Funny examples of Tinglish (Thai/English)

[stickylies]

• When Thais say "serious" they mean "worried" or "anxious" rather than "not silly" ("Red shirts and yellow shirts going at it again? Don't be serious!")
• "You!" means "Excuse me, may I have your attention?" especially when shouted at you by street vendors--probably the only English word they know. Don't take offense.

silliout, great word indeed, meaning breaking my balls or pain in the ass too.

that HEY YOU! thing is what i tell people who go to thailand first time: don't be offended or intimidated by the HEY YOU! (sometimes followed with the even funnier phrase, WHERE YOU GO?! - paainaai?!)...

[venturalaw]

Bad wind bottom - means he/she just passed gas (farted).

[Fookhaht]

the one i like the most is the MY FRIEND as in "He My Friend" meaning "is he YOUR friend"...

pure surrealism :-)

ps. and believe it or not, my neighbour always says FREEDOM instead of CONDOM... even more surreal.

Several of my Thai friends continually mix up "condo" and "condom" leading to some pretty hilarious expressions.

• "I need a large-sized condom."
• "Time to clean my condom."
• "You prefer to rent or buy your condom, Ajarn?"
• "Sure, please stay tonight with me, and bring your condo with you."
• "I am tell truth! 7-11 sells condos! 30-baht each!"
• "I prefer to find a condom on the MRT line."
• "I love designer condom!" (not sure which one they really mean)

[xenophon]

cutta but: cotton bud and my all time favorite, hear in the queue at the check out:

Mi wickwubbalub, mai?? = Do you have Vicks vapour rub?

[redcardave]

ATM one more time 555

[asupeartea]

This thread is Great! Some are funny but a lot help me understand what is being said around me. Sometimes I hear a Thai speak English and I haven't a clue about what is being said. Even the Tinglish that isn't here might be easier to understand because I have gotten a feel for the Thai idiosyncrasies with English. Thanks a million!

[evothai]

[Fit] = fish

[fai] = fry = fried= fight=fly=flight

[fenfai] = french fries

Edited November 11, 2013 by evothai

[zaZa9]

I once had a tg who called my appendage 'baby' ....she'd say , "Cmon , we go room you an I make bay cry " .... Pretty inventive English ....555

[ozyjon]

No pompen

Up to you (so you get <deleted> nothing)

Where you from (<deleted> antarctica) and no i don't want a tuk tuk or a frigin new suit so ^%@^^ off

[Paangjang]

No pompen

Up to you (so you get <deleted> nothing)

Where you from (<deleted> antarctica) and no i don't want a tuk tuk or a frigin new suit so ^%@^^ off

Love the pompen one. Gets me confused as to the city we're in, Chiang mai or Phnom pehn...

[MyFriend You]

I Not Know

More like "Eye Dum No"

[MyFriend You]

the one i like the most is the MY FRIEND as in "He My Friend" meaning "is he YOUR friend"...

pure surrealism :-)

ps. and believe it or not, my neighbour always says FREEDOM instead of CONDOM... even more surreal.

I like the "He my friend you"

[marioc]

"were you how".... (where is your house)...

my sister.........(my cousin)

my sister.........(my colleague)

my sister........(very close friend)

my sister.......etc. etc............... very big family ... nice anyway...once you know how they use "sister" it's easier to understand.

[Ulic]

King burger (Burger King)

He go monkey house (he is going to, or is in, jail)

Khun taxi (Mr. taxi driver)

On that topic, anyone know where that expression (Monkey House) comes from? I assumed for years it was a direct translation from a Thai slang word for jail, but one day, after laughing about it for the millionth time, I asked some Thais, and they all said it came from English and that they didn't have an expression like that in Thai. Maybe it's a translation into English from another European language? Any help on this one?

When you went to the Zoo long ago when they were not nearly as progressive they kept all the primates behind bars is a single building.

Looked much like a jail. All the monkeys, baboons, gorillas, behind bars in the monkey house like prisoners. When I was kid (54 now)

we referred to jail as the monkey house.

[noisyboy]

You don't know everything (You know nothing). Classic mia.

[Pilotman]

I like my wife's expression 'its expencil' meaning expensive, makes me laugh every time. I also like 'in the rock' meaning out in the countryside

[Raybo]

I like her new "al-uh-bum",

Many years ago,(1964), "You go pee eck buy me Salem"?

You no like Pala to sutink?

Chu Lai 6768

[laislica]

Great thread

can travel manywhere.

no like lock an loll

you klever, falang no everythin !

I go schoon

hospiton

and many many more but with a little occasional "feedback", now more English than Tinglish and now boring and no longer cute!

[SantiSuk]

Could be repetition as I have not read every post.

"I annoy you" Yes you do darling, but I'm pretty sure you mean "I am (very) annoyed by you"

Many Thai ladies seem to think that the noun for a man's spouse is "mywife", as in a Thai girl asking you "you not come drinking with mywife tonight?" The logical response in Thaiglish of course would be "no - yourwife annoy me today"

[socksy01]

Toospathe (Toothpaste)

Common one - Rondry (Laundry)

Sentan Praza (Central Plaza).

Temprachurch (Temperature)

Chinese (my hair is shiny)

Lotut - another common one for Tesco Lotus.

A classic my wife came out with Skol (as in lager) - Squirrel

Another good one my Thai stepson heard at a market between foreign guy and Thai wife/gf when she asked him "do you eat feet"? (Fish) He and his Thai girlfriend had to walk away as they were laughing so loud.

[lemoncake]

My favorite still remains

Fantaaaa

Colaaaa

Hondaaaaa

[monkey4u]

Most of these are not "Thai/English," they are specifically BAR GIRL English.

I think you like bar girls since you are saying they are specifically from a bar girl. How uniformed you really are

Although my girlfriend ( who is a Thai actress) is pretty good in English and was never a "bar girl" she does use a few of those mentioned phrases

So I am just going to assume you are the typical beer drinking, bar hoping, pot belly bar girl wolf .not knowing that most woman are not bar girls

I thought ALL Thai women were actresses or is that drama queens.

My wife included

[HerbalEd]

Thank you very big.

But my favorite is:

The Thai girl was in the midst of having sex when she starts exclaiming "I go! I go!"

[socksy01]

Open the light (switch on) and shut the light (off)

[kevozman1]

A personal favourite of mine was a girl who used to ask me - "give me smell good" when we was getting ready to go out together. That was her way of asking if I could pass her the deodorant. A bit silly, but always brought a smile to my face.

[chrisinth]

I still think the classic for pronunciation is the ordering breakfast conversation.................

A Conversation on the Phone of a Bangkok Hotel

Room Service: Morny, rune sore-bees.

Hotel Guest: Oh, sorry. I thought I dialled Room Service.

Room Service: Rye, rye, rune sore bees. Morny, Jewish to odor sunteen?

Hotel Guest: I'd like some bacon and eggs.

Room Service: Ow july then?

Hotel Guest: What?

Room Service: Aches, Ow july then? Pry, boy pooch...?

Hotel Guest: Oh, the eggs! How'd I like them? Sorry. Scrambled please.

Room Service: Ow july thee baycome? Crease?

Hotel Guest: Crisp will be fine.

Room Service: Okay. An santos?

Hotel Guest: What?

Room Service: Santos? July santos?

Hotel Guest: Ugh ... I don't know...I don't think so.

Room Service: No, Judo one toes?

Hotel Guest: Look, I really feel bad about this, but I don't know what "judo-one toes"means. I'm sorry.

Room Service: Toes, toes. Why jew don juan toes? Ow bow Eengleesh mopping we bother?

Hotel Guest: English muffin! I've got it. Toast! You were saying toast! Fine. An English muffin will be fine.

Room Service: We bother?

Hotel Guest: No, just put the bother on the side.

Room Service: Wad?

Hotel Guest: I'm sorry. I mean butter. Butter on the side.

Room Service: Copy?

Hotel Guest: I feel terrible about this but.....

Room Service: Copy. Copy, tea, mill ...

Hotel Guest: Coffee! Yes, coffee please. And that's all.

Room Service: One minnie. Ass rune torino-fie, strangle aches, crease baycome, tossy eengleesh mopping we bother honey sigh and copy rye?

Hotel Guest: Whatever you say.

Room Service: Okay. Ten jew berry mud.

Hotel Guest: You're welcome.

(Source: Far Eastern Economic Review, 4 September 1981)

[HerbalEd]

I introduced my gf to avocado and showed her how to make guacamole. She loved the guacamole but called it "qukacado."

I tried to teach her the correct word by having her repeat after me several times "avocado makes guacamole." She learned to say it correctly but she still often forgets and says "Honieee, you want me make qukacado?" It always makes me laugh and then she realizes what she'd said and she laughs. It's so cute I no longer correct her.

Edited November 12, 2013 by HerbalEd

[realenglish1]

Most of these are not "Thai/English," they are specifically BAR GIRL English.

I think you like bar girls since you are saying they are specifically from a bar girl. How uniformed you really are

Although my girlfriend ( who is a Thai actress) is pretty good in English and was never a "bar girl" she does use a few of those mentioned phrases

So I am just going to assume you are the typical beer drinking, bar hoping, pot belly bar girl wolf .not knowing that most woman are not bar girls

Don't disagree with your comments, although its always dangerous to stereotype.......................

Talking of which, slipping the comment in about your gf being a Thai actress with negative emphasis on the "bar girl' suggest certain stereotyping too.

I can only say that it is not too hard to say that a Bar girl is a Bar girl. I for one would not date a bar girl and call it what it is She is a prostitute working in a bar. This is not a stereo type

Bar girls are just that. I would not be with, date or have anything to do with BG. Do you want to be with a lady that has slept with 100s of other men. In a nut shell NO

[venturalaw]

Didn't read everything so apologies if this was already given:

Smi (with a long sound 'i') = smile. Thais don't have words ending with an 'L' sound - hence the L is always left off the end of every word when pronounced.

Edited November 12, 2013 by venturalaw

[Paangjang]

Didn't read everything so apologies if this was already given:

Smi (with a long sound 'i') = smile. Thais don't have words ending with an 'L' sound - hence the L is always left off the end of every word when pronounced.

They do, ล (L) is at the end of many words but it is pronounced as (N)