benalibina Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Does anybody know the reason for that and what do you think about it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasun Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 It may sound like calling them 'child' but in that context it's closer to 'darling' or 'sweetie'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpofc Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Never stopped to think about it before. Luk is a noun = Young, (as opposed to Dek being the word for Children) so I guess that's the guts of it, Luk Chai Luk Sao - young son, young daughter.. Similar to us saying 'Hey Son, come here' or 'Son! Stop doing that'. Although we rarely use the term Daughter in the way. I am not a fluent or native Thai speaker so I will stand corrected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benalibina Posted September 19, 2013 Author Share Posted September 19, 2013 Luug means child, i know that. I just wonder why they don't refer to them by their given name. Seems rather impersonal ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banzai99 Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 (edited) Why don't you ask the Thai person/persons in question yourself, you may get a proper response ? On this site it will be just another opportunity to do some Thai Bashing. Edited September 19, 2013 by Banzai99 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasun Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Luug means child, i know that. I just wonder why they don't refer to them by their given name. Seems rather impersonal !Tiger, cobber, buddy, sweety, pal, bub, champ, young fella, matey, darling, my boy... terms of endearment, not impersonal. The direct translation sounds odd. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daoyai Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Never stopped to think about it before. Luk is a noun = Young, (as opposed to Dek being the word for Children) so I guess that's the guts of it, Luk Chai Luk Sao - young son, young daughter.. Similar to us saying 'Hey Son, come here' or 'Son! Stop doing that'. Although we rarely use the term Daughter in the way. I am not a fluent or native Thai speaker so I will stand corrected. Young is not a noun, it is an adjective ..... Luk or lug is baby, also used as a classifier for fruits .... I call all the lil kids "neeww" mouse, i think it is cute sounding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gsxrnz Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 (edited) For the same reason they use Nong, Pee, Noo, Loong, Yai etc rather than use given names. They also rarely use personal pronouns (pomme, di-chan) and will instead use their own name, or refer to themselves as pee or nong etc depending on who they are talking to, or talking about, and their respective age relationship/status. It's just the way the language works. Edited September 20, 2013 by Gsxrnz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somtamnication Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 I use it with my under 12 students. It is a nice term of endearment. Use it, you might make a friend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Songhua Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 Dek is a child or children (as in school children or all the children), luuk is child (as in offspring, son, daughter) and is also a term of endearment. People will quite often use it when speaking to a niece or nephew and even other children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckamuck Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 There are numerous occasions where Thais seem to prefer addressing someone by a designation rather than by their name. I miss being called by my name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goshawk Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 the term is not age restrictive (young children).... Mrs G' is 47yrs old, and still 'luuk' to her significant close family elders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthurwait Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 My understanding is that it means baby and caries on as son daughter, but baby mainly as in lug meow means kitten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berkshire Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 Luug means child, i know that. I just wonder why they don't refer to them by their given name. Seems rather impersonal !Tiger, cobber, buddy, sweety, pal, bub, champ, young fella, matey, darling, my boy... terms of endearment, not impersonal.The direct translation sounds odd. This is exactly right. It's more affectionate, actually, than calling your child by their given names. Many times in America we'd refer to our sons as boy, son, champ, kid, or a nickname. Girls could be honey, sweetie, sugarplumb, cupcake, sunshine....Christ, any number of nicknames. Luuk can apply to boys and girls, and is usually uttered with a certain amount of parental affection. Does the OP really not get this? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sbk Posted September 20, 2013 Popular Post Share Posted September 20, 2013 Its a term of endearment as has been stated by more than a few people. Another thread that seems designed to simply criticise Thai people. Perhaps best to learn some Thai and don't take everything in a negative context and you will probably understand people here a bit better. //CLOSED// 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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