Auntie or sister ?

[Aforek]

Have you ever heard this word "ป้า" used to design a good female friend ?

normally, it means "auntie , aunt , elder sister of parents ", but in this case when I ask women who use it when they speak of their friends

what it means in english, they say "sister", not real sister, but that's how Thai people call intimate friends

if so, why dictionnaries never say that in colloquial language it can also mean "sister, intimate friend " ?

I hope to be clear enough

[NCFC]

You will find that it is not only "aunty" that is in use. In fact every close relation type is used to address people who are not strictly speaking entitled to that term. Old taxi divers are often called "lung" by their customers. "Mae" is very common. It is just used as a mark of respect.

I have a very pretty daughter so all the young guys in the office like it when I address them as "luuk kheuy" or son-in-law. My wife often addresses young girls as "khon suay" which is lot sweeter than calling somebody "Hey you"

[Seastallion]

I'm not an expert, in fact quite a novice, but the OP struck me that he was hearing บ้า (baa, crazy) not ป้า (baa, auntie).

So I asked my partner (who has excellent English), "Would very good friends refer to each other as "บ้า"? She affirmed that they could.

Thus, I suspect that the friends were cajoling or teasing each other.

[Seastallion]

You will find that it is not only "aunty" that is in use. In fact every close relation type is used to address people who are not strictly speaking entitled to that term. Old taxi divers are often called "lung" by their customers. "Mae" is very common. It is just used as a mark of respect.

I have a very pretty daughter so all the young guys in the office like it when I address them as "luuk kheuy" or son-in-law. My wife often addresses young girls as "khon suay" which is lot sweeter than calling somebody "Hey you"

I also asked the SO about this as I suspected there was something not quite right here. She reckons that if you address a young man as "luuk kheuy", you are in effect inviting them to a relationship with your daughter. Of course the lads would like it!

I will "like" your post simply to make you aware of my reply. (I am the father of a daughter too )

I should also mention that the SO reckons that the use of khon suay is not uncommon but generally known to be hollow. She herself uses it with her students and it is very light-hearted. She says she would never use it with a colleague and definitely never use it with someone who is obviously not good looking (that would be just too sarcastic).

Just my 2 cents worth. Hope it helps.

Edited March 30, 2014 by Seastallion

[NCFC]

You will find that it is not only "aunty" that is in use. In fact every close relation type is used to address people who are not strictly speaking entitled to that term. Old taxi divers are often called "lung" by their customers. "Mae" is very common. It is just used as a mark of respect.

I have a very pretty daughter so all the young guys in the office like it when I address them as "luuk kheuy" or son-in-law. My wife often addresses young girls as "khon suay" which is lot sweeter than calling somebody "Hey you"

I also asked the SO about this as I suspected there was something not quite right here. She reckons that if you address a young man as "luuk kheuy", you are in effect inviting them to a relationship with your daughter. Of course the lads would like it!

I will "like" your post simply to make you aware of my reply. (I am the father of a daughter too )

I should also mention that the SO reckons that the use of khon suay is not uncommon but generally known to be hollow. She herself uses it with her students and it is very light-hearted. She says she would never use it with a colleague and definitely never use it with someone who is obviously not good looking (that would be just too sarcastic).

Just my 2 cents worth. Hope it helps.

Yes I call my young male office staff "luuk kheuy" to tease them and the office girls always giggle when I do so. It's office banter, no more than that, and they understand it as such.

The use of "khon suay" is exactly as your wife says.

I'm sure you are hearing "ba" as "auntie" rather than "crazy". Giving friends these honoury titles is very common. If you jump into a taxi driven by an old guy and you call him "lung" he will be well-pleased as you are giving him a nod towards a certain amount of respect due to his age, but not over-doing it at the same time.

Same with older lady vendors in the market, if you ask "how much, mae" (and not khun mae which is too formal), she may even give you the local price.

[Seastallion]

You will find that it is not only "aunty" that is in use. In fact every close relation type is used to address people who are not strictly speaking entitled to that term. Old taxi divers are often called "lung" by their customers. "Mae" is very common. It is just used as a mark of respect.

I have a very pretty daughter so all the young guys in the office like it when I address them as "luuk kheuy" or son-in-law. My wife often addresses young girls as "khon suay" which is lot sweeter than calling somebody "Hey you"

I also asked the SO about this as I suspected there was something not quite right here. She reckons that if you address a young man as "luuk kheuy", you are in effect inviting them to a relationship with your daughter. Of course the lads would like it!

I will "like" your post simply to make you aware of my reply. (I am the father of a daughter too )

I should also mention that the SO reckons that the use of khon suay is not uncommon but generally known to be hollow. She herself uses it with her students and it is very light-hearted. She says she would never use it with a colleague and definitely never use it with someone who is obviously not good looking (that would be just too sarcastic).

Just my 2 cents worth. Hope it helps.

Yes I call my young male office staff "luuk kheuy" to tease them and the office girls always giggle when I do so. It's office banter, no more than that, and they understand it as such.

The use of "khon suay" is exactly as your wife says.

I'm sure you are hearing "ba" as "auntie" rather than "crazy". Giving friends these honoury titles is very common. If you jump into a taxi driven by an old guy and you call him "lung" he will be well-pleased as you are giving him a nod towards a certain amount of respect due to his age, but not over-doing it at the same time.

Same with older lady vendors in the market, if you ask "how much, mae" (and not khun mae which is too formal), she may even give you the local price.

yeah, I guessed as much (that you do it in jest).....I just hope your staff take it exactly the same way you intend.

It's not me hearing baa as baa, I was sugesting the OP was. These were friends addressing each other, not a younger person and an older person. Indeed, I was informed that I should call my friend's restaurant chef "baa Jiab" (Jiab being her name), not Pi or khun. (the chef was early 60s, I was late 40's, and the restaurant owner was somewhat indebted to me and thus never charged me for a meal ever, (despite my protestations) (I only mention that to establish that even though I was a respected guest, "baa" was still the best term)), and various older people Lung, Mae etc. What the OP was describing sounded more like soft ribaldry between friends.

[Aforek]

I'm not an expert, in fact quite a novice, but the OP struck me that he was hearing บ้า (baa, crazy) not ป้า (baa, auntie).

So I asked my partner (who has excellent English), "Would very good friends refer to each other as "บ้า"? She affirmed that they could.

Thus, I suspect that the friends were cajoling or teasing each other.

I am sorry, but read my first message again: I say " "ป้า" ( pa ) not "บ้า " ; for instance, my girlfriend knows a woman who has a small restaurant, and often she tells me " ไปร้านป้า " when she goes see her friend.

I know it's " ป้า ", because, to find out what it means in my dictionnary, I have asked her to write it for me in thai on a paper.

Edited March 30, 2014 by Aforek