SiSePuede419 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 I think it's funny Thais call both octopus and squid 'bplaa mook'. They couldn't be more different. Squid have smooth skin, octopus has round suction cups. Squid are grey, octopus have an orangeish color. Squid are found throughout the ocean at all levels, but octopus are only found on the bottom They look nothing alike. Why do Thais call them both by the same name??? http://static.diffen.com/uploadz/4/4d/Octopus-1.jpg http://static.diffen.com/uploadz/e/e9/Squid-3.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naam Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Why do Thais call them both by the same name? to give Farangs the opportunity to ask silly questions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyG Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 It might be funny if it were true. Octopus is plaaˑmʉ̀kˑyák But then, English speakers refer to "cuttlefish", which really doesn't look much like any normal fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiSePuede419 Posted April 19, 2015 Author Share Posted April 19, 2015 (edited) It might be funny if it were true. Octopus is plaaˑmʉ̀kˑyák But then, English speakers refer to "cuttlefish", which really doesn't look much like any normal fish. Nope. Where I'm at in Thailand, they're both called Bplaa mook. Google Translate concurs: Octopus = ปลาหมึก Squid = ปลาหมึก Edited April 19, 2015 by SiSePuede419 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiSePuede419 Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 I did input "Bplaa mook yak" into Google in Pasa Thai, and it did translate to "octopus". But that makes even less sense, since "yak" means giant. The grilled octopus I ate during Songkran was smaller than my hand. Maybe the Thais mean it's giant sized in comparison to something else... [insert joke here] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyG Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 But that makes even less sense, since "yak" means giant. "Yak" is from the Sanskrit word yakṣa. In Thai mythology it refers to a kind of ogre/ogress typically with big, round bulging eyes and protruding fangs. It doesn't refer to size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitteung Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 They both use ink as a defense น้ำหมึก=ink pla meuk translates to fish with ink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeichen Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 limes and lemons have the same name. I guess the need to differentiate everything isn't as important. Inuit language has dozens of words describing snow. I am certain that in the scientific community it is more accurate but for common they eat them all the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyG Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 limes and lemons have the same name. I guess the need to differentiate everything isn't as important. But then Thailand doesn't grow lemons, so until recently they didn't need a word for them. That said, there is a Thai word for lemon: leemɔɔn. Inuit language has dozens of words describing snow. (1) There is no single "Inuit" language. There is a group of Eskimo-Aleut languages, though. (2) None of these languages really has dozens of words describing snow. The languages typically string multiple words together to create composites - rather like German. If we did this in English we could say that "hardsnow", "fallingsnow", "mushysnow", "flakysnow", "icysnow" and "meltingsnow" are all separate words, and claim that English has dozens of words for snow too, but we'd be wrong. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiSePuede419 Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 But that makes even less sense, since "yak" means giant."Yak" is from the Sanskrit word yakṣa. In Thai mythology it refers to a kind of ogre/ogress typically with big, round bulging eyes and protruding fangs. It doesn't refer to size. I did see that Hindu yaksa could be dwarfs. Leave it to Thais to get the details wrong, turning them into ogres and giants. Probably to scare Thai children into eating their weeds, I mean vegetables.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeichen Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 "(1) There is no single "Inuit" language. There is a group of Eskimo-Aleut languages, though." What did you do before Wikipedia? But again, you are right about everything. you have lived in every country. know every culture, speak 100's of languages and have an IQ of 190. Or you spend hours searching the internet so you can win every discussion. Get divorced often? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaeJoMTB Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 limes and lemons have the same name. I guess the need to differentiate everything isn't as important. Inuit language has dozens of words describing snow. I am certain that in the scientific community it is more accurate but for common they eat them all the same. Most Thais believe lemons are ripe limes. At least Inky fish is accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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