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Check This Falang Out, Fluent Issan Kruu Adam.

krisb

By krisb
in Isaan

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thejcb Advanced Member

thejcb

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I can speak Thai Issan (Laos) and let me tell you they soon tire of falungfs speaking their language. Most of them don't like it and I have even been told I am "kee nock" (worthless)because I can speak Laos. It is not much fun speaking to these people in the villages. been there and done it yawn yawn !!!!

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fatfather Silver Member

fatfather

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I can speak Thai Issan (Laos) and let me tell you they soon tire of falungfs speaking their language. Most of them don't like it and I have even been told I am "kee nock" (worthless)because I can speak Laos. It is not much fun speaking to these people in the villages. been there and done it yawn yawn !!!!

Doesn't 'kee nok' mean 'stingy'?

Fatfather

Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Thaivisa Connect App

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MeMock Gold Member

MeMock

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I can speak Thai Issan (Laos) and let me tell you they soon tire of falungfs speaking their language. Most of them don't like it and I have even been told I am "kee nock" (worthless)because I can speak Laos. It is not much fun speaking to these people in the villages. been there and done it yawn yawn !!!!

You must hang out with some pretty low class kind of people if that is the reaction you get.

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krisb Ruby Member

krisb

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I can speak Thai Issan (Laos) and let me tell you they soon tire of falungfs speaking their language. Most of them don't like it and I have even been told I am "kee nock" (worthless)because I can speak Laos. It is not much fun speaking to these people in the villages. been there and done it yawn yawn !!!!

You must hang out with some pretty low class kind of people if that is the reaction you get.

Agree. Sorry find his story hard to believe.
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Huayrat Silver Member

Huayrat

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I can speak Thai Issan (Laos) and let me tell you they soon tire of falungfs speaking their language. Most of them don't like it and I have even been told I am "kee nock" (worthless)because I can speak Laos. It is not much fun speaking to these people in the villages. been there and done it yawn yawn !!!!

Doesn't 'kee nok' mean 'stingy'?

Fatfather

Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Thaivisa Connect App

It means bird shit

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KhunBENQ Star Member

KhunBENQ

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ขี้นก (kheeF nohkH)

yes literally: bird shit.

In reality it stands for (thai-language.com):

fake; phoney; bogus; spurious; pretended; feigned; sham; low-class; inferior; insignificant; meaningless; worthless

It is an offensive insult and there is no reason to smile at if a Thai tells you like that.

Edited by KhunBENQ
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sirchai Ruby Member

sirchai

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ขี้นก (kheeF nohkH)

yes literally: bird shit.

In reality it stands for (thai-language.com):

fake; phoney; bogus; spurious; pretended; feigned; sham; low-class; inferior; insignificant; meaningless; worthless

It is an offensive insult and there is no reason to smile at if a Thai tells you like that.

It also means that you don't have money. Absolutely no money. Thais in my wife's village would never call me that.

It's like saying Kwai to a Thai......biggrin.png

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sirchai Ruby Member

sirchai

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I can speak Thai Issan (Laos) and let me tell you they soon tire of falungfs speaking their language. Most of them don't like it and I have even been told I am "kee nock" (worthless)because I can speak Laos. It is not much fun speaking to these people in the villages. been there and done it yawn yawn !!!!

Seems that speaking "Isaan" with you isn't fun for them either.....coffee1.gif

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Michael Hare Silver Member

Michael Hare

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ขี้นก (kheeF nohkH)

yes literally: bird shit.

In reality it stands for (thai-language.com):

fake; phoney; bogus; spurious; pretended; feigned; sham; low-class; inferior; insignificant; meaningless; worthless

It is an offensive insult and there is no reason to smile at if a Thai tells you like that.

It also means that you don't have money. Absolutely no money. Thais in my wife's village would never call me that.

It's like saying Kwai to a Thai......biggrin.png

This term "farang khee nok" is a fairly recent term I believe. When I was here in the 1970s I never heard it expressed and there were lots of GIs around at the time in the major cities in Isaan-Ubon, Udorn, Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Pannom and Korat.

I asked a Thai academic friend of mine where did this term come from. She is from a village and also said it is a recent term-maybe no more than 10-15 years old.

In the past, village people had only seen farangs who had money or status. For example, the foreign aid projects which were commonplace in many parts of Isaan with experts in engineering, roading, agriculture, teaching etc being fairly common. Then there were the volunteers like Peace Corps who worked in many professions, spoke Thai well and understood local customs. Generally these people conducted themselves well. They dressed well, wore long trousers in public, did not wear flipflops in public, never wore singlets and showed off tattoos.

Then all of a sudden these farangs, mostly older men, suddenly started appearing and living in the villages. They didn't seem to do anything. They looked poor, dressed very roughly, they didn't seem to mind what they ate, but they didn't know much about the local customs and couldn't speak Thai.

To the villagers it seemed they just dropped in like a piece of bird shit landing on the window of your car or on your arm when out walking. Annoying. Hence the term bird-shit farang started up. My friend said that in the beginning it was mostly applied in villages to the poor old farang men who didn't do anything all day and always looked poor. It was used in a joking sort of way.

However, lately the term has begun to be applied to farangs in the cities. Especially those farangs who go out in public, like to Tesco Lotus etc, dressed in shorts, wearing singlets and flip flops and looking poor. The term usually is used for older farang men and not to young farang men who dress like that because, well, they are just young and our young Thais dress like that too.

Unfortunately in Thailand, people judge a book by its cover and it is mostly form and little substance.

My friend said while term probably started out in a joking way, it is not any more. It is now an offensive and derogatory term and when Thais use it to describe a farang they really mean that farang is bird shit.

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krisb Ruby Member

krisb

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I am envious but still cannot see any need to wear a dish cloth round my head(local silk or not)? Suppose its marginally better than the 'God Botherers' shirt and ties! cheesy.gifcheesy.gifcheesy.gif

Or those terrible 'good guy goes to heaven bad guy goes to Pattaya' t shirts!
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FredLee Senior Member

FredLee

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ขี้นก (kheeF nohkH)

yes literally: bird shit.

In reality it stands for (thai-language.com):

fake; phoney; bogus; spurious; pretended; feigned; sham; low-class; inferior; insignificant; meaningless; worthless

It is an offensive insult and there is no reason to smile at if a Thai tells you like that.

Similar to "bull shit" in the American English venacular.
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bina Ruby Member

bina

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husband insisted that i learn 'proper' thai and not his korat thai or issan thai as yes, he saw that as 'slumming' or 'low class'... i saw it as just an other dialect...

and many other thais ive met have voiced the same feelings, although a good friend of mine with issaan husband speaks issan thai (she is the farang) and the (thai)guys seem to like it, but she is younger then me by about 20 years so it could be a thing of status and what is seen as appropriate... sort of like a proper grandmother speaking some american vernacular as opposed to more 'polite' english (as in miss manners....5)..

just saying

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