Behind the Thai Smile – What are they really thinking?

[rott]

A Thai smile is like a dog wagging its tail, it can mean:-

(a) I am very happy to see you

( I want to steal your food

© I am looking forward to killing you

or similar, and many more besides.

[Orac]

Thai smile doesn't mean anything. It's just a mask not showing real feelings or emotions. You can hide best with a smile. It's a fassade only. And on the country side you won't see so many smiles because life is hard to stay.

So don't feel pleased if a Thai girl smiles at you. It's just nothing but could mean everything.

Being at one with my thainess, whenever I find myself out of my depth, confused about what is going on around me or just generally baffled I just stick a grin on my face and find things nearly always turn out fine so, as you say, there can often be nothing whatsoever behind the smile.

[rott]

Don't know how the smiley and the copyright mark sneaked in.

[UPDEHSOI]

A Thai smile is meaningless and getting rarer. I have seen more genuine, and sincere smiles in Cardiff dock area.

In my humble opinion, I don't think ALL Thai ladies ( and Thai men's ) smiles are meaningless. I have several Thai lady friends who's smile is as pure as the driven snow. ( well, as pure as the driven snow was five thousand years ago ) But I think you are partly right. Many many of them ARE meaningless as far as the normal situation goes. And yes, to me they definitely DO seem to be much rarer than years ago. But over the past twenty four years I have seen Thai ladies smiles ( just the smile, NOTHING ELSE ) garner millions of baht in favour of the Thai lady. Soooo...not exactly "meaningless" per se.

[UPDEHSOI]

... It is so typical of what I experienced from Thais whom have left to live in a new country; they suddenly become experts on advice. ...

And then there's the TV resident experts as well.

Yup, that's us.

[ToS2014]

If I smile I wonder if he will buy me lunch, dinner, purse, shoes, a home in my village, and eventually my "sister's" children college education. Wow how a smile works on some!

[johnhw]

How can we get your money

Or, in many many cases...HOW MUCH of it can I/we get.

Danged greedy, these Thais. Hope it doesn't spread elsewhere in the world!!!

[UPDEHSOI]

Thai smile at near everything and often - the motorcyclist who pulls in front of my car and almost gets hit - when I stop short, he smiles… that smile means Wheeew!! - but I see the smiles as having multiple meanings and they seem to be a reaction to near anything - it can be a response to hopefully avoid a potential confrontation, to lighten up a potential problem or sometimes what seems just a lack of knowing how to respond, when in doubt - smile.

I have seen Westerners here who interpret every smile as a flirtation - then find it false if not so… I think if you have the awareness that is the first step to interpreting the Thai smile, but it does need to be interpreted. It can even mean, 'ooops! I screwed up and knocked your coffee into your lap!! - no, I am not laughing at your misfortune I just don't know what else to do'…

And the funniest thing for my wife in the West was when I would accidentally hit my head - the more it hurt, the funnier it was for her…

As to finances - yes, I have seen that reaction of Thai ladies or ladies anywhere wanting to be "helpful" to friends after their good fortune. Wanting to marry up in finances is not a Thai thing alone though they might be a bit more upfront about it. Does a parent in the Western World want their daughter to marry the doctor who will work hard and be an excellent provider or would they prefer the sweet poet who will guarantee a life of intellectual stimulation and poverty?

This is an interesting and expansive subject and not limited to Thai alone…

IMHO, I think you got it summed up pretty well...as far as I'm concerned anyway.

[thaiduncankk]

If you asked me to define 'Thai Smile', it is an airline I sometimes use to go to Bangkok, when I wish.

[bil2054]

I get very pleasant return smiles from people on a regular basis, and there is no ulterior motive because they are folks I happen to encounter as I walk along... they are not going to get anything else from me than a facial expression of good will. Especially gratifying are the ones who look doubtful or pissed off at first, but break out in a "happy face" when I persist.
My GF has remarked "You do not have to smile at everybody!" I suspect she means the other Thai ladies.

[nidieunimaitre]

"What are they really thinking"?

Should be good once our experts wake up and tell us what its all about!

Personally I would have though we would get more sensible answers to the question; "How long is a piece of string"?

they are weighing the discomfort of a 95 k slab of fat flopping over them to 3 debt cards with a 175,000 baht total replenished every month . oh the pain .

If only they were not too shy to try out different positions.

[nidieunimaitre]

How can we get your money

Or, in many many cases...HOW MUCH of it can I/we get.

Danged greedy, these Thais. Hope it doesn't spread elsewhere in the world!!!

In the rest of the world, the concept is called "marketing".

[petermik]

I was once told that if there is someone who I don,t like but cannot avoid to greet them with a big smile.................the bigger the smile the bigger the <deleted> off your giving them

[steven100]

Same as in most countries, some are warm and sincere while others are fake.....

[Rimmer]

A post that is over the top has been removed

[WaiLai]

If it was not from a sponsor, I would have labeled this a troll post.

so would I have done so.... but let me digress

Babies are mistakenly described as "smiling" when in fact they are experiencing uncomfortable abdominal gas pains

Surely to goodness Thais aren't smiling because of psychological and physical pains!

[nidieunimaitre]

Sincere smiles, romantic love, respect, gratitude, selfishness and buddhism are western outlandish concepts that should not be applied to Thailand.

[GaryAdriaenssens]

Short answer "NOTHING!"

[Karlo]

The Thai Smile was something often posted in articles about Thailand. But having lived now in Thailand for a number of months I have hardly seen the illusive Thai Smile. All waitresses who have served me seem to hate their job and as such never give you a smile or on most occasions utter a single word.

[nidieunimaitre]

Short answer "NOTHING!"

Same as the flag in your avatar.

[samsensam]

the assumption is that they are thinking...

[whaleboneman]

A Thai smile is like a dog wagging its tail, it can mean:-

(a) I am very happy to see you

( I want to steal your food

© I am looking forward to killing you

or similar, and many more besides.

Well you don't know anything about dogs or Thai smiles do you?

[HooHaa]

they want to know why you are wasting your time sweating the small stuff

[smotherb]

Definition of a smile:

to have, produce, or exhibit a smile

a : to look or regard with amusement or ridicule smiled at his own folly

b : to bestow approval

c : to appear pleasant or agreeable

However Thais smile is none of the above, when Thai smiles it means almost nothing or

everything, and one should not misconstrued a Thai smile for niceness.

Thais, like many other people, smile for many reasons, e.g., they smile because they are embarrassed, shy, being coy, or have no idea what expression they should emit.

[Kilowatt]

I have been going to drag races up north for a year now.I have won more than my fair share.I always get genuine looking smiles from the lousers and according to my Thai gf they now call me uncle.

So I say smiles outside the bar scene are Real

[nidieunimaitre]

From Animals, Pink Floyd:

After a while, you can work on points for style

like a club tie,

a firm hand shake

a certain look in the eye

AN EASY SMILE

you have to be trusted by the people that you lie to

so that when they turn their backs on you

you'll get the chance to put the knife in

[GreasyFingers]

I get very pleasant return smiles from people on a regular basis, and there is no ulterior motive because they are folks I happen to encounter as I walk along... they are not going to get anything else from me than a facial expression of good will. Especially gratifying are the ones who look doubtful or pissed off at first, but break out in a "happy face" when I persist.

My GF has remarked "You do not have to smile at everybody!" I suspect she means the other Thai ladies.

Fully agree. Cannot understand farangs who do not smile. Didn't we come here to be happy.

[jpb1963]

I get very pleasant return smiles from people on a regular basis, and there is no ulterior motive because they are folks I happen to encounter as I walk along... they are not going to get anything else from me than a facial expression of good will. Especially gratifying are the ones who look doubtful or pissed off at first, but break out in a "happy face" when I persist.

My GF has remarked "You do not have to smile at everybody!" I suspect she means the other Thai ladies.

Fully agree. Cannot understand farangs who do not smile. Didn't we come here to be happy.

lol that is gold - so easy to smile and be smiled back at.

seems that the naysayers herein are perhaps jaded by the over run tourist precinct areas or they are just miserable SOS's,

i find that smiling is the norm rather than the opposite.

to those that think that there is an ulterior motive behind everyone well i guess you live in a very shallow and tainted world - bad luck i am glad that i don't

[SoiBiker]

I tend to smile at people wherever I go. Thai people generally smile back. Farangs mostly not.

[thaiduncankk]

I smile at most people in passing, and they normally smile back. However, the question was not 'do you smile ?',

It was about what people believe is behind the smile.