Tag Archives: thai language

‘Bahasa ASEAN’ – Can Thai or Malay be ASEAN lingua franca?

Posted on January 20, 2012 | 3 Comments

Originally published on Asian Correspondent for SiamVoices on 19 January 2012.

ภาษาไทย

Can Thai really be a common language of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)? Apparently some people believe so. Voice TV reported:

A Chulalongkorn University research “Human Resources Preparation for the Opening of the ASEAN Market” has found that Thai will be another important language of communication and a common language in ASEAN on par with English because Thailand is the center of ASEAN. Lately it’s been found that [people in] the neighboring countries such as Lao PDR, Cambodia and Myanmar have become more interested in learning Thai.

Mr. Sompong Jitpradap, education lecturer, Chulalongkorn University, revealed that given the research findings, preparatory steps should be made to export Thai language teachers for foreigners [to] expand Thai education system. The ASEAN free trade will be an impetus for a more systematic education reform.

At present Thailand has many teachers of Thai language and students in Thai language major. However, the number and the quality of Thai language human resources have not yet been determined.

Unfortunately, the Voice TV report did not give any details of the research findings. No figures whatsoever were cited to back up such a drastic claim.

The online report has drawn quite a number of responses—from smiles and mild encouragement to snickers and the uniquely-Thai digital guffaws (5555+ – the number 5 is pronounced “Ha” in Thai). Some proud Thais readily rejoice in the future national glory promised in the news headline, “Chula research indicates Thai will become common ASEAN language.” More Thais are skeptical, though. Many point out that if any Southeast Asian language will have a possibility to come close to being a common ASEAN tongue, it will be Malay. Some wonder how the Chula research was ever concocted to have yielded such findings, while others tell the researcher to stop day dreaming and unspecified Thais to be less self-centered (only to be scolded by the proud Thais not to look down on a national heritage—and the usual online spat ensues).

Anyone who can count and know a bit of Southeast Asian geography and history will have a tough time being convinced that Thai—however beautiful a language it is—has a real chance of becoming an ASEAN lingua franca on par with English. Do the maths. ASEAN has 10 member countries, namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Of all these, Indonesia is the largest country. Bahasa Indonesia is the sixth most widely spoken language in the world. In multiple but similar forms, the language is spoken by 240 million Indonesians, 26 million Malaysians, and many Southern Thais, Singaporeans, Bruneians, and East Timorese. That’s at the very least 260 million speakers of Bahasa Indonesia, or Bahasa Melayu as it is called in Malaysia, in ASEAN. Now look at Thai. Thai is spoken obviously by at least 65 million Thais, plus maybe about 20 million in close neighboring countries. The number of Thai speakers falls short of 100 million.

Besides the number, another obstacle against Thai language becoming an ASEAN lingua franca is its own uniqueness. Thai does not have Romanized scripts like Bahasa Indonesia/Melayu, but an elaborate phonetic system with 44 consonants, 28 vowel forms and five tones. Except Laotians and Cambodians who share common linguistic history and have watched Thai TV soap operas for years and a couple of million Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, not very many foreigners have a strong incentive to learn Thai. Because Bahasa Indonesia/Melayu has Latin alphabet and the vocabulary borrows heavily from English (as well as Sanskrit, Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese, and Dutch), it is much easier for foreigners both within and without ASEAN to learn.

Termina Kasih

In September last year, the Malaysian Minister of Information, Communication and Culture Rais Yatim proposed that Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia, spoken by about 300 million people, be used as an official language in ASEAN. Interestingly enough, he acknowledged that his idea came from a research confirming that Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Melayu are used daily in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and southern Thailand.  At the Meeting of Journalists and Culture Experts of Malaysia and Indonesia, he urged journalists and culture experts from both countries to “jointly enhance the status of Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia as the languages of knowledge, art and commerce.”

Malaysian officials seem to have a strong interest in seeing their national language an ASEAN lingua franca. In October 2011 after launching the Bera-level 2011 National Language Month, the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said:

Bahasa Melayu had once been the language of commerce during the Malacca Sultanate…. We hope champions of the Malay language can work on making Bahasa Melayu the official language for ASEAN countries…. However, this does not mean we are putting English and other native languages aside, instead it is an effort to uphold Bahasa Melayu in the region.

No one can fault the Malaysian or Thai officials for desiring to see their respective national language gain more prominence in the region. Indeed, there would be a lot of benefits, economically, culturally and politically. At the same time, however, no one can deny the importance of English, which is the de facto Bahasa ASEAN.

Attempts by major ASEAN member countries to push their national language as an ASEAN official language are likely to encounter challenges—even for Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Melayu. Edmund Sim, who teaches a course on the law and policy of the ASEAN Economic Community at the National University of Singapore, explained the challenges for both Bahasas as follows:

The bigger issues regarding the use of Bahasa are both historical and practical. The issue of which Bahasa to use, Bahasa Indonesia or Bahasa Melayu, raises both points. The vocabularies are somewhat different, reflecting the different influences of Dutch and English, respectively.  These language differences still have historical meaning. This is important in a region with long, proud histories, where Malaysians and Indonesians have had cultural disputes over the origin of batik, rendang and traditional dances.

Another issue, of course, regards resources.  If ASEAN adopts Bahasa as another official language, will the ASEAN members provide the additional funding to support it at the Secretariat and other institutions?  ASEAN won’t need the vast army of translators that the EU institutions use, but Bahasa, in either form, has nuances that require skilled bilingual personnel.

Finally, adopting another official language could raise questions about whether other languages should be adopted as official ASEAN languages.  Chinese and Thai/Lao are other potential candidates, but with their own practical, political and historical issues.

The reality is English will continue to be the most important language in ASEAN for a long time to come—perhaps until Chinese manages to take over. True, not all citizens of ASEAN are proficient in English but it is the only language that all ASEAN member countries have common proficiency and this proficiency will only increase. This is actually where Thai officials and citizens alike should be very, very concerned about: Thais’ dismal English proficiency. Reuters reported in May 2011:

Thailand produces a workforce with some of the world’s weakest English-language skills. The IMD ranks Thailand 54th of 56 countries globally for English proficiency, the second-lowest in Asia. Singapore was third and Malaysia 28th.

Thai workers can’t compete with the Filipinos either in English skills. It is doubtful whether they can compete favorably with their Indonesian and Vietnamese counterparts.

The ASEAN market will have a free flow in 2015. That’s barely three years left for Thais to improve English proficiency, if Thais are really serious about moving ahead in ASEAN. Thais should also start learning the languages of our neighbors. Promote Thai language too, of course. All of these can be done, while learning to talk English seriously. After all, it can only help.

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The message or the accent? Hillary and Yingluck’s first meeting

Posted on December 27, 2011 | 4 Comments

This article was first published on 19 November by SiamVoices, on Asian Correspondent. Haven’t got around to re-post it here (for my own record) until now.

Source: US Embassy Bangkok Facebook

It was a historic meeting. At least in the sense that the first Thai female prime minister had her first official meeting with the top female diplomat of the United States, Thailand’s most powerful ally. It also took place right after her meeting with the UN Secretary General Bun Ki Moon. These two meetings were a mega-warm up for Yingluck before her entrance onto the world stage at the 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali where she would meet President Obama and other ASEAN and East Asian leaders.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was said to have cut short her visit to the Philippines to make a 17-hour pit stop in Bangkok on 16 November 2011 as her visit to Thailand was not on the original itinerary.

According to AFP, Secretary Clinton was on a mission to “update” the US relationships with its five treaty-bound regional allies—Australia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand. “These five alliances are the fulcrum for our efforts in the Asia-Pacific,” she said at the East-West Center in Honolulu before she commenced the Asia-Pacific tour.

If many of us in Thailand had an impression that the US was neglecting its old friend before, despite the deepening political conflict and worsening rights violations, we have now been told that it’s not true. Ostensibly, US policymakers have been concerned over Thailand after an extended period of political chaos.

And it was Hillary’s job to deliver a message to Yingluck and Thailand that the US really cares. A State Department official was quoted as saying before Hillary made it here:

One of the messages that the secretary will bring directly to the Thai people and the government is that we believe it is in the national security and political interest of the United States to have this government succeed…. We will do what we can to support that going forward. There are substantial tensions in Thailand and those tensions will not be resolved after one or even a few elections.

One can debate on the finer meaning of “this government” as Bangkok Pundit has done here, but the general message is clear. The US has confirmed its long-term commitment to Thailand and its intention to work with the current power holders. Whoever the power holders might actually be, there’s no denying that the face is Yingluck.

Hillary couldn’t have done a better job at making clear the message she was tasked to deliver at their joint press conference in the evening of 16November. In her statement, after delivering the American sympathies for the Thai people in the ravaging floods and the promise of $10 million US aid, she delivered the message:

I want to emphasize that although, of course, we are all focused on the immediate needs, the United States will be with you for the long run. We are working to help Thailand improve its capacity to prevent, prepare for, and respond to disasters like these floods. And we will support Thailand’s economic recovery as a trade investment and development partner. I recognize that these floods pose an early and serious challenge to the new Thai Government and to the hard-won peace that the Thai people achieved after the political violence that you have endured in recent years.

The United States stands firmly behind the civilian government of Thailand and the work it is doing to consolidate strong democratic institutions, ensure good governance, guarantee the rule of law, and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. We encourage the government to move forward with a political reconciliation process, which is critical to Thailand’s long-term stability and security. As it does so, it can also count on support from the United States.

I suppose it is a bit difficult to debate on the finer meaning of “civilian.” But no matter, it wasn’t even mentioned by most of the mainstream Thai press, which either glossed over the key message highlighted above or simply ignored it. Instead, the big fuss made by key media personalities in the mainstream press and by netizens who echoed their noises was about Yingluck’s English proficiency.

A well-known media personality, Somkiat Onwimon, who has more than 70,000 followers on Twitter tweeted (in Thai) after the press conference:

Having listened to the statement by Prime Minister Yingluck in response to Secretary Hillary Clinton, I found that her formal English communication was as terrible as her Thai. (1)

In formal communication with foreign countries, Prime Minister Yingluck should use Thai because her English is unserviceable. It is incomprehensible. Mistakes can do damage to Thailand. (2)

This evening Secretary Hillary Clinton answered the questions about Thailand better than the Thai prime minister, so much so that it made Prime Minister Yingluck a prop rather than the star. (3)

Prime Minister Yingluck will be at the ASEAN Summit in Bali. It’s worrying. [She’d better] use an interpreter from the Foreign Ministry to communicate with other 9 ASEAN leaders and +8 national leaders. (4)

That was more or less all the veteran newsman had to say about the joint press conference. There was no commentary on the substance of the statement by either leader. Nonetheless, or perhaps precisely because of that, his tweets were selling like hot cakes. The number of RTs for each tweet reached 100+ (tweet popularity doesn’t get any higher than that). His tweets have also been reproduced on Facebook and newspapers and on blogs like this one.

Make no mistake, the $10 mil US flood aid part got in most news headlines, but forget about the renewed ties between the two old allies or the unmistakable support of the US for the fledgling and battered Yingluck government. The bigger part of the Thai mainstream media, along with its “educated” urban consumers deeply embedded in social media, has been chewing, regurgitating, extrapolating, or refining on these tweets.

Somkiat, who has trained many Thai news anchors, apparently believes the prime minister’s English is potentially disastrous for Thailand’s interests. This point was quickly grabbed by those too inclined to shine a spotlight on any blemish of Yingluck. So came a deluge of comments on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and news commentaries on her accent and incorrect grammar (as compared to their favorite Eton-Oxford-educated former prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva), and on using an interpreter.

Of course, not all think Yingluck’s English is that bad. Most believe it’s quite serviceable. Or not—depending on which side you are listening to. An indisputable fact is, however, that she has neither the Queen’s English nor the American Southern twang. Her accent is characteristically very Thai. And so?

Her supporters have been beating up on Somkiat and the ‘accent’ and grammar critics, arguing what’s wrong with having an accent. They point out that Somkiat and co. just couldn’t stop themselves picking on her. The defensive reaction is understandable given Somkiat has recently spent quite an inordinate amount of time analyzing Yingluck’s Thai language skills, criticizing her less than good pronunciation, how she doesn’t distinguish between the ‘r’ and the ‘l’, how her speech delivery is unpolished, etc, etc. In other words, he was criticizing her for not having the Thai equivalent of the Queen’s English.

On this point, I believe Yingluck supporters have it right: there is no one English accent. They also have support from a heavy weight academic and social critic like Chanvit Kasetsiri who simply said:

Thai elites have inferiority complex and lead themselves to believe that good English is the Queen’s English only… ‘Don’t worry, just speak, speak lah’…. And you’ll get better at it.

I’m certain Yingluck will get better at it; she has proven to be a quick study. But meanwhile, what about an interpreter? It seems the jury is still out on that score. The merit and necessity of using interpretation is still being debated at the moment—sincerely or snarkily.

It’s unfortunate that the person who raised the interpreter issue was Somkiat who is highly critical (some may say nitpicking) of PM Yingluck. I personally don’t think that her English is terrible or incomprehensible, but indeed not fluent. His point about using an interpreter is not without merit, if PM Yingluck’s answer to the press at the joint press conference in Bangkok was any indication. She can certainly benefit from a professional interpreter, especially during the Q & A session with the press.

Also unfortunate, that as the anti-Yingluck camp continues to mock her accent and grammar, Yingluck supporters are hesitant to see her use an interpreter. They say she will improve, and those who dislike her are going to criticize her no matter what.

What does Hillary think of Yingluck’s English? I’m willing to bet she’s a lot more forgiving than Somkiat and other Yingluck critics at home.

I also wonder if the two women have had any more chance to meet casually in Bali, when perhaps Yingluck could ask for Hillary’s advice on how to be a strong female politician and how to deal with the prickly issue of tears.

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Weird Thai Nicknames – Deluxe Edition, Part 1

Posted on September 30, 2011 | 7 Comments

It’s been six months since I first wrote about weird Thai nicknames. I had thought it was going to be a single post on the topic but by the time I finished the article I realized it was just an hors-d’oeuvre.

Thanks to many of you for leaving comments and sharing more weird nicknames on the last post, which I added to my collection. There were also plenty more on the internet—mostly on Thai web boards. It seems not only foreigners have a thing for crazy Thai nicknames. Thais love strange Thai nicknames too. The research was great fun and educational. I could go on collecting more but it was going to be an endless process. At one point I had to tell myself to stop, otherwise I would never write a sequel I had promised.

Putting some order into weird Thai nicknames

Looking at my jumbled collection comprising several sheets of raggedy paper overcrowded with names handwritten in various colors, pointing to various directions, I was disorientated. There was no way I could make sense of it all without putting some order into it first. (I love putting things in order—an unfortunate personal affliction which sometimes comes in handy.) So I scanned for patterns and 13 categories of weird Thai nicknames jumped out at me (thankfully not all at once).

  1. Beverages
  2. Traditional Thai food and confectionery
  3. Western food and confectionery
  4. Sports and recreation
  5. Love of nature
  6. Catchy concepts and cool state of being
  7. Let’s not be shy about wanting riches
  8. More famous brands
  9. Parents must be either lazy or just sticklers for order
  10. Parents must be geeks who need to get out more
  11. Aww, how precious(ly weird)!
  12. Really? But why?!
  13. WTF!

Can you see now why I needed a system?

When is “weird” no longer “weird”?

Frankly I am now wondering how long the adjective “weird” will hold up for all the seemingly strange Thai nicknames. Looking for weird Thai nicknames is like looking for round pebbles on a beach. The more you look, the more round pebbles you find. You go from weird, to weirder, to how could it get any weirder, and there are still more where they come from.

When does “weird” stop being “weird”? I guess the point at which “weird” isn’t so weird anymore is when people don’t make much or any notice anymore. Maybe that point has already been reached for some of the nicknames I will include in this installment and future installments to come.

Does the fact that more and more Thai parents are crazily adopting ever more unusual, fantastic, strange, bizarre, far-out and mind-blowingly ridiculous nicknames for their kids make the nicknames any more normal, or less weird? Say, if every other Thai person has a weird nickname, does that make those commonly weird nicknames normal? But then “commonly weird” is an oxymoron.

Anyway, this is actually one of the things I appreciate about my fellow Thais, who ordinarily are obsessed with conformity. But when it comes to names and nicknames, Thais just can’t have enough uniqueness and go to ridiculous length to get it, even when it means naming their kids in the way that no other people on earth would even dare contemplating.

You’ve had your hors-d’oeuvre, so are you now ready for the main course? Yeah, you may chuckle. But at least in this first installment of the Deluxe Edition you will see that the gastronomy analogy isn’t so inappropriate as you might think. By the time you finish reading Part 1, you will likely feel stuffed or suffer a stomachache from over consumption of many different foods and beverages of the weird Thai nicknames.

Let’s have some drinks first.

1. Beverages

Fanta แฟนต้า & Sprite สไปรท์, along side Cola & Pepsi (not featured)

Pepsi เป๊บซี่ and Cola โคล่า are common, as already mentioned in the first post. Now added to the soft-drink category of Thai nicknames are their lesser peers Fanta แฟนต้า, Sprite สไปรท์ and Seven-Up เซเว่นอัฟ (the last often shortened to just Seven in actual use—like the “Seven” shortened from 7-Eleven).

If you are wondering whether Thais prefer Western-style beverages, the answer is no. There are plenty of Thai-style beverages that serve Thais’ needs for sustenance as well as unique individual designation. Among the more common ones:

Nam Wan น้ำหวาน /náam wǎan/ (syrup; sweet drink)

Nam Oy น้ำอ้อย /náam ôoy/ (sugar cane juice)

Nam Phueng น้ำผึ้ง /náam phûeng/ (honey)

As nicknames, these super sweet drinks are for girls. As beverages, for anyone with sweet tooth.

There are a variety of other healthful Thai beverages more recently adopted as nicknames, mostly for girls as well, but you won’t run into Thai girls with healthful beverage nicknames everyday as they aren’t in great numbers—yet.

Nam Som น้ำส้ม  /náam sôm/ (orange juice)

Nam Khing น้ำขิง  /náam khǐng/ (ginger drink)

Nam Khow น้ำข้าว  /náam khâaw/ (rice milk)

Nam Nom น้ำนม /náam nom/ (breast milk or milk)

Nam Rae น้ำแร่ /náam rÊE/ (mineral water)

(*Nam น้ำ means water, liquid, juice, or milk.)

Milk: Nom นม, Nam Nom น้ำนม

From here we leave the outer periphery and enter the inner realm of Thai nickname weirdness. Orange juice, ginger drink, rice milk and mineral water are normal as drinks and have a potential to soon become kind of normal as nicknames. But breast milk? While perfectly normal as baby food, I have doubt as to its future as a common beverage for people of any age, but who knows it may be just weird enough to become a common Thai nickname eventually. Still though, how can anyone ever call a girl “breast milk” and not think of the milk source?

Source of (one kind of) Milk

I have learned to never say never about Thai nicknames. According to at least one source there is a girl nicknamed simply Nom นม, which can mean either “breast” or “milk” (I hope, and likely, it’s the latter). Yes, in case you wonder, there are girls (maybe boys too) nicknamed with the English word Milk, although to western ears the nickname when said by Thais won’t sound like what you expect. It will likely sound like Miew มิ้ว (because Thais don’t express the final sounds that don’t exist in Thai final consonants, e.g. ‘s’, ‘t,’ ‘k’, ‘f’).

There are many more Thai drinks for many more Thai girls and boys in need of unique nicknames. Some resourceful parents have turned perfectly ordinary Thai beverages into extraordinary nicknames such as:

Nam Cha น้ำชา /náam nom/ (tea)

Ka Fae กาแฟ /kaa-fEE/ (coffee)

Cha Yen ชาเย็น /chaa yen/ (sweet iced milk tea)

O-Liang โอเลี้ยง /oo-líaang/ (sweet iced black coffee)

O-Liang โอเลี้ยง Sweet iced black coffee

But Thai parents are forever looking for the new extraordinary. Coffee and tea in liquid form may have lost their edge for some parents searching for the next, as yet unheard of, item for a nickname for the little one. I heard there is at least one kid somewhere nicknamed Bai Cha ใบชา /bai chaa/, “tea leaf.”

In recent years Starbucks has introduced to many urban Thai parents more shades, styles and sizes of coffee—all of which are considered hip (for now). For some reason as yet undetermined, certain parents felt that latte was among the hipper of all the hip Starbucks beverages on offer, so Latte ลาเต้ gets reborn, immortalized for at least one lifetime of a Thai kid. (Note to self: Look out for “Coffee Bean” reincarnation.)

Next, it might have been intended as a tribute to the usefulness and versatility of a certain liquid: Soda โซดา.

Previously I was under the impression that another common drink Beer เบียร์ was a boy’s name. I was recently proved wrong by Thailand’s new culture minister, a mother of three, nicknamed Beer. (Meet her here on Global Post, introduction by Patrick Winn.) I’m quite willing to pay 50 baht to know the nicknames of her three children… Okay, all right! 50 baht for each nickname!

UPDATE: How could I have forgotten Punch พั้นช์! (Thanks to my Twitter pal @Incognito_me for reminding me.)

Seagram ซีแกรม

The list of Thai beverages as nicknames will not be complete without spirits. One that keeps popping up in many threads discussing Thai nicknames is Seagram ซีแกรม. I’m not sure if it refers to the Chinese brand of gin pictured or something else. I have also seen a cheap wine-like beverage with very low alcohol content by that name.

Talking of wine, there is a nickname after this type of alcoholic beverage as well: Wine ไวน์. It’s unclear if it’s a girl or boy nickname. It could be unisex. Given there exists a tendency (as yet small) to pick nicknames after types of consumer products, I suspect there might also exist Thai kids going by Whisky วิสกี้, Brandy บรั่นดี, Vodka ว้อดก้า, Tequila เตกีล่า, or even Sake สาเก but I have no information to confirm this. I am less inclined to think that there’s a nickname “Lao Khow” เหล้าขาว /lâaw khǎaw/ (the extremely potent and illegal homebrew Thai whisky made from rice) but my incredulity has been shattered by so many Thai nicknames before. As you learn more you will come to believe like I do now, that anything under the sun is possible when it comes to Thai nicknames.

My research has not been exhaustive for nicknames in the distilled spirits department and this is not the area in which I am particularly well versed, being a non-drinker myself. Nonetheless, given the Thai love for brands I have a strong suspicion that the nickname Chivas ชีวาส exists because it appears to have such a popularity and that unquantifiable “preferred” sound and aura among Thais (educated speculation from having seen TV commercials of the said product).

Of course, there are also famous brands of alcoholic beverages like Singha, Chang and Heineken in the beer category, and Red Bull (known in Thai as Krathing Daeng กระทิงแดง) among energy drinks. But again I have no confirmation, so will stop speculating further on alcoholic nicknames—and end the Beverages section—right here.

 2. Traditional Thai food and confectionery

Rice: Khow ข้าว - We Thais are proud of our rice.

Thailand has long been a major rice producer and No. 1 rice exporter in the world until very recently when Vietnam snatched that title away from us. We Thais love eating rice and naturally are proud of our rice—many wonderful species and types of rice in fact. So it’s no wonder that rice is found among the Thai nicknames.

Our ancestors must have been proud of our rice too but I don’t believe it ever occurred to them to name their children after what they had for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. But perhaps the present generation felt the need to remind ourselves of our cultural heritage now that we are also eating many other non-Thai foods—or some parents just couldn’t find other cool nicknames to give their kids. Whichever the reason, a few Thai kids are now nicknamed after various kinds of Thai rice, at various stages and in various styles of preparation.

Khow San ข้าวสาร - Khow Klong ข้าวกล้อง - Khow Niew ข้าวเหนียว

Khow ข้าว /khâaw/ (rice)

Khow Hom ข้าวหอม /khâaw hǑOm/ (fragrant rice; jasmine rice)

Khow San ข้าวสาร /khâaw sǎan/ (milled, polished rice)

Khow Klong ข้าวกล้อง /khâaw klÔOng/ (half-milled rice, husked but unpolished)

Khow Suay ข้าวสวย /khâaw sǔaay/ (steamed rice)

Khow Niew ข้าวเหนียว /khâaw nǐaaw/ (sticky rice)

Khow Pan ข้าวปั้น /khâaw pân/ (sticky rice roll)

Khow Maak ข้าวหมาก /khâaw màak/ (fermented rice, a stage before rice wine)

Khow Fang ข้าวฟ่าง /khâaw fâang/ (millet, Sorghum)

I’m sure I have left off some types and species of rice now walking around in Thailand on two legs, but you get the idea.

In Thai cuisine rice is the main staple that comes with various dishes, so naturally there are lots more yummy Thai nicknames that make you hungry. But lest you forget, this is not really a Thai gastronomy course. I’ll present only the Thai dishes that I have confirmed to double as nicknames.

Among those that go extremely well with rice, steamed or sticky kind, are Moo Hwan หมูหวาน /mǔu wǎan/, “sweet pork,” and Moo Ping หมูปิ้ง /mǔu pîng/, “grilled pork.”

Nam Phrik-Pla Too น้ำพริก-ปลาทู Source: Kochpon at Bloggang.com http://goo.gl/e0JT1

These two are my most favorites in the food category. A brother and a sister named Nam Phrik น้ำพริก /náam phrik/, “chilli paste,” and Pla Too ปลาทู /plaa tuu/, “mackerel.” This pair is as Thai as they come and go heavenly with steaming hot rice.

There is another common traditional Thai dish that surprised me despite it all: Kaeng Som แกงส้ม /kEEng sôm/, “spicy sour curry” (containing various vegetables and fish or prawns). Again, heavenly with steaming hot rice (but then just about any edible thing is heavenly with steaming hot rice—if you like rice, that is).

What’s more, it appears that single noodle dishes are also popular as nicknames.

Padthai ผัดไทย /phàt thai/ (stir-fried noodles)

Khanom Jeen ขนมจีน /khà-nǒm jiin/ (Thai rice noodles in various sauces or curries)

Mii Kiew หมี่เกี๊ยว /mìi kíaaw/ (yellow noodle and dumpling soup or dry dish)

Wun Sen วุ้นเส้น /wún-sên/ (vermicelli, often in spicy salad or plain or spicy soup)

Khow Kaeng ข้าวแกง /khâaw kEEng/ (rice topped with curry and/or other dishes)

Khamom Jeen ขนมจีน, the food

Among the five dishes above, my personal favorite is Khanom Jeen, the Thai rice noodles with many selections of sauce and curry in a variety of tastes and colors, including reddish spicy coconut milk soup with minced fish or fish balls (Nam Ya น้ำยา), red chicken curry (Kaeng Kai แกงไก่), green chicken curry (Kaeng Khiew Hwan แกงเขียวหวาน), sweet chilli peanut

Khanom Jeen ขนมจีน, the singer

sauce (Nam Phrik น้ำพริก), Northern Thai pork, tomato and blood curd curry (Nam Ngiew น้ำเงี้ยว), and refreshing sweet-salty dressing sprinkled with crushed dry shrimps and thinly sliced hot chili peppers in fish sauce and coconut milk with chopped pineapple on the side (Khanom Jeen Saw Nam ขนมจีนซาวน้ำ). Check out this galore of Google images of Khanom Jeen, in both human and culinary forms.

Nicknames in the food category also include basic food stuff like “flour”: Paeng แป้ง /pÊEng/, which also means “powder.”  I suppose you’ll just have to ask each Paeng you meet (a good chance you’ll meet many) whether she is flour or powder. And then there is “gluten,” you know, the kind of flour that becomes gooey and mucus-like when cooked: Paeng Piak แป้งเปียก /pÊEng pìak/, literally “wet powder.” I consider myself very broad-minded, but seriously, gooey, mucus-like flour for a name!

Yet, that wasn’t the end of sticky, gooey food as nicknames. We move from mucus-like flour to “wet tamarind paste”: Makham Piak มะขามเปียก /má-khǎam pìak/. And how about “boiled vegetables”?: Phak Tom ผักต้ม /phàk tôm/. These last three nicknames, I think, belong better in the later category of “Really? But why?!” but well, they are also food.

While we are at it, let’s see what other vegetables that have upgraded their status from mere veggies to cool nicks.

Phak-kad ผักกาด (Chinese lettuce)

Phak-kad ผักกาด /phàk-kàat/ (lettuce or cabbage)

Kana คะน้า /khá-náa/ (Chinese kale or Chinese broccoli)

Kwangtung กวางตุ้ง /kwaang-tûng/ (Chinese cabbage)

Phak-chi ผักชี /phàk-chii/ (cilantro)

Phak-chi ผักชี (Cilantro)


The fantastically, fragrant and versatile jade-green Bai Toey ใบเตย - They can be made into beautiful flowers like this, give color, flavor and fragrance to deserts, or be made into drinks

Bai Toey ใบเตย /bai tooey/ (pandanus leaf)

Phak-bung ผักบุ้ง /phàk-bûng/ (morning glory)

Fakthong ฟักทอง /fák-thOOng/ (pumpkin)

Fakthong ฟักทอง (Pumpkin)

While these are all very nutritious veggies, not all serve extremely well as nicks, especially the last. See, “pumpkin” may be a term of endearment in English but its Thai name isn’t exactly endearing or polite (to English-literate ears). Imagine a kid introduces himself to a foreigner: “Hi, my name is Fak-thong.” Luckily he can always get a new nickname when he’s old enough to figure out the English F-word.

That was the main course. Now let’s look at deserts.

Bua Loi บัวลอย

Bua Loi บัวลอย /bua lOOy/ (flour balls in coconut milk)

Thong Yip ทองหยิบ /thOOng yìp/ (syrupy golden sweet in flower shape made of egg yolks)

Thong Yod ทองหยอด /thOOng yÒOt/ (syrupy golden droplets, made of same)

Foi Thong ฝอยทอง /fǑOy thOOng/ (syrupy golden serpentine, ditto)

The golden Thai sweets - Thong Yip ทองหยิบ, Thong Yod ทองหยอด, Foi Thong ฝอยทอง

Unlike the rest of Thai nicknames mentioned here, these four are actually traditional names for Thai girls that have become old-fashioned. But I include them here for two reasons: first, they are absolutely yummy and you should know about them both as Thai deserts and names, and second, to show the arbitrariness of how certain names can sound old-fashioned while others sound cool, although they came from the same source.

More modern Thai desert nicknames are no less sweet, though less elaborately prepared. Here we have two basic ingredients of Thai deserts, “sugar,” Nam Tan น้ำตาล /náam taan/ and “coconut milk,” Kati กะทิ /kà thí/. The latter is apparently inspired by a recent SEAWrite award-winning and very popular book entitled “Happiness of Kati” (ความสุขของกะทิ), which features a girl named Kati.

Pui Fai ปุยฝ้าย "cotton fluff" Source: jadtem.com

Then there are traditional Thai deserts made adorable nicknames like Pui Fai ปุยฝ้าย /pui fâay/, literally “cotton-fluff” (which is a kind of steamed cake in various pastel colors), and Sai Mai สายไหม /sǎay mǎi/, “silk thread” (sugar fluff ball)—see pictures.

That final set among sweets are the candies:

Luk Om ลูกอม /lûuk om/ (candy)

Om-Yim อมยิ้ม /om yím/ (literally “suck and smile,” J otherwise known as lollypop)

Tang-me ตังเม /tang mee/ (sticky sweet, i.e. toffee)

Kalamae กาละแม /ka-la-mEE/ (Thai pronunciation for “caramel”)

 3. Western food and confectionery

Western food is still a newcomer among Thai nicknames, hence a very short list. In the last post, you saw Pancake แพนเค้ก, the actress. The update is she has found herself a subject of political news lately when she went out with the new lady PM Yingluck to visit flood areas about a week ago. So, perhaps to neutralize suspicions that she favors one political side over the other, she has appeared in public events with the ex-PM Abhisit as well.

Pizza, the Italian food

Pancake may be the best known Western food among Thai celebrities, but among Thai musical talents, it’s Pizza พิซซ่า. “Pizza” is better known as Trisdee Na Pattalung), Thailand’s young musical prodigy and fast rising star conductor /composer.

Pizza, the Thai conductor (better known as Trisdee Na Pattalung)

(He is my fellow twitterer @Trisdee, and I should have asked him how he got his nickname, or whether the Italians called him “Maestro Pizza” when he was conducting in Italy last year.)

Western fruits have fast rivaled Thai fruits as nicknames. But it seems western vegetables have some ways to go against their home-grown competitors.

I have collected just one western veggie nickname: Carrot แครอท. It’s possible as anything is possible that there might be Broccoli, Celery, Asparagus, Arugula or Artichoke out there, but not highly probable because Thais are averse to nicknames with more than two syllables, not to mention that the ‘r’ and the ‘l’ and the many vowels will make pronunciation just a tad difficult and confusing for Thais: Celery would become Celelly; Broccoli, Bockoli; and Arugula, possibly Alagalu…. Kind of defeat the purpose of cool nicknames.

More popular are the nicknames from western-style bakeries, such as: Cake เค้ก, Cookie คุกกี้, Brownie บราวนี่, Doughnut or Donut โดนัท and Waffle วาฟเฟิล. (Yes, Waffle.) There’s the Thai version of Caramel, so why not the original version too: Caramel คาราเมล, although the famous thirty-something Thai TV personality by that nickname chooses to spell it กาละแมร์  in Thai and Kalamare in English. (See Kalamare in the picture below.) I have no idea as to what a correctly spelled Caramel might look like.

Kalamare กาละแมร์, TV personality

Likewise, there’s Thai Luk Om ลูกอม, so why not the English original Candy แคนดี้. And although there is no “Butter” (that I know of), there’s the Thai version Noey เนย to represent the basics in western cuisine. Come to think of it, there must also be Khanom Pang ขนมปัง, if not Bread (but I can’t be sure, it’s all so arbitrary). I can be sure, however, of:

Yam แยม (Thai pronunciation of “jam”)

Yam Roll แยมโรล (jam roll)

Yam Roll แยมโรล (jam roll)

Jelly เจลลี่ or เยลหลี (in the latter pronunciation, another Thai female celeb, a luuk-krueng model)

And finally for this category, there’s supposed to be Snickers สนิกเกอร์ (chocolate bar), who might have a friend nicknamed Mustard มัสตาร์ด. Why? I wouldn’t even ask.

Snickers สนิกเกอร์

That’s the first installment in the deluxe edition. The next installment will cover the next 5 categories:

  1. Sports and recreation
  2. Love of nature
  3. Catchy concepts and cool state of being
  4. Let’s not be shy about wanting riches
  5. More famous brands

As always, your comments and suggestions of nicknames are welcome.

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Weird Thai Nicknames

Posted on March 4, 2011 | 48 Comments

I’m sure many others have written about this. The topic is just so hard to resist. I have wanted to write about Thai nicknames for a long time but never got around to… until now. I kept hearing weirder and weirder nicknames bestowed on the poor Thai kids—well, perhaps not all ‘poor’ in the sense they will hate their nicknames five years from now but I bet many will wish their parents were less into fads and had a little more foresight.

Start with a couple of names flashing under my radar lately:

วุ้นเส้น Wun Sen /wún-sên/ = vermicelli

แพนเค้ก Pancake = pancake (surprise!)

ขนมจีน Khanom Jeen /khà-nǒm jiin/ = lit. “Chinese snack” but actually refers to Thai noodles (don’t ask my why but that’s just how Thai noodles are called)

pancake_food

Pancake the Food

pancake_person

Pancake the Person

How on earth can anyone, even Thais, think nicknames like Vermicelli, Pancake and Thai Noodles are cute? (Erm, maybe I haven’t chosen the right picture of Pancake the Person to make my point. But… uh… yummy, I concede. B-but normal? Be honest and imagine people as noodles.) My English-speaking friends, imagine naming your kid Spaghetti and you should see my point.

The three names listed above (all nicknames of pretty young Thai celebs) are among recent additions to a galore of Thai nicknames that make you hungry. But they can’t compare with this one which is in a class of its own in astounding nicknames department. It made a screeching landing in my ear a few months back and crushed more than a few of my senses:

แอร์บัส Airbus

airbus

Airbus - the huge plane

Yes, you got it! Airbus. This is a name of an actor’s baby boy (daddy’s nickname is nothing so exotic). Perhaps daddy has a dream for his boy—to be a high-flyer. And a really big one too. Airbus it is! (380 is the model I guess daddy had in mind.)

If you think naming a baby Airbus is absurd, I agree. But obviously at least one person thinks differently (that he is an actor is duly noted).

There’s a tradition—albeit a relatively recent one, a few decades old—of Thai kids being named after brand names or even generic (English) names of inanimate or previously animate objects. Here are some common girl and boy nicknames you might have heard of:

เบนซ์ Benz (girl, as in Mercedes Benz)

โคล่า Cola (boy, as in Coca Cola)

เป๊บซี่ Pepsi (you know, Coke’s rival, boy)

เซเว่น Seven (as in 7-Eleven, girl)

บอล Ball (boy, as in round object you kick or throw or hit in a game)

กอล์ฟ Golf (boy, not exactly an object but I can imagine him as Ball’s sibling)

แบ๊งค์ Bank (modern masculine, boy, as in a place that keeps a lot of money)

โบ๊ต Boat (boy, water vehicle)

ปาล์ม Palm (boy I guess, as in the sturdy plant found in the tropics)

มิ้งค์ Mink (modern feminine?, girl, as in semiaquatic weasellike animal, or politically incorrect fur of this poor creature)

มิ้นท์ Mint (girl, a plant or extracted flavor thereof that’s considered refreshing)

If you have heard them often enough you might think they are normal nicknames like Thais do, I guess. But just imagine people calling you by some of these names and seeing the following images.

Pepsi

Pepsi

boat

Boat

mink

Mink

Gone are the days when Thai girls are nicknamed after cute, small animals and Thai fruits like แมว Maew (cat), นก Nok (bird), หนู Noo (mouse), ปู Poo (crab), ปลา Pla (fish), กวาง Kwang (deer), ต่าย Taay (rabbit), or ส้ม Som (orange), ส้มโอ Som-O (pomelo), ชมพู่ Chompoo (rose apple), มะปราง Ma-prang (Marian plum), แตงโม Taeng-mo (watermelon), องุ่น A-ngun (grape), etc. Okay, maybe you can’t really see nicknames like Orange and Grape adorable, or Crab and Fish cute and cuddly, but they seem to be all those in unique Thai sensibility.

The Thai concept of “cute animal nicknames” includes not only animals you can eat but extends further to amphibians, insects and other creatures that you may not want to see on your dinner table (but sometimes do appear on some dinner tables), like เต่า Tao (turtle), กบ Kob (frog), ลูกอ๊อด Luk-od (tadpole), มด Mod (ant), จิ้งจก Jingjok (house lizard), จิ้งหรีด Jingreed (cricket), etc.

frog

Kob - Frog

cricket

Jingreed - Cricket

This small sample should give you some idea about the Thai taste in cuteness. Non-Thais may think this set of nicknames pretty strange, but I can assure you, they are so “normal”. Even “passé normal.” So 1970s passé normal.

Long, long gone are the days when Thai kids were named after—gulp—basic colors. Towards the end of the 20th century sophisticated Thai parents snickered at the old way of naming kids ดำ Dam (black), แดง Daeng (red), or เขียว Khiew (green). In their way of thinking anyone who would inflict such old-fashioned and unimaginative nicknames on their children likely have not been exposed to the Thai modern way of life. But for modern parents still fond of colors, they have found a way to update the old tradition. Dump Dam, Daeng and Khiew. Enter พิ้งค์ Pink and บลู Blue—“cute” English colors, not the uncool Thai colors, mind you.

Similarly you won’t see many Nok’s among Thai girls under 20, but you’ll see many a boy or man named Bird. Not quite sure how or why, but the Thai nickname “bird” has evidently gone through a sex change. (My first suspect would be “P’ Bird” Thongchai McIntire, the pop singer superstar.) Fruit nicknames, on the other hands, stay pretty much on the feminine side but the Thai fruits have also predictably given way to farang fruits, like แอปเปิ้ล Apple, เชอรี่ Cherry. I saw บลูเบอรี่ Blueberry on the list at thainickname.com but I’m not able to confirm that the trend has gone that far—yet.

blueberry

Blueberry

Readers feeling semantically abused by this paragraph might wonder: haven’t Thai parents thought of more normal Western names, if they were going to adopt them anyway? Indeed, there are some normal Western names Thais have adopted that might soothe your senses—a little. You might find many Thai women and girls named Anne (แอนน์) and May (เมย์), and many Thai men named Joe (โจ) and Jay (เจ). And there are Tom (ทอม), Ken (เคน), Joy (จอย), and, ahem, Mark (มาร์ค). But you’ll also meet Bam (แบม), Bee (บี), Beam (บีม), Boy (บอย), Bom (บอม)—or is it Bomb (บอมบ์)?

So you see, before you can take a long breath the Thai nicknames drag you back to the realm of weirdness and attack your sensibilities with unlikely English words “trendy” Thai parents have chosen to bestow on their children. Many more of them like these:

เบียร์ Beer (perhaps daddy, or less likely mommy, couldn’t decide on the most favorite brand of beer to name the baby boy so went with the generic name instead to cover all possibilities)

ออยล์ Oil (never occurred to me to ask a girl by this name I once knew if it was the cooking oil or petro her parents had in mind)

ฟลุ๊ค Fluke (this should qualify as child abuse – really an unkind joke on the poor boy or girl branded as a living evidence that mommy and daddy failed at planning)

เวฟ Wave (I guess this is a boy’s name, though not quite sure if it’s the popular Honda motorbike model, shortened from microwave, or water or radio wave)

โน้ต Note (this I can understand somewhat, mommy and daddy have musical aspirations for their boy – though why not for a girl I’ll never know)

กีตาร์ Guitar (this I can not understand – why not wait until the boy or girl grows up and get him or her the real instrument)

เปียโน Piano (ditto – I can imagine the parents’ desire to see a kid as a future world-famous concert pianist, but I’d hate to break it to them that naming a baby after a grand musical instrument isn’t going to make the child a musical prodigy)

อาร์ม Arm (I suppose it refers to the upper arm, as it’s a boy’s name – upper arm is manlier than the lower arm, no?)

น๊อต Knot (perhaps some kind of reverse voodoo psychology to make the child an expert at solving knotty problems, or maybe it’s “not” without the “K” which will be even higher concept than I can take)

piano

Piano

arm

Arm

However weird these may seem, it could certainly be worse. Think of the possibilities! Thai boys and girls named Leg, Elbow, Armpit, Head, Ear … in families with a human anatomy fetish; or Flute, Drum, Clarinet, Whistle, Jingle, etc. in musically inclined families. (I have a nagging suspicion there is a Flute or two in Thailand. I would bet my lunch on it.) And for adventuresome families into vehicles or moving objects, hard as it may be for anyone to imagine, there can be worse nicknames than Airbus. Think just plain Bus (I really did see this on a nickname list!), Bike, Taxi, or Tuk-tuk (come to think of it, all these may already exist). If there are Thai kids called Boat, Helicopter and Porsche out there, the day you run into Bungee, Formula One, F18, or Airship may be nearer than you previously thought.

Really, I can kind of appreciate Thai parents giving their children sweet-sixties names like Sky (in Thai [Fah: ฟ้า] or English) and Water (น้ำ), or scientifically clever ones like Atom (อะตอม) and Ohm (you know, that electrical resistance unit with this symbol Ω). These at least have something special about them.

atomic bomb

Imagine Atom falls in love with Bomb

But naming one’s offspring after some brand names (exclusive or ubiquitous), mundane inanimate objects, public and private vehicles, food, drinks, and confectionery, I just can’t see how that’s pleasing… I mean, aren’t parents supposed to make their kids feel uniquely human? What purpose does naming a kid “Boat” serve? Surely not to make him float on water? What if he cant’ swim? That’s just one problem with one Thai nickname. If you have nothing better to do you can pick any of the nicknames above and list how each can make a kid’s life miserable. But then you’d be thinking too logically. I must say I don’t see many Thai people, kids or adults, making much of these nicknames I think are weird. Maybe I’m the weird one in Thai society. (That thought has crossed my mind quite a lot lately.)

I tweeted about Airbus when I first heard of that nickname. Many Twitter friends joined in and shared the funny Thai nicknames they had heard of. We joked that there might be a kid named Facebook somewhere. Guess what, Facebook was being suggested as a name for some baby on a web board. Somebody knew a young man named Google (whose parents must have been very early adopters of the Internet). I bet my money that there are a couple of Thai babies called iPhone or Blackberry already in existence or being made right now!

But I have not lost hope (that I’m not the only weird one). I believe there are some Thai youth out there who think like me. For all we know there could be some ill-adjusted Thai teenagers called Xerox or Fax, Modem or Netscape, brooding in their rooms right now, wishing their parents had been less techno-savvy and more sensible about nicknames.

Please have mercy on your beloved children before you give them a “trendy” nickname, Thai parents! Please, if not for your kids’ sake, do it for Nickname Gods’ sake!

There are still more exotic Thai nicknames on my list so I guess I’ll have to write Part 2.

Share exotic Thai nicknames you have heard and I’ll include them in Part 2. Thanks. :)

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Thai Particles of Endearment

Posted on February 25, 2011 | 8 Comments

This post is a sequel to the previous post on how to call your Thai sweetheart. As I was writing the last post, it occurred to me that expression of endearment in Thai language is not only in the terms of address themselves, but is also indicated by the various levels of intimacy in a choice of word said at the end of the expression or sentence like คะ /khá/, ครับ /khráp/, ขา /khǎa/, จ๊ะ /já/, จ๋า /jǎa/. Linguists call these little words “particles.”

No, these “particles” have nothing to do with physics. My esteemed linguist pal Rikker Dockum (aka @thai101 on Twitter) assured me that. He told me there are all kinds of particles with very nerdish names. I don’t want to put you in snooze mode, so let’s just focus on the few important ones that will take you to another level in Thai language of endearment. Rikker said, the proper term for the Thai words mentioned above is “vocative particles”—don’t worry, I won’t mention any more of these (even if I wanted to because I can’t remember them). I asked Rikker if I could call some of these particles (จ๊ะ /já/, จ๋า /jǎa/, ขา /khǎa/) “particles of endearment.” Forgot to ask Rikker whether such is among the terms recognized by linguists, but what matters is Rikker approved. I could use the term.

A particle of intimacy—จ๋า /jǎa/

The first Thai particle of endearment that you should know is จ๋า /jǎa/. It can be used by anyone of any age or any sex, with anyone in an intimate relationship (sexual and non-sexual). In can be thought of as a general “particle of intimacy” (another term I came up with). Even when already using an endearing term of address, this /jǎa/ particle will top it up with sweet intimacy. For example, look at the different nuance between adding /jǎa/ at the end of ที่รัก /tîi rák/ (dear, darling, love) and /tîi rák/ with the standard particles ค่ะ /khá/, ครับ /khráp/.

ที่รักจ๋า /tîi rák jǎa/ (unisex)

When this is used (instead of just plain ที่รัก /tîi rák/), it suggests that the speaker is feeling intimate, amorous or playful with his/her lover at the moment.

ที่รักคะ /tîi rák khá/ (female speaker)
ที่รักครับ /tîi rák khráp/ (male speaker)

When a lover uses a term of endearment like ที่รัก /tîi rák/ with the standard, polite particle คะ /khá/ or ครับ /khráp/, it suggests that, while the couple may be in a loving relationship, the speaker may not necessarily feel very intimate or amorous at the moment. The คะ /khá/, ครับ /khráp/ choice of particle adds some formality to the address; the speaker—if not naturally reserved—may have something serious to say or needs full attention. He or she is unlikely to be in a particularly playful mood.

The “particle of intimacy” จ๋า /jǎa/ is used in other terms of address in intimate relationship. For example:

พ่อจ๋า /phÔO jǎa/ = dear papa, dear daddy
แม่จ๋า /mÊE jǎa/ = dear mama, dear mommy
พี่จ๋า /phîi jǎa/ = dear older brother/sister; dear (male lover)
น้องจ๋า /nÓOng jǎa/* = dear younger brother/sister; dear (female lover)

*Some of you may have used or heard this phrase used to call a waitress or waiter, or a serving person. That’s correct, it is also used in that non-intimate context, just like some old-fashioned people would call a waitress in English “love,” “sweetheart.” Different but same same. :)

Folksy terms of endearment for unpretentious couples

For married couples, there are basic terms of address used with the ‘intimate particle’ จ๋า /jǎa/. However, there are cultural and gender considerations to be aware of.

เมียจ๋า /miiaa jǎa/ = dear wife
ผัวจ๋า /phǔa jǎa/ = dear husband

In the old days I imagine amorous husbands and wives called each other by these. But as it happens, these plain old terms now sound rather old-fashioned if not slightly vulgar (to genteel urbane ears). This is especially true with the term for husband, ผัว /phǔa/. (Note though, that the sensibility may be different among the younger generations who may even refer to girlfriends/boyfriends by these terms presumably because they aren’t so “proper.”)

In any case, I can be wrong but I think to most Thai women (folksy or urbane) เมียจ๋า /miiaa jǎa/ sounds very intimate and loving—maybe a bit ticklish to some demure Thai ladies but there’s no question about intimacy. Interestingly, the matter is not quite the same with ผัวจ๋า /phǔa jǎa/. Many sweet-talking Thai husbands may call their wives /miiaa jǎa/ without anyone raising their eyebrows (provided they don’t do it while giving a speech at a company function or the like). Yet, there’ll likely be some eyebrow raising, even tongue wagging if a sweet-talking Thai wife is caught whispering “phǔa jǎa” in her hubby. I imagine quite a few square Thai men may not like their wives using such an unladylike term of endearment either. It shouldn’t be this way but it is. Riap-roy (proper) Thai ladies aren’t supposed to use “vulgar” language. As to how the basic Thai term “husband” /phǔa/ has became vulgar while “wife” /miiaa/ hasn’t, deserves a blog post of its own.

One test a foreign husband/lover can use to check to what extent his Thai lady is a riap-roy demure lady is to see whether she is willing or able to utter the word ผัว /phǔa/ in his or anyone’s presence. If she is, does she blush profusely or does she use it like it has a sensitivity of the word “noodles”?

Given the sensitivity unevenly loaded to the authentic Thai terms ผัว /phǔa/ and เมีย /miiaa/, you are more likely to hear the borrowed terms with a Sanskrit root สามี /sǎa mii/ and ภรรยา /pan-rá-yaa/ used in polite Thai society. But while many urbane Thais may wince at the unglamorous word ผัว /phǔa/, ordinary Thai folks (those with less money and less glamor) and Thais with less aspiration to appear “refined” see little to blush about either people using ผัว /phǔa/ or เมีย /miiaa/.

… and for the refined couples?

You might wonder if “refined” Thai husbands and wives in an amorous mood might call one another สามีจ๋า /sǎa mii jǎa/ and ภรรยาจ๋า /pan-rá-yaa jǎa/. I can’t confirm one way or the other because I haven’t heard anyone use them. But then I haven’t been spying on refined Thai couples on the verge of lovemaking either (not that they’d make it easy for spies). Perhaps some do. If they do, it won’t sound terribly strange—or terribly intimately romantic. But don’t take my word for it, I can’t say I’m terribly “refined” myself.

So then, what terms of endearment do “refined” urbane couples use if not the above? My guess is that they use the more modern terms like ที่รัก /tîi rák/ or the borrowed English terms like ดาหลิง /daa-lǐng/ ด่าลิ้ง /dàa-líng/ (darling), or one of the terms I wrote about in the last post. (Any refined Thai couples out there, please correct me if I’m wrong.)

More particles of intimacy—จ๊ะ /já/ and ขา /khǎa/

As I said at the beginning of this post, endearment isn’t just in the terms of address but in the particles as well. We’ve looked at the intimate particle จ๋า /jǎa/. Now, let’s move to two other ones that are similarly intimate: จ๊ะ /já/ and ขา /khǎa/. Again, see the nuances and intimacy with ที่รัก /tîi rák/.

ที่รักจ๊ะ /tîi rák já/ (unisex) – high intimacy, seeking attention/acknowledgment
ที่รักขา /tîi rák khǎa/ (female speaker) – high intimacy, ingratiating, seeking attention and response

Like จ๋า /jǎa/, the particle จ๊ะ /já/ can be used by both sexes. In the old days men and boys would use both probably almost as much as women and girls, I gather from old literature and such. However, I believe both particles, especially the latter จ๊ะ /já/, have become somewhat feminine language. Also, these intimate and not so intimate particles, คะ /khá/, ขา / khǎa/, จ๊ะ /já/, จ๋า /jǎa/, are used mostly in standard Thai. You will rarely hear speakers of Isan, Northern Thai and, I believe, Southern Thai “dialects” use them (unless they are speaking standard Thai, of course, but even then they’ll less likely use them than native standard Thai speakers).

จ๊ะ /já/ and ขา /khǎa/ are used when addressing people in intimate family relationship, such as mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, etc., close friends and neighbors, and of course with the beloved.

As I noted above, the particle ขา /khǎa/ has an ingratiating tone. When thinking of this particle, I can’t help thinking of ป๋าขา /pǎa khǎa/, “daddy love,” uttered by young women. The “daddy” in this case isn’t likely the daddy who fathered the young lady calling him “(sugar) daddy love.” Given the usual tone (and form) in which this particle is delivered, one can be pretty sure that the young lady involved will get the attention and response that she’s seeking. :)

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How to Call Your Sweetheart in Thai—Late Valentine’s Edition

Posted on February 15, 2011 | 7 Comments

Romantically challenged me

Yesterday, Valentine’s Day, my beloved husband gave me a beautiful Valentine’s card, a set of hugging-puppies salt & pepper shakers and a bar of chocolate ice-cream. If you think these are not the most romantic Valentine’s presents, think again. I gave him a hug, a thank-you kiss—that’s all I gave him. I forgot to get him any present for Valentine’s Day. A little ashamed, I told him “I Love You”—which is really true. In my own defense, I do say that to him often, though not so often as he says that to me. We have agreed long ago that he is the romantic one in the family.

Are Thais big on terms of endearment?

I’ve been pondering this question for some time. (Seriously, I’m not always a Valentine’s Scrooge.) I had previously believed that Thais were not into terms of endearment but I might have been proven wrong—or at least not all right. I have almost never heard Thai couples calling each other endearing names. Once I heard my old Thai lady professor and her farang husband call each other by a very strange Thai term of endearment which almost gave me a constipation. But that’s one whole other story.

Compared to Western couples, I think it’s fair to say that Thai couples aren’t very big on using terms of endearment with each other (they might call each other by other nicknames which are necessarily lovey-dovey). Things may be a bit different with Thai-farang couples, among whom I’ve seen a common Thai term of endearment used: ที่รัก /tîi rák/, although it is often (mis)pronounced as /tîi–lák/. In fact, isn’t there a girlie bar called “Tilac” somewhere in Soi Nana or Cowboy?

In my own case, it is my (farang) hubby who does all the endearing things. His default term of address to me is “darling.” Alternately it’s “sweetheart,” “baby,” and a few other terms which I probably should not mention (lest his manly reputation will be severely damaged or his macho friends will be put at risk of death from uncontrolled gagging).

Because my hubby and I speak English to each other, I am more accustomed to the English terms of endearment than the Thai ones. I tried to think of the equivalent Thai terms on my own yesterday and came up with a pathetically short list of three. So I asked my Thai Twitter friends who gave me over ten more. The lively discussion we had also stimulated me to recall some more that must have lain dormant in my consciousness. (Thanks especially to @Incognito_me @warong @iPattt and @PanusD.)

As a late Valentine’s present to my hubby (which I’m sure he won’t mind sharing with my readers), I’ve compiled a list of Thai terms of endearment. They might come in handy particularly for foreign lovers of Thais and romantically-challenged Thais like me. The list is in no way exhaustive, but if I may say so, it gives not a bad coverage of romantic terms of endearment in Thai. A few are rather honey-dripping sweet that may spike up your blood sugar level but more are fun, quintessentially and charmingly Thai but rather hard to translate. I tried my best.

Thai Darlings & Sweethearts

The standard modern edition

ที่รัก /tîi rák/* = dear, darling, love

*Just so you know the “correct” pronunciation is /rák/ with the letter ‘r’, not ‘l.’ I don’t know about other Thais, but I prefer the pronunciation of /rák/ with the letter ‘r’ which means ‘love’ because /lák/ with the letter ‘l’ means ‘to steal.’ Plus, to discerning ears /tîi lák/ with ‘l’ may not sound very polished.

หวานใจ /wǎan jai/ = sweetheart

I guess this term is probably a Thai translation of the English “sweetheart” for that’s what it literally translates as.

ดาหลิง /daa-lǐng/ or ด่าลิ้ง /dàa-líng/ = darling

This one leaves no doubt that it’s borrowed from English “darling” with variants of Thai-ified tone.

The charming & sweet Thai edition

คนดี /khon dii/ = my good girl, my love

This is one of my most favorites. It is not too syrupy sweet but very loving and intimate, and not too common. It can be used with either male or female lover. (It can be used as a term of address in non-romantic context, like with a child.) I think it is most effective and appropriate, when you want to soothe or console:

โอ๋ๆ ไม่เป็นไรนะ คนดี /ǒo ǒo, mâi pen rai ná, khon dii/

“Oh, come, it’ll be all right, my love.”

ทูนหัว /tuun hǔa/ = dearest, beloved

ยาหยี /yaa yǐi/ = dear, darling

These two are used in the same way as ที่รัก /tîi rák/ but are more traditional. Though a bit quaint, they are still quite charming.

น้องรัก /nÓOng rák/ = dear (lady) love

This is a term used with a female lover (it can also be used to address a dear younger sibling, which is the meaning of /nÓOng/). When you see น้อง /nÓOng/ in a romantic context, 95% of the time it refers to a woman (I’m leaving the 5% for the possibility that gay couples may use it too, though I have nothing to collaborate this). Traditionally the male lover refers to himself and is called พี่ /phîi/ and the female น้อง /nÓOng/, sometimes even if the woman is older.

The honey-dripping, li-ke-esque Thai edition

ยอดรัก /yÔOt rák/ = most beloved

สุดที่รัก /sùt tîi rák/ = dearest love

ยอดดวงใจ /yÔOt duang jai/ = dearest heart

These are beautiful terms of endearment—really, if you like li-ke ลิเก, the Thai operatic-cum-musical performance art. Or the old style Thai luuk-thung ลูกทุ่ง (country) music. They are not embarrassing at all provided you don’t utter it with your beloved in public. J They are just pushing the quota of sweetness for most Thais with modern sensibilities. But who knows, your Thai lover may like them.

The quintessentially &19th-century charming Thai edition

แม่ยอดชู้ /mÊE yÔOt chúu/ พ่อยอดชู้ /phÔO yÔOt chúu/ = most beloved lover

As I explained in my book, the term ชู้ /chúu/ used to mean “lover” in Thai but has turned bad. Now it only means lover in an extra-marital or extra-relationship affair. Not kosher. The above terms hence refer to the “most beloved lover” in the old sense, not in the modern sense. But if you happen to have one in the modern sense, there’s nothing stopping you from using it. I’m just not sure I can guarantee that it will go down well. The former term is used with female lovers and the latter male lovers.

แม่ยอดขมองอิ่ม /mÊE yÔOt khà-mǑOng ìm/ = ??

There isn’t an equivalent English expression for this one that I can think of. Hard as I tried. But how do you translate something that says “my brains-full dearest beloved”? Take your shot. I give up. Or if you know anything similar in English or any other language, please let me know.

แม่เนื้อเย็น /mÊE núeaa yen/ = my cool-skinned love

แม่เนื้ออุ่น /mÊE núeaa ùn/ = my warm-skinned love

If you have a penchant for Thai classical literature or poems, you might have seen these terms popping up here and there. Why both “warm-skinned” and “cold-skinned,” you may wonder. Think how wonderful it is to have a lovely, temperature-controlled human for a lover, who turns warm when it’s cold, and cool when it’s hot. Of course, this term, like all the other terms with แม่ /mÊE/ in them, is only used with female lovers. (In the old days, แม่ /mÊE/, which means only “mother” now, referred to females of all ages, matrons, maidens or little girls.) I have not come across the male version of the cool- or warm-skinned lover. Perhaps most poets rambling on about their lovers were men.

Come to think of it, I myself must have been inspired by these expressions. I sometimes call my hubby “my human furnace.” (But to tell you the truth, having a human furnace for a husband isn’t really so romantically conducive in Thailand’s climate.) That said, my beloved human furnace, if you are reading this, I love you regardless, and know that even in Thailand’s heat, I’ll never wish that you turn “cool-skinned.” How frightening that’ll be! Oh Lordy, Hubby, forgive me for even thinking that!!

There are more Thai expressions of endearment in romantic and family contexts, but let’s save them for another day.

THAI SWEET TALK for LOVERS

Sweet Talk for Thai Sweet HeartFor those who are interested in more sweet talk with lovers, you may want to check out the special Valentine’s edition of “Sweet Talk for Thai Sweetheart” my publisher has just released on Kindle—if you have Kindle that is. Sweet Talk is a small collection of romance-related expressions drawn from my book Sex Talk: In Search of Love and Romance and Christopher G. Moore’s book Heart Talk: Say What You Feel in Thai.

But if you don’t want to shell out a few bucks and feel particularly lucky, you can also win a FREE COPY of one of these books at either of the following two blogs:

Sex Talk by Kaewmala - Contest Feb 2011Bangkok Podcast where you can find my audio interview with Tony and Greg on Thai sexuality and Thai-farang relationship. Two signed copies of Sex Talk are to be given away to the winners in a contest here. The “contest” runs until February 20.

Women Learn Thai where Catherine is giving away two copies each of Sex Talk and Heart Talk … just because…

All you have to do is leave a comment or two on the blogs. Good luck!

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“Play” in Thai Idioms – Part 3: Erotic Play

Posted on July 21, 2010 | 6 Comments

คำว่า “เล่น” ในสำนวนไทย – ตอนที่ ๓: เล่นรัก

So now we’ve come to the last part of the Thai “play” series – a part which I intentionally saved for last, knowing some of you were waiting for it. ;)

Old “Naughty” Play

Women who Love Women

เล่นเพื่อน "play pals" - A scene from Wat Kongkaram mural, Ratchburi – source: ภาพพูด For Eyes That See โดย อู่ทอง ประศาสน์วินิจฉัย

When Thais talk of “naughty” play from the past one of the words that almost instantly comes to mind is เล่นเพื่อน /lên phûeaan/ (lit. “play pals”). (No, there’s no typo – it’s not “PayPal.”) The Thai “pay pals” is an old idiom meaning “to have a lesbian affair.”

The sub-culture of เล่นเพื่อน /lên phûeaan/ has long been a subject of interest. I guess girls playing naughty have always been a favorite fetish for voyeurs – even those disguised as academics. ;) Books, book chapters, journal and magazine articles that studiously investigate the “historical tradition” of “playing pals” often associate it with the society of court ladies. That court ladies were known to engage in lesbian affairs is known the world over, found in all cultures where there were harems. Thai court ladies were no exception.

If you are interested in stories about lesbianism involving lovely Thai court ladies, see this article [in Thai] which shares such a story with a literary slant. This article discusses a comic poem by a court lady during Rama III reign who gave an insider’s view into the court ladies’ romantic drama. The said court lady was คุณสุวรรณ Khun Suwan who was one of the few well known Thai female poets. (What was special about her was that she had not only a huge literary talent, but also a wicked sense of humor.) Another blog article [in Thai] also tells a story involving a Chiang Mai princess in a love triangle with two other court ladies during Rama V reign. This one was tragic, plot developing and ending in the TV Channel 7 soap opera style. Only there were just นางเอก /naang èk/ (heroines) and no พระเอก /prá èk/ (heroes).

Back to the origin of “play pals” tradition. Well known court ladies’ romantic dramas notwithstanding, if เล่นเพื่อน /lên phûeaan/ had been restricted to the society of court ladies, there wouldn’t be the tradition of ทอม-ดี้ /tom-dii/ or หญิงรักหญิง /yǐng rák yǐng/ (lesbianism ; “women who love women”) in today’s Thailand, would it? In other words, lesbianism, the way I see it, is unlikely to have been merely a lifestyle of aristocrats in the old days, but an equal opportunity love tradition that women from all classes participated (if they had been so inclined). Just that few Thai literature covered the lives of ordinary folks (though I believe there are mentions of such relationships here and there in some literature – but one would have to look harder for those).

Men who Love Boys

Another old Thai tradition that involves sex and play is also a same-sex relationship that reminds one of the ancient Greek tradition of pederasty paiderastia meaning “love of children” or “love of boys”). In Thai the word is เล่นสวาท /lên sà-wàat/ (lit. “play love”), although the love is specific to boys. This old term means “to raise a boy to become [a man’s] own lover”, i.e. a tradition of “grooming” a “toy boy” or “boy toy”. The (toy)boy/sex slave raised or groomed by a man who เล่นสวาท /lên sà-wàat/ is called ลูกสวาท /lûuk sà-wàat/ (lit. “love child”). (which is derived from the Greek word

Obviously since sexual relations with underage children (male or female) have been made illegal, this tradition in its fullest form is no longer commonly practiced today. Likewise the term has fallen out of use, but the modern version of practice has been improvised. Sex with (male) children still happens in Thailand – as frequent news about arrests of pedophiles would indicate. Today’s version of “play love” เล่นสวาท /lên sà-wàat/ is more likely to be commercial and short-term arrangement.

(Anyone interested in another old (pedophilic) Thai tradition of grooming future husband/wife called เลี้ยงต้อย /líiang tÔOy/) or Thai terms for “toy boy” and “toy girl” see an article I wrote some months ago on that subject here.

“Play Fingering” – An Innocent Child Play Turned Naughty

Thai child play - เล่นจ้ำจี้ “play fingering and pointing”

เล่นจ้ำจี้ “play fingering and pointing” - source: baanmaha.com

An innocent child play is as seen in the picture on the left. It’s called เล่นจ้ำจี้ /lên jâm jîi/ lit. “play fingering and pointing.” The game is played along with the group singing, which is essential to the game. This website gives a concise game rules and the song lyrics [in Thai].

That is the innocent “fingering play” version. The not-so-innocent version, though using the same expression เล่นจ้ำจี้ /lên jâm jîi/, can perhaps be literally translated as “play hanky-panky.” Need I say more? But in case one needs some visual aid, here’s a page where a couple was described as เล่นจ้ำจี้. Half of the couple happened to be the famous Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon star, Zhang Zi Yi. In this case, the couple was “playing hanky-panky” in public (not at all approved of in Thai culture). Given public display of intimacy (especially the erotic kind) is still generally frowned upon, Thais like to engage in such a “play” in private.

Contemporary “Naughty” Play

Thai erotic play

เล่นรัก “play love” - A scene from Wat Phra Singh mural, Chiang Mai

The picture on the left is admittedly shows “naughty play” from yesteryears (recorded on a temple mural at that). I use a small segment of this temple mural because I think it represents quite appropriately the sentiment of “play love” เล่นรัก /lên rák/ – at least in my perception of the word. I can’t say whether this expression was used in the old days but I’d guess most probably. So I reckon was its synonym เล่นกาม /lên kaam/ lit. “play lust.” These two expressions involve typically a man and a woman in a romantic or erotic relationship but there’s nothing preventing them from being used in same-sex relationship as well.

Needless to say the tradition of “naughty play” in Thai culture and language lives on and thrives with creativity and diversity made possible by import and exchanges of erotic ideas and technologies. Yet, the two expressions above are still widely used today. Don’t believe me? Try googling it.

But the real 21st century lingo is probably เล่นเสียว /lên sǐaw/ lit. “play thrill”, meaning  more or less the same as the last three expressions: “to have sex” or “to fornicate.” But this slang term’s got more of a titillating quality to it – (เสียว /sǐaw/ = (sexually) thrilled).

Another modern erotic play term is เล่นเซ็กส์ /lên sék/ lit. “play sex” – replacing the Thai words รัก /rák/ (love) and กาม /kaam/ (carnal lust) with the imported English term “sex”, hence making this new expression a Thai-farang hybrid. In the past 10-15 years or so the word “sex” has become part of the Thai lexicon – somehow I think using a foreign word tones down the directness and makes it less “crude” to talk of, well, sex, but it also makes it seem more urbane.

เล่นเซ็กส์โฟน “play phone sex” – source: talkystory.com

Here comes the technology part – เล่นเซ็กส์โฟน /lên sék foon/ lit. “play phone sex.” I suppose, like in English this “play” involves both the kind that you pay for and the kind that you don’t. Note the word order: the Thai expression translates in the exact order as “play sex phone.” Thai word ordering in imported English terms are common.

Now, this is an old sexual play that gets a (presumably) modern slang: (vulgarity alert) เล่นตูด /lên tùut/ lit. “play anus.” If you google the Thai term [assuming you can read Thai], you’ll see that it applies to both opposite-sex and same-sex, uh, sex.

Adulterous/Casual Play

Then there’s a kind of sexual play with an illegitimate, unsanctioned partner – adulterous play. The play that involves cheating on a spouse/lover is called เล่นชู้ /lên chúu/ lit. “play lover” – also คบชู้ /khóp chúu/ lit. “consort with a lover” or มีชู้ /mii chúu/ lit. “have a lover.” One interesting thing about the Thai word ชู้ /chúu/ is that in the old days it actually meant “lover” in a legitimate and positive sense (seen in old classical literature) but over time the original meaning has faded and turned negative. Now the word only means a “lover” in an extra-marital affair or outside of a committed relationship.

Sometimes an adulterous play involves a “plaything” or two: ของเล่น /khǑng lên/ lit. “plaything” or “toy.” But these playthings are the human kind, not children’s toys. The two-legged ของเล่น /khǑng lên/ is played by an adult male or female (married or otherwise) in a casual affair. Once bored with, the player discards the “toy.”

Flirtatious Play

Thai erotic play isn’t limited to just the bedroom, of course. Even before love blossoms and sex is in the offing, there is usually a play of flirtation – well, at least by the coquettish type.

Flirtation is a playful art, and part of such an art involves use of the eyes: เล่นตา /lên taa/ lit. “play eyes,” which means “make (amorous/flirtatious) eyes.” Such a play is also described by the longer (possibly stronger) version of the act: เล่นหูเล่นตา /lên hǔu lên taa/ lit. “play ears, play eyes,” which, mind you, doesn’t mean that the player wiggles the ears as well, but the double emphasis conveys the intensity of the “come-hither” playful flirtation (with some disapproval).

Another play that is often employed in the flirtation or courtship stage is เล่นตัว /lên tua/ lit. “play body.” No, this is not anatomical sort of play. Rather it means “play hard to get.”

I’m pretty sure that some “erotic plays” have slipped through my fingers. If you know what I’ve missed, please let me know. Thanks.  :)

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