Thai Nickname

[chanchao]

> In addition what if we have an emergency or our embassy need

> to find us and evacuate us

LOL.. that's a good one.. In my experience, embassies don't even pee on you if you were on fire!

> Would you still like to be called "CANDY" when you're 60 yrs old!

Oh that's easy then. Just call yourself 'yaai' (=grandma) which would be just lovely, respectful and endearing for an older Western woman.

Or you could add something to distinguish yourself from the other yaai's, i.e. yaai '<something>'

Cheers,

Chanchao

[chanchao]

'Yaai ATM' perhaps. Or whatever the word for 'farang' is in your neck of the woods... e.g. 'Bakuay' in the North.

[jomama]

I agree with many of the posts...if you are farang, then you will be "farang with the white car" or "farang from Soi 7."

That said, everyone just calls me Khun John, which is my real name. And they accept me as I am. But then, I've paid my bills honestly around here for more than a decade and have been rather reluctant to get too involved in the local stuff.

Simple answer: Be who you are -- nobody trusts a person from another culture who tries too hard to be like them. They expect and want you to be different.

[LadyinRed]

My Thai nickname is Porn

[sierra01]

When I first came here I lived in a village up north, my then TG's 6 y/o neice couldn't say my name very well (Steven) so started calling me Loong (Uncle) Thip. The name stuck and it didn't take long for most of the village to start using it!

By the way, what does Thip, Tip or whatever mean, anyone know?

[Guest endure]

How about "Somchai" ?

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'Somchai' seems to be a name that's thrown around a lot. Does it have particular connotations to be called 'Somchai'?

[girlx]

my nickname in thai is 'nong yim', or just 'yim'- originally bestowed by a friend of a friend, but funny too because everywhere i go in thailand i am automatically called 'yim' whether they know it is my nickname or not! it means "smiling girl".

[Glauka]

my thai nickname is shaba ( i don´t know how to spell it)...is a flower name...

I like it though

[Simbo]

My name is Ron, but my friends call me Golden &lt;deleted&gt; - - - for short.

[The_Other_Mac]

Okay, you can be Phloi (gem/jewel)... if you have kids, your daughter can be Praphai (Ai), and your sons can be Praphan (An), Praphot (Ot) or Praphon (On).    Okay... I like Sii Paendin too much.

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Phloi - sound ok...but look strange....won't work with my friend in the US

An, ot - sound funny and unfinished

and

On - can't imagine telling all the farangs both in thailand and US.....Just call me "ON" o.k?

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Phloi is more often written as Ploy, which to me doesn't look so strange.

An - isn't this the same name that's more often written with the westernised spelling of Ann or Anne?...

Ot - I assume it's the same as the name "Oat" - that might or might not seem more normal to farangs (if you want to invent jokes about sowing wild oats.)

On - can be spelt as "Orn".

There's no point in trying to be unique. Unique is for real names. Nicknames are common words, so they can be easily heard and understood the first time. "Teacup" isn't hard to pronounce, but it's not a recognisable word, so you'll have to repeat it several times and still get blank looks. Didn't you say you wanted to blend in? :-)

Most farangs don't seem to have nicknames. I don't know why not, it seems natural enough to me, especially if your name isn't John or Jane. Having a nickname also allows you to make conscious decisions about formality. When someone invites you to use their nickname (or refers to theirself using their nickname), it's a fairly explicit way of saying they want to have a less formal relationship with you. Without a nickname, that step isn't available.

[OlRedEyes]

I want to blend in with the thai culture and my neighbourhood while living there.

Sorry... Good luck. Seriously.

[Noel]

I want to blend in with the thai culture and my neighbourhood while living there.

Sorry... Good luck. Seriously.

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Do you have a nickname, OlRedEyes?

Just curious...

[Noel]

I'm thinking about mine could be "TeaCup".  Is this sound right? 

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What does it mean in English?

[AlexLah]

I am thinking about that too.

Once in Japan a girl everytime called me: Itai........

It is short and sound funny.

Alex

[skylar]

I couldn't stand having a nickname in Thailand, but as mine's so similar to my real name it was just convenient - มะลิ (jasmine). Sometimes people used to joke about my name as it was pretty similar to the fruit drink brand Malee. My sister was only known by her real name as her nickname is Dot, which in Thai is pronounced as... ตด

[The_Other_Mac]

I want to blend in with the thai culture and my neighbourhood while living there.

Sorry... Good luck. Seriously.

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And for those who are just learning the basics, here's the definition of luk kreung.

[Pudgimelon]

I'm thinking about mine could be "TeaCup". 

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Just call yourself, "Hey You". It'll save time with introductions and it'll mean that all the tuk-tuk drivers will call you by name.

[britmaveric]

bakwon

[Pudgimelon]

I am thinking about that too.

Once in Japan a girl everytime called me: Itai........

It is short and sound funny.

Alex

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My ex-fiance was from Japan. Her nickname for me was "baka".

Later on I found out that was the japanese word for "stupid"..... Guess that's why she's my ex!

[gburns57au]

I once read a book on the origins of Thai traditions, culture, etc. that stated the origins of Thai nicknames came from the belief that evil spirits would take away new born babies if they understood their names. Therefore on birth a baby would be given a nickname by the parents so the spirits could not find them. At 1 month the child would then be given a proper name as they would be safe. A belief obviously stemmed from huge child mortality rates. Don't know if this is true, but sounds logical considering Thai belief in ghosts.

Quite correct and as another poster pointed out, many people change their nicks at some stage.

If you want a nickname just invent a farang one, if you want a thai one, let them do it, but beware of Khwai and Khi Neeow.....

[BambinA]

 

when i read a thread that pudgy post, i always call him (in my mind = pud-gee)พุดจี่ thats short name of พุดจีบ =pood jeep ,a name of flower in TH -

-พุดจีบ (Pinwheelflower)

ohh no one call that flower = Pood gee , just me

Edited December 19, 2005 by BambinA

[Boon Mee]

บุญมี

ฺBoon Mee

[skylar]

How about "Somchai" ?

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'Somchai' seems to be a name that's thrown around a lot. Does it have particular connotations to be called 'Somchai'?

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It means 'to be a man'. Kind of like Adam.

[girlx]

Ot - I assume it's the same as the name "Oat" - that might or might not seem more normal to farangs (if you want to invent jokes about sowing wild oats.)

ha- i just asked my friend this afternoon why his nickname is 'ot' and he said because when he was little he was always eating oatmeal.

his real name is tawatchai so there had to be something.

[britmaveric]

A mate of mine's name is bowling. I ask her why? She said her Dad like to bowl.

[Jeff1]

My Thai nickname is Porn   

Hey , mine too !

Actually im usually called E , Jep

[BambinA]

Actually im usually called E , Jep 

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e jep bah

[Jeff1]

Actually im usually called E , Jep 

e jep bah

That would be my full name .

[OZONE]

Simple enough. how about "Farang Dong"?, since you are a foreigner

Nothing wrong with "pickeled Mango" as name, is there?

[kayo]

  Should I have a nickname too?  I think they're absolutely cute!

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geauwsoonsoongsiip

There you go!