It.....What An Insult?

[GuestHouse]

As I mentioned earlier, not all of what is said is offensive, some is humorous, as in the following encounter:

After taking my car in for service I was riding the local bus to the office, sitting in front of me were two school girls, perhaps 10 or 11 years old.

Shortly after I sat down they swung around to look over the back of their seats directly at me. I got on with reading my paper.

After a few moments staring, the they started the following conversation;

1st Girl: 'I thought all foreigners are rich"

2nd Girl: 'They are'

1st Girl: 'Why would someone who's rich ride on the bus, he'd drive a car wouldn't he?'

2nd Girl: ponders the question for a moment and then replies "Well maybe this is a poor foreigner.. there must be a few poor ones'

1st and 2nd girl nodding in agreement.

1st Girl then adds 'He's got a big nose hasn't he'

At that moment the bus boy interrupted, I made a point of asking him to confirm the bus was going where I knew it was going before asking how much was the fair.

My two commentators blushed red, hands over faces and sat face forward giggling for the rest of the journey.

[Zumteufel]

What you write as "mun" and "dam" is the same short open A in Thai. I believe it should be "man" instead? The "u" sound like "cup" in english is no way near that open A sound, more like in "Chorp" or "Chawp" as you write it. I've seen it other places, but isn't it wrong?

I'm no expert in transliteration but then again I think the Royal Thai Transliteration is terribly misleading. k for gaw gai etc.

I prefer to use a transcription rather than transliteration.

I write it like I hear it. "Chorp" is alien to me. But I say farim for "farm" when those who speak 'proper' English say 'faam'.

Actually, I'm not sure what you're talking about.

I say 'mun' for 'it'. I call it a 'closed short a' Then again I say 'man' for 'khao man gai' and the 'mun' is the same word, but obviously meaning 'oil' in the latter.

Dam is not the same vowel. Sadly it's not allowed to write Thai script here. But 'dam' has a sara ah( little circle folled by a curved line), not a sara a like 'mun' has( like a tadpole above it).

No expert either, but I think I've got a pretty good ear and a flair for systemizing things. Thing is, I'm not a native speaker, so perhaps I'm confusing american english and british english (which can both vary wildly in pronounciation). Agree about the k/g thing, when gaw gai is obviously softer than a k, and precisely like a beginning g.

When you write "mun", I assume it's as in "cup". When I write "man", I say it as "hard". "Hard" and "cup" are in my ears pronounced slightly differently, and I believe that the open A in Thai is pronounced like "hard". Therefore "man" looks more correct to me (except for those who are tempted to pronounce it with a flat A, which is perhaps why some books use "U" letter instead in order to cause less confusion.

But again, english is not my native language, and there's the differences within the spoken english language.

[HAL9000]

goo , 'I/me' , meung , 'you' and man , 'he/him/she/her' (though literally 'it' as above) are often used by friends of many years when talking amongst and about each other. Used this way they serve as a kind of bonding term that shows close friendship, but be warned that using these terms outside of with close friends is considered very impolite and potentially abusive. As such they can cause considerable offence if used inappropriately, and unless you're very sure of your ground you're best off avoiding using them altogether. - Thai2English pronouns section

[theblether]

goo , 'I/me' , meung , 'you' and man , 'he/him/she/her' (though literally 'it' as above) are often used by friends of many years when talking amongst and about each other. Used this way they serve as a kind of bonding term that shows close friendship, but be warned that using these terms outside of with close friends is considered very impolite and potentially abusive. As such they can cause considerable offence if used inappropriately, and unless you're very sure of your ground you're best off avoiding using them altogether. - Thai2English pronouns section

Someone mentioned earlier the Lanna dialect word jao, its used only by females apparently. Another word I picked up which is dangerous used out of context is keeng, used between very close friends, but if someone who is not a close friend used it, instant violence.

When I first heard it I thought my ex and her pals were saying king, but I now understand it to be closer to keeng.

My ex took me to the airport tonight and I asked her about mun, she did say that it could be used between close friends as a term if endearment, but when I said mun farang she said. Deep insult.

She reminded me of a story two years ago, we were up in CR province and I was buying fruit from a busy market area. I knew a guy was talking about me, he didnt know that my ex was with me as she was just getting something from the car. She heard the guy denigrating me and she went wild. She said to me that day one of the things said was mun.

Ive got to say I was proud of her defending me that day but she wouldnt tell me everything that was said. Rather than upset her, having seen her take a flakey already, I just left it.

These Thai women can be scary when they get started.

.

Edited October 23, 2013 by theblether

[Beetlejuice]

What you write as "mun" and "dam" is the same short open A in Thai. I believe it should be "man" instead? The "u" sound like "cup" in english is no way near that open A sound, more like in "Chorp" or "Chawp" as you write it. I've seen it other places, but isn't it wrong?

I'm no expert in transliteration but then again I think the Royal Thai Transliteration is terribly misleading. k for gaw gai etc.

I prefer to use a transcription rather than transliteration.

I write it like I hear it. "Chorp" is alien to me. But I say farim for "farm" when those who speak 'proper' English say 'faam'.

Actually, I'm not sure what you're talking about.

I say 'mun' for 'it'. I call it a 'closed short a' Then again I say 'man' for 'khao man gai' and the 'mun' is the same word, but obviously meaning 'oil' in the latter.

Dam is not the same vowel. Sadly it's not allowed to write Thai script here. But 'dam' has a sara ah( little circle folled by a curved line), not a sara a like 'mun' has( like a tadpole above it).

No expert either, but I think I've got a pretty good ear and a flair for systemizing things. Thing is, I'm not a native speaker, so perhaps I'm confusing american english and british english (which can both vary wildly in pronounciation). Agree about the k/g thing, when gaw gai is obviously softer than a k, and precisely like a beginning g.

When you write "mun", I assume it's as in "cup". When I write "man", I say it as "hard". "Hard" and "cup" are in my ears pronounced slightly differently, and I believe that the open A in Thai is pronounced like "hard". Therefore "man" looks more correct to me (except for those who are tempted to pronounce it with a flat A, which is perhaps why some books use "U" letter instead in order to cause less confusion.

But again, english is not my native language, and there's the differences within the spoken english language.

Americans speak Americanese, only English people speak proper English, that`s why it`s called English and not American. (only joking of course).

Many years ago when I lived in Bangkok and had not long been in Thailand, some bustard had dumped 2 puppies in a water ditch at the front of our rented house.

I waded in to rescue them and then a Thai man stopped his car, got out and said to me what sounded like, alloy, which is the Thai word for delicious. I thought he was being sarcastic and telling me to eat the puppies. I swore at him in anger and the man drove off looking totally confused.

After some years and I became more proficient with the Thai language I suddenly realised that the man had said; allie, which means, what is happening in Thai.

Another example, again back in those times. I was with my wife at a market. The old lady on the stall asked me if I could speak Thai? I should have replied; poot pasa Thai mai dai krup or pasa Thai nit noi, meaning I can’t speak Thai or only very little Thai, but instead I replied; pasa Thai mai dee, then the lady began shouting at me. My wife said to me; you fool, you have just told the lady that speaking Thai is no good, when in fact I meant, my Thai language skills are bad.

To this day I still feel embarrassed about those incidents and realise how easy it is to confuse the languages and misconstrue what someone actually means.

Easy done.

PS: we kept those adorable puppies, 2 girls and they both lived to almost 15 years.

Edited October 23, 2013 by Beetlejuice

[GuestHouse]

We should keep in mind that TBL is reporting usage of these terms as explained from the experience of a person fluent in the Thai language.

That these experiences have been further testified to by other fluent Thai speakers supports the veracity of the OPs report.

[BigSkip]

OP, Thanks this was highly informative !

[Thai at Heart]

goo , 'I/me' , meung , 'you' and man , 'he/him/she/her' (though literally 'it' as above) are often used by friends of many years when talking amongst and about each other. Used this way they serve as a kind of bonding term that shows close friendship, but be warned that using these terms outside of with close friends is considered very impolite and potentially abusive. As such they can cause considerable offence if used inappropriately, and unless you're very sure of your ground you're best off avoiding using them altogether. - Thai2English pronouns section

Someone mentioned earlier the Lanna dialect word jao, its used only by females apparently. Another word I picked up which is dangerous used out of context is keeng, used between very close friends, but if someone who is not a close friend used it, instant violence.

When I first heard it I thought my ex and her pals were saying king, but I now understand it to be closer to keeng.

My ex took me to the airport tonight and I asked her about mun, she did say that it could be used between close friends as a term if endearment, but when I said mun farang she said. Deep insult.

She reminded me of a story two years ago, we were up in CR province and I was buying fruit from a busy market area. I knew a guy was talking about me, he didnt know that my ex was with me as she was just getting something from the car. She heard the guy denigrating me and she went wild. She said to me that day one of the things said was mun.

Ive got to say I was proud of her defending me that day but she wouldnt tell me everything that was said. Rather than upset her, having seen her take a flakey already, I just left it.

These Thai women can be scary when they get started.

.

I've never heard my wife call me "mun". Khun is how she addresses me.

If your wife won't give you any "face", you have no hope.....

[theblether]

goo , 'I/me' , meung , 'you' and man , 'he/him/she/her' (though literally 'it' as above) are often used by friends of many years when talking amongst and about each other. Used this way they serve as a kind of bonding term that shows close friendship, but be warned that using these terms outside of with close friends is considered very impolite and potentially abusive. As such they can cause considerable offence if used inappropriately, and unless you're very sure of your ground you're best off avoiding using them altogether. - Thai2English pronouns section

Someone mentioned earlier the Lanna dialect word jao, its used only by females apparently. Another word I picked up which is dangerous used out of context is keeng, used between very close friends, but if someone who is not a close friend used it, instant violence.

When I first heard it I thought my ex and her pals were saying king, but I now understand it to be closer to keeng.

My ex took me to the airport tonight and I asked her about mun, she did say that it could be used between close friends as a term if endearment, but when I said mun farang she said. Deep insult.

She reminded me of a story two years ago, we were up in CR province and I was buying fruit from a busy market area. I knew a guy was talking about me, he didnt know that my ex was with me as she was just getting something from the car. She heard the guy denigrating me and she went wild. She said to me that day one of the things said was mun.

Ive got to say I was proud of her defending me that day but she wouldnt tell me everything that was said. Rather than upset her, having seen her take a flakey already, I just left it.

These Thai women can be scary when they get started.

.

I've never heard my wife call me "mun". Khun is how she addresses me.

If your wife won't give you any "face", you have no hope.....

Once again, hence the topic.

Luckily as a singleton its not an issue for me.

[MJP]

goo , 'I/me' , meung , 'you' and man , 'he/him/she/her' (though literally 'it' as above) are often used by friends of many years when talking amongst and about each other. Used this way they serve as a kind of bonding term that shows close friendship, but be warned that using these terms outside of with close friends is considered very impolite and potentially abusive. As such they can cause considerable offence if used inappropriately, and unless you're very sure of your ground you're best off avoiding using them altogether. - Thai2English pronouns section

Someone mentioned earlier the Lanna dialect word jao, its used only by females apparently. Another word I picked up which is dangerous used out of context is keeng, used between very close friends, but if someone who is not a close friend used it, instant violence.

When I first heard it I thought my ex and her pals were saying king, but I now understand it to be closer to keeng.

My ex took me to the airport tonight and I asked her about mun, she did say that it could be used between close friends as a term if endearment, but when I said mun farang she said. Deep insult.

She reminded me of a story two years ago, we were up in CR province and I was buying fruit from a busy market area. I knew a guy was talking about me, he didnt know that my ex was with me as she was just getting something from the car. She heard the guy denigrating me and she went wild. She said to me that day one of the things said was mun.

Ive got to say I was proud of her defending me that day but she wouldnt tell me everything that was said. Rather than upset her, having seen her take a flakey already, I just left it.

These Thai women can be scary when they get started.

.

I've never heard my wife call me "mun". Khun is how she addresses me.

If your wife won't give you any "face", you have no hope.....

Once again, hence the topic.

Luckily as a singleton its not an issue for me.

+1

There's no wondering, no confusion, no paranoia, no stress and certainly no risk.

I have a great washing machine and a new mop.

Good times!!!

[theblether]

Ran out of Likes MJP, theres a lot to be said for a new mop.

[MJP]

Two for one in Makro and you can put them in the washing machine!

[snowyy73]

Being married to a Thai in Australia for a couple of decades I witnessed many things. I used to try and avoid Thai Social gatherings in Oz. There was always a party or social gathering going on somewhere, for something.

I have seen where it was actually like a 'competition' who could outdo each other in insulting and belittling their husband in a social environment. And I have to say it was almost always, without exception, the Ex bar girls who did it. Even to the extent of footing them up the arse while they were doing it. it was bloody awful to watch.

I told my wife more than once, when driving home, to not even THINK about ever doing that to me. Not that she would have. Fortunately we are talking only of a minority. A certain genre of Thai female.

Before the dreaded Poker Machines came into being where we lived in Australia the big thing used to be the Thai Card Schools. Playing 'Gop Daeng Gop Dam' for money. Some of these games were huge and one gme would go on for days at a time. Money in the center piles a foot high. Some wives used to disappear for days. Husbands would ring us looking for them. At most social gatherings, BBQs etc the girls would retreat indoors and get a game going. Most husbands forbade their wives gambling and would threaten all sorts of retribution. So the gullible fools looked on thinking they were playing for 'points'. The losers would go to the toilet and hide the money behind the cistern. Where the winner would then go and collect. Alot of money changed hands.

The introduction of Poker Machine and Bingo Halls ruined this part of Ex Pat Thai 'culture'.

One day a couple of Thai acquaintences of my wife coame over for a BBQ. With Australian husbands in tow. Us three blokes were outside, the girls inside, in the kitchen, as per usual. I got 3 beers and issued them around.

One of the wives, Rung, came out and saw John, her husband, with a stubbie of beer in front of him. She put her hands on her hips thrust out her jaw and gave him a fair dinkum tongue lashing about him having a beer. John just tried to smile and shrugged his shoulders.

Run then leant over and gave him two of the best left jabs to the jaw you would ever wish to see. Almost knocking him out. She then spun around and marched back inside slamming the door. Peter, the other bloke and I looked at each other dumbfounded hardly believing what we had just witnessed.

I saw alot of shit over the years. But it would be wrong to generalise. Being 'low class' is not uniquely Thai.

Oh! and i thought this gamling shit only happened in the UK.The roulette Machines have lost me loads of money through having to bail her out.they don't have a great need for money so putting it in a machine is quite easy.

every thing you have written is exactly the same here.I like the comment " There was always a party or social gathering going on somewhere, for something"

better go she is moaning again!!!!

[PJcm]

First of all when you use the word Farang in Thai it must be preceded by the classifier Khon, as in Khon Thai, Khon Asia, Khon Italy etc. Not using the classifier is ignorant and insulting; or are Caucasians not worthy of a simple classifier?

[AYJAYDEE]

First of all when you use the word Farang in Thai it must be preceded by the classifier Khon, as in Khon Thai, Khon Asia, Khon Italy etc. Not using the classifier is ignorant and insulting; or are Caucasians not worthy of a simple classifier?

its not rude and insulting as far as thais are concerned

[MickGC]

What you write as "mun" and "dam" is the same short open A in Thai. I believe it should be "man" instead? The "u" sound like "cup" in english is no way near that open A sound, more like in "Chorp" or "Chawp" as you write it. I've seen it other places, but isn't it wrong?

I'm no expert in transliteration but then again I think the Royal Thai Transliteration is terribly misleading. k for gaw gai etc.

I prefer to use a transcription rather than transliteration.

I write it like I hear it. "Chorp" is alien to me. But I say farim for "farm" when those who speak 'proper' English say 'faam'.

Actually, I'm not sure what you're talking about.

I say 'mun' for 'it'. I call it a 'closed short a' Then again I say 'man' for 'khao man gai' and the 'mun' is the same word, but obviously meaning 'oil' in the latter.

Dam is not the same vowel. Sadly it's not allowed to write Thai script here. But 'dam' has a sara ah( little circle folled by a curved line), not a sara a like 'mun' has( like a tadpole above it).

No expert either, but I think I've got a pretty good ear and a flair for systemizing things. Thing is, I'm not a native speaker, so perhaps I'm confusing american english and british english (which can both vary wildly in pronounciation). Agree about the k/g thing, when gaw gai is obviously softer than a k, and precisely like a beginning g.

When you write "mun", I assume it's as in "cup". When I write "man", I say it as "hard". "Hard" and "cup" are in my ears pronounced slightly differently, and I believe that the open A in Thai is pronounced like "hard". Therefore "man" looks more correct to me (except for those who are tempted to pronounce it with a flat A, which is perhaps why some books use "U" letter instead in order to cause less confusion.

But again, english is not my native language, and there's the differences within the spoken english language.

Americans speak Americanese, only English people speak proper English, that`s why it`s called English and not American. (only joking of course).

Many years ago when I lived in Bangkok and had not long been in Thailand, some bustard had dumped 2 puppies in a water ditch at the front of our rented house.

I waded in to rescue them and then a Thai man stopped his car, got out and said to me what sounded like, alloy, which is the Thai word for delicious. I thought he was being sarcastic and telling me to eat the puppies. I swore at him in anger and the man drove off looking totally confused.

After some years and I became more proficient with the Thai language I suddenly realised that the man had said; allie, which means, what is happening in Thai.

Another example, again back in those times. I was with my wife at a market. The old lady on the stall asked me if I could speak Thai? I should have replied; poot pasa Thai mai dai krup or pasa Thai nit noi, meaning I can’t speak Thai or only very little Thai, but instead I replied; pasa Thai mai dee, then the lady began shouting at me. My wife said to me; you fool, you have just told the lady that speaking Thai is no good, when in fact I meant, my Thai language skills are bad.

To this day I still feel embarrassed about those incidents and realise how easy it is to confuse the languages and misconstrue what someone actually means.

Easy done.

PS: we kept those adorable puppies, 2 girls and they both lived to almost 15 years.

Nice story Beetle. One act of kindness gave you 15 years of friendship. We have all had our language errors over the years. Not too many foreigners living in my town so I find the locals are still friendly. My Thai language skills are embarrassingly low but the locals still appreciate my effort. Occasional youngster takes the piss but I think that is a universal trait.

Having traveled around Thailand for the last 25 years or so I do find most problems arise in areas with large foreigner populations. That also is a universal trait. You all know what I mean. Preaching to the converted here. No different to our country of birth.

[Thaddeus]

goo , 'I/me' , meung , 'you' and man , 'he/him/she/her' (though literally 'it' as above) are often used by friends of many years when talking amongst and about each other. Used this way they serve as a kind of bonding term that shows close friendship, but be warned that using these terms outside of with close friends is considered very impolite and potentially abusive. As such they can cause considerable offence if used inappropriately, and unless you're very sure of your ground you're best off avoiding using them altogether. - Thai2English pronouns section

Someone mentioned earlier the Lanna dialect word jao, its used only by females apparently.

.

Laos derivative, not only used by females, but by any close friends.

Jao see bai sai.?

Where are you going?

As in many languages, familiarity can breed contempt, if you are are not familiar

Edited October 23, 2013 by Thaddeus

[David48]

Americans speak Americanese, only English people speak proper English, that`s why it`s called English and not American. (only joking of course).

Many years ago when I lived in Bangkok and had not long been in Thailand, some bustard had dumped 2 puppies in a water ditch at the front of our rented house.

I waded in to rescue them and then a Thai man stopped his car, got out and said to me what sounded like, alloy, which is the Thai word for delicious. I thought he was being sarcastic and telling me to eat the puppies. I swore at him in anger and the man drove off looking totally confused.

After some years and I became more proficient with the Thai language I suddenly realised that the man had said; allie, which means, what is happening in Thai.

Another example, again back in those times. I was with my wife at a market. The old lady on the stall asked me if I could speak Thai? I should have replied; poot pasa Thai mai dai krup or pasa Thai nit noi, meaning I can’t speak Thai or only very little Thai, but instead I replied; pasa Thai mai dee, then the lady began shouting at me. My wife said to me; you fool, you have just told the lady that speaking Thai is no good, when in fact I meant, my Thai language skills are bad.

To this day I still feel embarrassed about those incidents and realise how easy it is to confuse the languages and misconstrue what someone actually means.

Easy done.

PS: we kept those adorable puppies, 2 girls and they both lived to almost 15 years.

Nice story Beetle. One act of kindness gave you 15 years of friendship. We have all had our language errors over the years. Not too many foreigners living in my town so I find the locals are still friendly. My Thai language skills are embarrassingly low but the locals still appreciate my effort. Occasional youngster takes the piss but I think that is a universal trait.

Having traveled around Thailand for the last 25 years or so I do find most problems arise in areas with large foreigner populations. That also is a universal trait. You all know what I mean. Preaching to the converted here. No different to our country of birth.

Agreed ... nice story Beetlejuice, well told ...

Made me smile.

.

[bbbbooboo]

Stupid IS what stupid DOES?

[benalibina]

...I have see it with my own eyes...not only wives....this is nationwide......

...if you tell others (foreigners they say you are paranoid or negative....

...if you confront the Thais...they deny it and say you heard wrong.....

....'Vileland'........the lies, hatred, resentment...are palpable...nauseating....

...I am trying to stick it out for my daughters......besides, we have no options to leave right now...and may never if their psycho mother and her clan and assorted gangs get their way...

...it is some sick game for them to win...with all the odds stacked against us....

...my daughters are trophies...possessions....objects...'spoils'....to have...keep...control....

...and to eventually corrupt and turn them into one of their own......

....my burden is great...greatly outnumbered...all assets gone....(you know the story)....

Pawn in a game you never thought about participating in. The dark side of humanity !

[ntg187]

I actually took a lot of what I have read here and asked some close Thai friends of mine - yes they all work in the sex industry - what they mean. One thing was for sure, the girls were not all in agreement. Granted, they are all from different parts of Thailand, some born and raised in Isaan, Udon Thani, Chaing Mai, BKK, etc, but they all ended up in the bars/go-go's of Pattaya, Phuket and BKK.

A previous poster mentioned wan (probably better pronounced juan) as fat which is the traditional thai term for fat sure, but most bar girls have been influenced by the pum poy/poom poy version which came from Isaan. Or as I understand it, is really just slang. Now while some of you may be fluent speakers, slang is something you will never pickup unless you associate with the crowd that would traditionally speak it.

Look at English for example. Money to an american can be money/cash/ends/bill/dolla'/benji/dough/greenbacks/bucks/etc but usually your level of 'class', for lack of a better term, will determine which (if any) slang you will adopt - I havn't heard too many millionaire's refer to themselves has 'holding a few ends' in their wallets. More often than not you wouldn't have even been exposed to half of the slang used by a 'class' level that you don't interact with.

[yingyo]

Why do any of you really care what other people say, regardless of nationality or which language it's said in?

Rudeness only reflects badly on the person being rude. You can't control that, nor should you want to.

I think most guys would get upset if they knew their wife was referring to them as a dog in public.

Which would be because they didn't understand what she was really saying/meaning and they got all upset due to their ignorance and own lack of knowledge.

[Moouan]

First of all when you use the word Farang in Thai it must be preceded by the classifier Khon, as in Khon Thai, Khon Asia, Khon Italy etc. Not using the classifier is ignorant and insulting; or are Caucasians not worthy of a simple classifier?

I do not believe this is correct, Farang is a generic term for caucasians and does not require Khon.

Khon Angkrit, Khon Ciin, Khon Iipon, Khon Frarangseet - Yes, Khon Farang - No

[AYJAYDEE]

First of all when you use the word Farang in Thai it must be preceded by the classifier Khon, as in Khon Thai, Khon Asia, Khon Italy etc. Not using the classifier is ignorant and insulting; or are Caucasians not worthy of a simple classifier?

I do not believe this is correct, Farang is a generic term for caucasians and does not require Khon.

Khon Angkrit, Khon Ciin, Khon Iipon, Khon Frarangseet - Yes, Khon Farang - No

and thais agree with you AND that it means no disrespect.

[Thai at Heart]

First of all when you use the word Farang in Thai it must be preceded by the classifier Khon, as in Khon Thai, Khon Asia, Khon Italy etc. Not using the classifier is ignorant and insulting; or are Caucasians not worthy of a simple classifier?

I do not believe this is correct, Farang is a generic term for caucasians and does not require Khon.

Khon Angkrit, Khon Ciin, Khon Iipon, Khon Frarangseet - Yes, Khon Farang - No

Khon Dtan Chaat.

Person from another country.

[francescoassisi]

Pot calling the kettle black?

This forum is littered with people insulting Thais.

Has it not occurred to the OP that respect is something you EARN and the attitude expressed by their respective spouses may be well deserved?

[dighambara]

Such insults reflect a lack of intelligence, so are often ignored.

As for being fluent in Thai after only 8 years - I find that hard to believe. I have friends who have been here decades, working on learning Thai and still can't get the 'tones'.

I learned a smattering 40+ years ago and since I retired a decade ago, I have attended many classes.

Although I can read some pronunciation - Pah! Taah Yaaah for example, I still don't get it right.

Thais mis-spelling signs doesn't help much either...LOL

[benalibina]

First of all when you use the word Farang in Thai it must be preceded by the classifier Khon, as in Khon Thai, Khon Asia, Khon Italy etc. Not using the classifier is ignorant and insulting; or are Caucasians not worthy of a simple classifier?

I do not believe this is correct, Farang is a generic term for caucasians and does not require Khon.

Khon Angkrit, Khon Ciin, Khon Iipon, Khon Frarangseet - Yes, Khon Farang - No

Khon Dtan Chaat.

Person from another country.

Foreigner !

Once referred by this from a thai. Happily surprised. Way more appropriate than farang !

[Kapmoo]

I could understand feeling insulted if ****Thai language removed**** is the only word the person ever used to refer to the person. In general, I think farangs get too hung up on these direct translations and overreact. In farangland, this type of crudeness in language is common in the same type of places ****Thai language removed**** is common in Thailand - it is called "ghetto" folks. Likewise, just because it is very common in the ghetto doesn't mean that other classes don't use the language as well. I think using ****Thai language removed**** to refer to a person you just met and saying it in the conversation that they are a party to would be highly insulting, but calling some schmuck who is driving a motorcycle like a lunatic or family member who does something annoying or retarded, then I have no problem with a ****Thai language removed**** reference.

Edited October 24, 2013 by metisdead
This is an English language forum, English is the only acceptable language, except in the Thai language forum where Thai language is allowed.

[marquis22]

A ex Thai gf used to refer to me as "pee bar" and I thought she just joking meant older man. I would call her "Nong ****"

I was telling another Thai this recently and she laughed and said bar means man who wears shabby clothes or a bit of a down and outer. hmmmm. Or was she using 'bar' in an affectionate way?