IKEA Products Make Thai Shoppers Blush

[Sunderland]

I've heard many Thais, and even Filipinos resident in Bangkok, calling the store 'Ih-kia' or 'Icky' rather than 'Ikea'. I know it sounds vaguely like the impolite 'I-hia' in Thai but even still ... it's name is Ikea.

I don't roll on the floor or look shocked when a Thai tells me his or her name is Poo or even Poo-Poo, or when someone says his name is Kant or Gunt. You know you've been here too long when you consider Supaporn, Titiporn and Wichaporn to be perfectly normal names like Mary, Jane and Rachel.

[Rionoir]

I've heard many Thais, and even Filipinos resident in Bangkok, calling the store 'Ih-kia' or 'Icky' rather than 'Ikea'. I know it sounds vaguely like the impolite 'I-hia' in Thai but even still ... it's name is Ikea.

I don't roll on the floor or look shocked when a Thai tells me his or her name is Poo or even Poo-Poo, or when someone says his name is Kant or Gunt. You know you've been here too long when you consider Supaporn, Titiporn and Wichaporn to be perfectly normal names like Mary, Jane and Rachel.

Right on!

[01322521959]

Reminds me of the time my cousin and his girlfriend came out here and I told them the Thai word for pumpkin...

[01322521959]

Or the time I was stopped by the BIB and found myself saying " I hear what you say, but I don't understand what I've done wrong." Or using the English word 'he' in a certain tone of voice...

[animatic]

A Profesor Kraft related that his neighbor in the Brookline Mass. phonebook,.

was an orthodox (can't ever change name) gentleman called "Hymen Kreme".

And a advertising exec. came forward with a 'new, short, catchy name '

for a new detergent product.

Wash your clothes with DREK!!!!

Of course the only jewish man at the presentation almost fell from his chair,

since in either hebrew or yiddish drek means fecal matter.

What's good for one national goose may get another national goose truly stuffed.

It is always good to have a local person with some knowledge of local customs,

when you open an new market, and give them enough clout to make changes if needed.

And i Thailand tell them they MUST speak up, that's their job...

Edited June 5, 2012 by animatic

[TheWalkingMan]

I like the "nova" car name which in Spanish "no va" means "not going"... Not a good name for a car. "Not Going"!

lol

I was thinking about this incident while out today.

[ginjag]

Remembering all those years ago, at school, 2 names came to mind -classmates- I will give the full name. Alfred Huckham, Isaac Hunt. the morning roll call was a brill start to the day.--and to add the ladies underwear company, label Fanny. TRUE

[GentlemanJim]

In the british Air Force the mainstay of the Air Maritime fleet was an aircraft called the 'Nimrod'. My understanding is that the cousins in the states use the word Nimrod in the same context as Wank*r. It was always fun at the joint services flight exercises hearing the Brit maritime guys in the evening telling their American counterparts they were Nimrod Pilots.

[IsaanUSA]

So what does redalen mean exactly in Thai? I have no idea what "getting to third base" means. Is that a euphemism for anal sex?

Oh my how the bases have changed! I can't even imagine what a home run would be!

[endure]

Check out this gem in Pondicherry, India.

[Thaddeus]

Check out this gem in Pondicherry, India.

The golden shower is the name of a flower, so reading that as a bit oooh aaahh missus is down to the individual. The one next door with the logo of an ejaculating penis however, crosses all linguistic barriers.

[edwardandtubs]

Maybe one other posted has noted the fact that there are a half-dozen, at least, everyday Thai words that translate horribly into English, even if they are being mispronounced according to Thailand's rules of transliteration:

Phuket (I have overhead Indians, Australians, Europeans, and members of my own family get this one, hilariously, wrong)

Poon

Cum

Porn

Fuk

...

A well-rounded, thoughtful article would have included that for relative consideration and analysis. But this is Thailand and this article in from The Nation.

True. I don't think people with porn, wank, shit, phis and thitti in their names should be too coy about these things.

[noitom]

What customer would stand there "reading the Ikea catalog aloud?" The linked story indicates that the Thai staff has been working on this for four years. What is "getting to third base" in Thailand? Does Thailand have bases? As in baseball? Is "third base" an actual expression as in American English?

[Yunla]

My favourite is still when the Swedish weather-woman Ulrika Johnson, on UK breakfast-TV said ;

“Snow continues to fall across the country. I had a good eight inches last night,"

More funny because she kept reading the weather for a while until she noticed everyone else in the studio rolling around on the floor.

I always buy local furniture made by local craftsmen, its usually better than Ikea imo and supports family businesses.

Edited June 5, 2012 by Yunla

[kimamey]

It happens to the best of companies. Rolls Royce almost called one of their cars Silver Mist. Mist apparently translates in German as sh_t.

Sound like the Mazda Laputa, which I believe means 'whore' in Spanish

You won't find many Mitsubishi Pajeros in Spanish speaking parts of the world as Pajero means.....<deleted>!

!

It was named after a wild cat oddly from Spanish speaking Argentina I think but is called a Montero in Spain and many a few other countries. In the UK it's called a Shogun although you often see the name Pajero on spare wheel covers and on imported vehicles.

[kimamey]

I heard of someone with the name Kerr who insisted on calling their son Wayne.

My Thai gf often says porn when she means prawn ........or is it the other way round? Not really sure now.

[EvilDrSomkid]

Red, pronounced with a t sound, means bitch.

[berg1666]

In Japanese

Camry (as in toyota camry) = foreskin

And I used to visit a ramen shop close to Nagoya port called "Seamen Noodles", yep. Was a bit on the salty side.

[blazes]

I like the "nova" car name which in Spanish "no va" means "not going"... Not a good name for a car. "Not Going"!

jayjayjayjay, this post is like your name....

[12DrinkMore]

Or the time I was stopped by the BIB and found myself saying " I hear what you say, but I don't understand what I've done wrong." Or using the English word 'he' in a certain tone of voice...

I find it useful to stress the "Krap" at the end of each sentence.

[DisainaM]

What customer would stand there "reading the Ikea catalog aloud?

Me,

when entering IKEA Thailand, starting to read the cataloge from the end, to the first page,

what is the title on the frontpage, when you wanted to leave the shop ???

PLEASE RETURN THE CATALOGE

this, you can read loud,

cause IKEA Thailand is the only one, with this habbit.

[MickGC]

Maybe one other posted has noted the fact that there are a half-dozen, at least, everyday Thai words that translate horribly into English, even if they are being mispronounced according to Thailand's rules of transliteration:

Phuket (I have overhead Indians, Australians, Europeans, and members of my own family get this one, hilariously, wrong)

Poon

Cum

Porn

Fuk

...

A well-rounded, thoughtful article would have included that for relative consideration and analysis. But this is Thailand and this article in from The Nation.

True. I don't think people with porn, wank, shit, phis and thitti in their names should be too coy about these things.

coy - there's another one

[saengsureeya]

As usual, Thais do only hear what they want to hear.

In Holland we say: Oost-Indisch doof (Eastern Indonesian deaf)

[DocN]

Oh yeah...the good and innocent thai-people...how will they ever find peace after hearing a word like ....whatever it is they think they hear!?

BTW: in the German IKEA there was "GUDVIK" ...and it was a bed for children...!

[folium]

I worked in the US with a great guy who rejoiced in the name of Randy Baumgardner and he could never understand why the Brits would giggle when he was introduced.

I get the Randy (how to Brits shorten Randall?) but is the Baumgardner relevant somehow?

No Brit would be so cruel as to call a child Randall (though few things surprise me now), it would be like an American boy being called Horn!!

As for the Baumgardner bit, this is an obviously too subtle/too crass play on bum/baum and "gardner" referencing the rather unpleasant phrase "uphill gardening". Few jokes survive explanation as this case underlines!

[folium]

Sad story of a friend called Emma, engaged to be married, but it then was called off. The only thing that cheered her up was the fact that she had escaped a lifetime of childish giggles as her ex-prospective husband was called Simon Royds!!

[OBLEDUT]

It happens to the best of companies. Rolls Royce almost called one of their cars Silver Mist. Mist apparently translates in German as sh_t.

Honda had to rename "fitta" to "jazz" in Sweden coz fitta means pussy :-o

[mayday49]

Nova in Latin based language means STAR........too much BS for our age.....

[fishhooks]

Be thankful if you are living in Thailand and purchasing from IKEA.

Their prices in Australia are almost double for the identical item.

It hasn't done much good, but they've had very bad publicity on TV Current Affairs programs.

Edited June 6, 2012 by fishhooks

[allan michaud]

Mazda LaPuta (in spanish: "the whore")

Nissan Moco (in spanish: "booger")

Buick LaCrosse (in French: "masturbating teenagers")

Opel Ascona (in Spain and Portugal: "female genitalia")

Honda Fitta (in swedish and norwegian: "c u n t")

Dodge Swinger

The Vauxhall 'Corsa' failed in, I think, Argentina as it was slang for gayboy.