have found when being commented on in a possibly insulting way is to just play the dumb farang & turn it back to them.

i.e.. them: ohh you pompoui

me: yes you pompui, (Point at their belly & look them up & down with smile on face), mai pen rai.

Them: ??? confused as to whether they have been insulted or not

As for throwing offensive thai phrases at someone, unless you are fully fluent & aware of the words & connotations you are using I would avoid it.

If anybody needs an idea of how ridiculous it sounds using offensive words of a language you're entirely familiar with, have a listen/read to Thai people swearing in English. While still offensive, it usually backfires equally on the speaker owing to the lack of comprehension displayed. Best avoided entirely.

Re the topic, thanks to (mostly) pleasant reminders from my wife about my size, I'm now looking better than when I arrived here 8 years ago. The reaction when people see the transformation is worth it in itself.

Kids are vicious little creatures, prone to picking on the different, the strange and the ugly. Mai suay is absolutely not even remotely in the same class as pompui.

We moved alot when I was a kid, and so I was almost always the new kid in town. Some places were ok, and the kids were nice, and some places were horrible and the kids mean and nasty. IME, alot depends on the school and teacher and what they allow the kids to get away with.

The original poster, ilovemangos, tied in ugly with pompoui

mai suay = not beautiful

Edited April 21, 201016 yr by chantaal

OP wanted to respond to pompoui with nagliet. And has been informed by more than a few that it would be far more offensive than pompoui ever could be. But perhaps, after 22 years in Thailand, my Thai isn't up to scratch. So perhaps you would accept Mig16's explanation better, being a native Thai person, after all?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?s=...t&p=3517309

I think there needs to be some clarification here. Clearly there are malicious people out there who delight in insulting others in order to make themselves feel better. These people enjoy the little nasty jabs and probably get some kind of little thrill out of seeing the pain on other people's faces. I've known these people in Thailand, the United States, I've met people from countries all over the world that are like this. They are sad individuals in my mind. Do I waste my energy on reciprocating in the same way? Generally, no. I try not to stoop to their level.

Then there are the unthinking people who say the first thing that pops into their heads without any idea that it will affect the other person or that it might, indeed even hurt the other person. These people would be confused by the nasty response and frankly, would wonder what the heck was wrong with you that you were such a prickly unpleasant person. My great niece is a cute lilte toddler. She also has dark skin. From her birth, I have heard the unthinking, thoughtless phrase pop out of nearly everyone's mouth, "Oh she is so cute, too bad she is dark" . Can all these people possibly intend to be malicious to a baby? i doubt it. Instead, its a thoughtless response that just pops into their head.

Sure, she's ok with it now, but as it continues, and it will continue because this is a common Thai characteristic, to say the first thing about a person's appearance that pops into your head "My you are tall" "goodness you have very white skin" "you have red hair!" etc etc, this cute little girl will develop a complex about the color of her skin.

I think the best option when dealing with hearing comments that are not meant to be hurtful but are, is the one previously suggested. "Oh, you think I am fat? Oh, I am not pretty then". The unthinking person will realize that they've hurt your feelings. In time, you should be able to tell the difference between those with malicious intent and those who just don't think.

IMO, malicious intent is far worse than thoughtlessness. But, my mother always used to say something when she encountered a nasty person or a someone who was pointedly rude.

"I wonder what happened in their lives that made them so unhappy"

apropro.... we had an independance day bbq with thai (southern citified thai)women friends, both older, one with her young daughter; all have been living in israel for many many years. we were with my best friend and neighbhor, a morrocan jewish woman who is fat, ,very morrocan style- dark, loud, laughs alot, considered 'large hearted', complete with head covering wrapped around her hair... and she loves to cook... her husband is tall and thin and very polish (also his ethnicity but also a euphemism here for 'dry, super polite, not loud and vulgar and lively). T. the thai waoman suddenly says in the top of her voice in hebrew: oh. look. a fat woman always has a thin husband and a thin woman (referring to me) always has a fat husband. -- fortunately, we have the same saying practically in hebrew, and between neighbhors this kind of joshing is exceptable here..... and my fat friend has a good sense of humour as does her husband; and we all said at the same time that anon (myhusband) has extra padding because of my boniness (referring to bed time activites)....

it was all very funny but would not have gone over well with super anglo friends or an all 'polish' group of people.

ilovemangos,

just don't let anybody bring you down