Sorry !

[eppic]

Personally, when I bump into someone or something similar my automatic response is to say "excuse me" or "pardon me", which probably just confuses many Thais. I very often get a "sorry" or "so sorry" from Thais, while my wife gets the Thai version (she is Asian but not Thai).

Actually, I found an apology much more rare during my many years in Singapore. With the exception of Japan, many Asian cultures (esp mainland Chinese) do not embrace the concept of being polite to strangers. Thais on the whole are not bad at all on the the "sorry" scale, while the farangs are often sorry in more ways than one.

Edited April 11, 2014 by eppic

[manhood]

IN Thailand you hear the word sorry always around you:just it has no meaning for thais as they are anything but sure not sorry!!!!!!!!!!

[mikemac]

Posts #1 and #2 are classic examples of comments designed to stir up the professional Thai bashers, most of whom do not even live in the country. They spent 3 weeks here once and now have a chip on their shoulder for some stupid reason and take it out on the country and it's people from the safety of their computer room. Either that or they live in Thailand and are just bitter, twisted and nasty so-and-sos.

I would ban the lot of them tomorrow if I could.

[atyclb]

Here is a start "sia_chi", try it out next time on some Thai person.

Sia Jai actually mean pity, not sorry, Kho-Thot is the right word to say I'm sorry or excuse me...

Your transliteration might make it hard for people to know how to say the phrase.

I'd write it as Kor Tord.

And I hear it being said by Thais a lot. Particularly during rush hour on the BTS, although in that case its being used as its other meaning which is "Excuse me".

Very useful phrase to know!

Kau tote o r khau thote is closer to the native pronunciation. I know the "ord" is seen a lot especially at language schools and books but it is phonetically incorrect.

"Tord" makes me think about the word "turd" instead.

kau kai, sara au (au anng) , sara O (vowel), tautahan, sau reusee LOL, karaoke language. Too bad mods wont allow thai characters when they are pertinent in assisting a word to be better understood.

I'd write the thai word and dissect it to explain but they'd delete my post.

[dao16]

I do hear people say it, although I do think a lot of people shy away from it as it is a loss of face. I think another, non-verbal thing is going on as well. Sometimes, if you bump into someone and look back, a simple mini-bow will suffice and most times people will do a mini-bow back. Just like a long head nod. So, through non-verbal means, many people are "saying" sorry.

[Estrada]

Here is a start "sia_chi", try it out next time on some Thai person.

Sia Jai actually mean pity, not sorry, Kho-Thot is the right word to say I'm sorry or excuse me...

Your transliteration might make it hard for people to know how to say the phrase.

I'd write it as Kor Tord.

And I hear it being said by Thais a lot. Particularly during rush hour on the BTS, although in that case its being used as its other meaning which is "Excuse me".

Very useful phrase to know!

Kau tote o r khau thote is closer to the native pronunciation. I know the "ord" is seen a lot especially at language schools and books but it is phonetically incorrect.

"Tord" makes me think about the word "turd" instead.

kau kai, sara au (au anng) , sara O (vowel), tautahan, sau reusee LOL, karaoke language. Too bad mods wont allow thai characters when they are pertinent in assisting a word to be better understood.

I'd write the thai word and dissect it to explain but they'd delete my post.

Your pronunciation is incorrect the previous posters were correct. The correct pronunciation is kŏr tôht rather like the call of a blackbird "Caw" and "Tot" as in the nickname for a toddler. Some Thai professors spell tôht", "tord" but the pronunciation should be tôht.

[SOTIRIOS]

....hard to pronounce the letter 'r'......???

...that....and the locals are hell-bent on making us sorry we ever came here......???

[Suradit69]

"What is the reason that in thailand it is even harder to hear the word...sorry" ?

Sorry = Loss of Face!

And loss of face is an even bigger problem for westerners than Thais ... having sparked numerous wars, e.g. to save face for the Bush family, among others. And of course farang loss of face sets off many of the threads here at the hub of bruised egos.

I hear "sorry" fairly often and ขอโทษ even more often ... this being a country whose language is not English.

Of course for farang it's always the "principle of the thing" ( or more often on Thai Visa, "the principal of the thing"). " I had to pay 5 baht more than a citizen. It's the principle, not the 5 baht, that makes me apoplectic."

Edited April 11, 2014 by Suradit69

[nithisa78]

Because nobody is ever wrong in Thailand?

Not if you are in, Thailand..

[myluckythai]

did you ever hear a dog say sorry when it bit you? the comparising is made. now let the goodwill believers come and flood me with whatever they think about it.....oh and it IS a typical thai thing to never be wrong, whatever another feels to believe about this. Or maybe all the good thais live in another place then where ever it is i am at the moment.

Thailand IS the land of excuses not apologies. never heard so many ,as to why they are not doing what they are supposed to do. Nothing gets done proper and it is Always anothers fault.

Before i had some arguments with thaivisa members about the thai. and me stating they are not so stupid or dum or unmannerd .i even felt offended. And i was wrong!!!! The more serious business i have with m the more i feel like treating m like dogs .. But maybe that is way of topic now.

SORRY !

Edited April 11, 2014 by myluckythai

[thailiketoo]

did you ever hear a dog say sorry when it bit you? the comparising is made. now let the goodwill believers come and flood me with whatever they think about it.....oh and it IS a typical thai thing to never be wrong, whatever another feels to believe about this. Or maybe all the good thais live in another place then where ever it is i am at the moment.

Thailand IS the land of excuses not apologies. never heard so many ,as to why they are not doing what they are supposed to do. Nothing gets done proper and it is Always anothers fault.

Before i had some arguments with thaivisa members about the thai. and me stating they are not so stupid or dum or unmannerd .i even felt offended. And i was wrong!!!! The more serious business i have with m the more i feel like treating m like dogs .. But maybe that is way of topic now.

SORRY !

Sure my dog says she's sorry all the time. My wife when she is cleaning outside and bops the dog on the head with her broom says she is sorry to the dog. My wife says she is sorry to me at least 10 times a week. She says it in Thai. Do you not speak Thai?

Edited April 11, 2014 by thailiketoo

[benalibina]

"What is the reason that in thailand it is even harder to hear the word...sorry" ?

Sorry = Loss of Face!

And loss of face is an even bigger problem for westerners than Thais ... having sparked numerous wars, e.g. to save face for the Bush family, among others. And of course farang loss of face sets off many of the threads here at the hub of bruised egos.

I hear "sorry" fairly often and ขอโทษ even more often ... this being a country whose language is not English.

Of course for farang it's always the "principle of the thing" ( or more often on Thai Visa, "the principal of the thing"). " I had to pay 5 baht more than a citizen. It's the principle, not the 5 baht, that makes me apoplectic."

Out of interest.....do you think it is wrong for a person to stick to his/her principles ?

[benalibina]

this post should be:

What is the reason that so many farang in Thailand don't get it and will never get it?

What is it that they dont get and never will ?

[stickylies]

this post should be:

What is the reason that so many farang in Thailand don't get it and will never get it?

What is it that they dont get and never will ?

anything, ok na khrap...

[thailiketoo]

"What is the reason that in thailand it is even harder to hear the word...sorry" ?

Sorry = Loss of Face!

And loss of face is an even bigger problem for westerners than Thais ... having sparked numerous wars, e.g. to save face for the Bush family, among others. And of course farang loss of face sets off many of the threads here at the hub of bruised egos.

I hear "sorry" fairly often and ขอโทษ even more often ... this being a country whose language is not English.

Of course for farang it's always the "principle of the thing" ( or more often on Thai Visa, "the principal of the thing"). " I had to pay 5 baht more than a citizen. It's the principle, not the 5 baht, that makes me apoplectic."

Out of interest.....do you think it is wrong for a person to stick to his/her principles ?

Situational ethics, or situation ethics, takes into account the particular context of an act when evaluating it ethically, rather than judging it according to absolute moral standards. Early proponents of situational approaches to ethics included Kierkegaard, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Jaspers, and Heidegger.

What is right in London may not be correct in Bangkok.

[benalibina]

"What is the reason that in thailand it is even harder to hear the word...sorry" ?

Sorry = Loss of Face!

And loss of face is an even bigger problem for westerners than Thais ... having sparked numerous wars, e.g. to save face for the Bush family, among others. And of course farang loss of face sets off many of the threads here at the hub of bruised egos.

I hear "sorry" fairly often and ขอโทษ even more often ... this being a country whose language is not English.

Of course for farang it's always the "principle of the thing" ( or more often on Thai Visa, "the principal of the thing"). " I had to pay 5 baht more than a citizen. It's the principle, not the 5 baht, that makes me apoplectic."

Out of interest.....do you think it is wrong for a person to stick to his/her principles ?

Situational ethics, or situation ethics, takes into account the particular context of an act when evaluating it ethically, rather than judging it according to absolute moral standards. Early proponents of situational approaches to ethics included Kierkegaard, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Jaspers, and Heidegger.

What is right in London may not be correct in Bangkok.

A principle which one lives by, and which causes no harm to somebody else, has nothing to do with being in a certain country.

[thailiketoo]

Out of interest.....do you think it is wrong for a person to stick to his/her principles ?

Situational ethics, or situation ethics, takes into account the particular context of an act when evaluating it ethically, rather than judging it according to absolute moral standards. Early proponents of situational approaches to ethics included Kierkegaard, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Jaspers, and Heidegger.

What is right in London may not be correct in Bangkok.

A principle which one lives by, and which causes no harm to somebody else, has nothing to do with being in a certain country.

Not so.

Since 'circumstances alter cases', situationism holds that in practice what in some times and places we call right is in other times and places wrong...

For example, lying is ordinarily not in the best interest of interpersonal communication and social integrity, but is justifiable nevertheless in certain situations.

Joseph Fletcher, Naturalism, situation ethics and value theory, in Ethics at the Crossroads, 1995

Do you want more examples?

Moral judgments are decisions, not conclusions

• Decisions ought to be made situationally, not prescriptively
• We should seek the well-being of people, rather than love principles.

When I was a young man, many students in America violated the law in order to stop an unjust war. In other times the violation of the law would have been wrong. Cutting off a parts of a persons genitals may be wrong in some societies and right in others.

Some governments should be obeyed and others not for example Germany in the 1930's. What is right or wrong depends on where you are and when.

[benalibina]

@thailiketoo....i am not quoting ur comment now out of fear it goes wrong and you cant read it.

As people get older they have more experiences about their lives. I am duly aware that the country 1 is living in needs flexibility in order to get on in day to day life. I dont like to be cheated by anybody so if i know i will have options to avoid that by f.i. a taxi driver i will not get cheated because of the availability in f.i. bkk. If i am in the middle of nowhere and there are as good as no taxis available and therefore i need to pay a way higher price than normal, it is my choice to accept it. If i dont i have to accept the consequences. So you are correct it can be situational.

[StreetCowboy]

...A principle which one lives by, and which causes no harm to somebody else, has nothing to do with being in a certain country.

A principle which causes no harm to yourself or somebody else is a pretty piss-poor principle; that sounds like expediency to me. We can all be wishy-washy laissez faire do-nowt liberals at the expense of standing up for our neighbours

SC

Edited April 11, 2014 by StreetCowboy

[benalibina]

...A principle which one lives by, and which causes no harm to somebody else, has nothing to do with being in a certain country.

A principle which causes no harm to yourself or somebody else is a pretty piss-poor principle; that sounds like expediency to me. We can all be wishy-washy laissez faire do-nowt liberals at the expense of standing up for our neighbours

SC

Woooowwww .....i dont see what is wrong with being honest and therefore like to be treated fair 2. Please tell me ?

[Sayonarax]

Sorry your ears are painted on...

Was in lotus the other day and some one bumped in to me.. what did they say? Ill give ya one guess.

[StreetCowboy]

Sorry your ears are painted on...

Was in lotus the other day and some one bumped in to me.. what did they say? Ill give ya one guess.

"D'yewaantasquarego,son?"

[Scarpolo]

The people I was around had no problem saying sorry,

There was no shame in admitting a mistake

now, if you are looking for someone to apologize for being different, and not fully accomodating, this is their country, we arent entitled to their being sorry for beng different, or, because they arent what we think they should be

they can only be who they are,

not who we want them to be

thats a tough lesson

Edited April 12, 2014 by Scarpolo

[MAJIC]

Sorry.....................oh dear.... I am ...sorry I can't turn the clock back,how I wish I could.

[KonaRain]

I learned in Hawaii long before Thailand..Asians are better..

Sometimes! I yield to old Japanese ladies in the market...

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[AlexRRR]

Seems its universally hard to say the s word, and that song sucked then and still does.