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Phrases every visitor in Thailand should know

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Or this old-fashioned book-likely still for sale/in stock at (some) ASIAboox outlets: (as I was unsure after nearly 1000 days what knowledge of this beautiful THai language is still with me, I took it as a kind of reminder/help_ whilst waiting for the plane to BKK I was delighted I could understand much of the very clear and neat Thai that some around me spoke.

THai to you, by Andreas Schottenlober, ed. D.K. Today Ltd , 2562, (that is Duang Kamol, a long standing general Thai editor and bookseller), just 99 bt.

BUT for us much, much more interesting-so much that it was even forbidden in TH (I bought mine in either SIN or MY):Outrageous Thai, slang, curses, epithets. By T.F. ROden. Tuttle Publications (these also do many of those coffeetable book travelguides for ASEAN), Tokyo/Singapore. Periplus edtions, 2008-so likely out of stock. Wonder if that would be found somewhere on this www- I think even der Christian could still learn out of it.

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Pretty shocked how bad this advice is from a media organisation like The Thaiger. I guess since Tim left it really has gone to the dogs. TnT News is great though so check that one out (his new solo venture)

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Khun is a polite way to address a person. You add the word before a person’s name. While it is similar to using Mr. or Ms. in English, there’s no direct correlation to English.

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This is the worst. Khun means "you" but can also be used to address a person, but rarely is. It's mostly foreigners saying it.  "Oh Hello Khun Chai, How Are You".... nah.. just don't. 


- you are hungry
- Khun Hiw
- คุณหิว

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Probably worth noting that many boys you meet will not say Krap. They will say Ka. The gender rules are not culturally enforced and people are free to refer to themselves as they wish. Many bar boys and gay boys will also use Chan, instead of Phom. Most Thai people think nothing of it, so learning both means you won't have to think about it either. 



I'm still in my first year of Thai Language school. It's a fascinating language to learn, but a huge learning curve. You essentially have to forget everything you know about western language and start over. 

 

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18 minutes ago, gayinpattaya said:

I hear it from many normal gay boys. Every day. 
"fem boy" isn't a thing in Thailand. It's another western invention with no real relevance in Thai culture. 

20 years in Thailand, visiting and years living, never have I heard someone manly say "Ka."

I don't understand what relevance "fem boy" needs to have when my comment is directed at you and others on this board. You knew immediately what I meant when I said it, right?

ps

Hehehe, and I just learned that some men do it when they want to talk with a soft tone especially to women...so, that might be why I never heard it. Everyone else can draw their own conclusions.

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10 minutes ago, iendo said:

20 years in Thailand, visiting and years living, never have I heard someone manly say "Ka."

I don't understand what relevance "fem boy" needs to have when my comment is directed at you and others on this board. You knew immediately what I meant when I said it, right?

 

I never said "manly". I said bar boys / gay boys. 

fem boy is an American word. Where I am from we just said "tranny" when I was growing up.

Ultimately I can only know what I am taught at my Language school, and by Thai friends who help me practice my Thai speaking, reading and writing. 

If I'm wrong, I apologise 

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51 minutes ago, gayinpattaya said:

Probably worth noting that many boys you meet will not say Krap. They will say Ka

Rephrase that.....the boys you hang around say Ka, some of us prefer a man  😏

 

16 minutes ago, iendo said:

20 years in Thailand, visiting and years living, never have I heard someone manly say "Ka."

His type do....plus add drama and he's in heaven 😲

 

 

52 minutes ago, gayinpattaya said:

I'm still in my first year of Thai Language school. It's a fascinating language to learn, but a huge learning curve.

You still struggle with English 😝

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Do you mean that literally (as for to do this deed) or as the US way to just swear off someone?

The latter: you had better not say that in Thai, unless you really want heaps of trouble. Thai have more refined ways of expressing such a state of mood. But those with some exposure to western culture (about 99% of the guys you are likely to meet here) will understand it in USA/en/.

For the 1st: any guy you meet will understand this or even himself tell before to you he will -or will not -allow that. Plus that if one selects a guy anywhere for some pleasure making, this will be clear from the start what to expect.

 

On the subject of adding the polite krap/kah after sentence: once, various yrs ago, there were some trials to get gays (a real ´gay´ in Thai is a hoomoo, gay usually only means the guy will do bottoming) use Kuh (or keh, in some other writings). As a kind of in between. This may have caused this misunderstanding. i do not think it has been followed up and died a soft death. BTW-Lao use other terms for krap/kah.

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2 hours ago, scott456 said:

I like to know how to say "fuck you" in Thai.

E hah! - Be very careful how you use it and who it is directed at.  The recipient is unlikely to take it lightly or think it's funny.

Don't confuse that with Yee haw.  Yee haw means brand name

Just out of curiosity, why did you want to know that one?

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"Yet Mae", literally "fuck (your) mother" is use the same way as a general insult as "fuck you" in English.

"Ai Hea" literally "insulting prefix + monitor lizard" is used in a similar way (monitor lizard has a similar status as rat or dog or pig in insults in English).

Without tones, and teaching the tourist how to pronounce them, the transcriptions are almost useless.

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On 11/16/2022 at 8:46 AM, Gaybutton said:

E hah! - Be very careful how you use it and who it is directed at.  The recipient is unlikely to take it lightly or think it's funny.

Don't confuse that with Yee haw.  Yee haw means brand name

Just out of curiosity, why did you want to know that one?

Yeah..... 
Please, never say this. Really there is no need. For reference, the E is flat tone, HA is rising/up tone. But still..... Never say it haha

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14 hours ago, gayinpattaya said:

Please, never say this. Really there is no need.

I agree.  Find some other way to express your displeasure about something - and be careful how you do that too.  It will especially be frowned upon if a farang says it, and any Thai who overhears it also won't appreciate it.  And there have been many incidents when the "unappreciation" directed at a farang lands the farang in a hospital.

In Thailand one of the worst mistakes a farang can make is getting angry and/or arguing.  Neither will get you anywhere and the only outcome will be negative - for the farang.  If it is something serious, call the police.  They don't want any trouble harming the "good image" of Pattaya or anywhere else in Thailand.  But whatever it is, get yourself out of the situation as gracefully as possible.  You may not like it, but that's the way it is.

Believe me, once you lose self control, now you've lost all control.

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