Any Thai Language Experts Here?

[Guest buckbee]

Hi, I know a bit of Thai and I'm writing a list of gay terms and phrases as a useful resource for guys that haven't been to Thailand before but want to get it checked over for mistakes before I post it and was wondering if anyone here can help please?

 

Cheers

[Bob]

If possible, I'd suggest you have a Thai friend check it over for you.  We falang often miss the nuances of certain Thai idioms and I also sometimes get the feelings that some of those idioms are even a bit regional even here in Thailand.

 

Additionally, one has to be careful as to who one targets with some of these phrases/idioms.  Many phrases to close friends are considered cute, sassy, and/or friendly whereas the same phrases to others are crude and insulting.  Unless you know for sure (i.e., you've used the phrase with people you know before and achieved the desired effect), probably best not to even go there.  

[Guest buckbee]

Thanks Bob, good suggestion and that's actually what I was worried about. I use heaps of gayish type Thai phrases with my Thai friends but I'm not 100% sure which ones are acceptable and which ones are not. I will just post the list here and if anything is out of order I'm sure I will get feedback to correct it

 

For example - Ive always used ควย for dick as that's what my friends taught me. But if you look it up on language sites it says its vulgar but I'm not sure how vulgar it actually is as I've never had a problem using it and my friends have never told me not to use it 

 

EG I would use ผม อยาก ดูด ควย คุณ I want to suck your dick

 

The correct term for dick is อวัยวะเพศ ชาย male sex organ but I've never even heard it or used it in real life

[vinapu]

it's likely easier  to find dick experts here than Thai language ones but Bob's suggestion is very sensible one - consult local , particularly if obscenities may be involved .

 

This is true in any language,

 

Thai is tonal language so knowing word and when to use it may not be enough is pronunciation is incorrect.

[Bob]

The other day, a Thai friend (he's a good friend's bf) asked me if I like karaoke and then, after a pause, somewhat giggled.  So I asked him what's up and he said that if you say you like karaoke, that means you like to suck cock  (I'm guessing because it's sorta like holding a microphone?).  He warned me, though, that you can only say that with very close friends and you'd likely have a big problem if you said that to people you didn't know well.

 

Hell, they have there own goofy idioms in English!  I won't likely learn many of those let alone the Thai ones!

 

I like the old-fashioned Thai idioms.  One of my favorites (posted here long ago) in "English" (because I'm too lazy at the moment to verify that I'd spell it right in Thai) is:  "gam kee dee gwaa gam dtoot."  Literally it means: "A handful of shit is better than a handful of fart."  Its real meaning is:  "Something is better than nothing."

[pong]

there are already at least 2books-for sale in Thai bookshops (but 1 of them may be out of print by now)-both are standing in my home here, whcih have about all the slang/expressions you so worry about, for english speakers about Thai lingo. 1 is general str8, but mainly about sex/relations and 1 is slang in general-and not even printed in TH, but Malaysia/Sin. Both also have Thai prints.

Then there is the by now long out of print from the late Eryc Allyn (the books TMOT-the men of Thailand-before it all was on www) with the WISYWIS system: what you see is what you say, mainly about gay relationships.

 Am not @ home now-will try to check titles/ISBN. There should also be much more already on the www

(BTW: worldwide us gays are known to use much more foul language as the usual ''general neat'' would print in dictionaries etc. Kwoy (not to confuse with the word for buffalo-kwaay) is common slang like ''dick''. For males among males. but Thai lingo is extremely rife in double-meaning words.

[ChristianPFC]

I can try. Just post it here and I will point out mistakes I notice.

 

There is a book "Thai for gay tourists" by Saksit Pakdeesiam which I own and have read once. Paiboon publishing, 325 Baht.

[Guest buckbee]

Thanks Christian, that's a useful book, this is more a quick reference thing with 50 phrases. Its half finished at the moment so I will post you a copy when I can in the next week

[Alexx]

Why not post it here and make a collection of the most useful terms? I'm sure many of us can contribute (myself included), but it would be good to have some starting point.

[Guest buckbee]

Hi Alexx, thanks, that's what I'm planning to do, its half complete, I've been busy at work but should have it finished in a few days and will post it. It will be great to get input from everyone here to make the list complete and correct so that others can use it

[pong]

There is a book "Thai for gay tourists" by Saksit Pakdeesiam which I own and have read once. Paiboon publishing, 325 Baht.

 

Thats a kind of copycat of the book I mentioned of Eryc Allyn, maybe a bit updated. I saw I paid 110 Bt for mine....(2nd hand)

 

The other books:

Outrageous Thai,

from a SIn editor, Tuttle Books, Periplus edtitions, saw it in Kinokuniya, has an extended chapter on s..x/ual matters. Deep delving Thai slang.

 

In the bedroom, out of trouble,

gay-''friendly'' with many chapters to discuss between lovers/prospective marriages. Gets edited every few years, i do not know if there is a current edition, printed in TH. is more background, useful for those perhaps thinking of long-time relations.

[Alexx]

Great buckbee, I'm looking forward to it!

[kokopelli]

Here is a website with some juicy ones but cannot copy/paste as it is protected.

 

nawcom.com/swearing/thai.htm

[Guest buckbee]

There he uses ควย khuay for dick so I'm on the right track...

[Bob]

Would note that I disagree with some of the interpretations of meanings at the nawcaw link Koko provides.  For example only, he lists "falang/farang baa" as "stupid foreigner."  That phrase means "crazy foreigner" whereas "falang ngo" means "stupid foreigner."  By the way, one can also say "falang ting tong" but that means sort of a playful/funny crazy or silly foreigner.

 

I have no clue at all what his "tob bet" (female masturbation) represents in Thai words - it makes no sense to me.  I've always understood from Thai friends that the slang for female masturbation is "dtok blaa" which literally means to "catch fish." 

 

Regardless of all that, I really see no point in learning any of these phrases as you shouldn't use them (in the wrong company, you'll get your ass kicked bigtime) and I'm doubtful that you could pronounce any of them correctly and/or with the correct tones.

[vinapu]

using foul language if one does not know local culture  in a minefield to be avoided. What may be mildly offensive for our ears can be big deal for locals.

 

Head Bob's advice from his last paragraph 

[kokopelli]

Regardless of all that, I really see no point in learning any of these phrases as you shouldn't use them (in the wrong company, you'll get your ass kicked bigtime) and I'm doubtful that you could pronounce any of them correctly and/or with the correct tones.

Wise advice; I tried some of those expressions on the bf and he was not amused. He wouldn't teach me how to pronounce them correctly.

[kokopelli]

At the risk of being knocked by a farang for deviating from topic, I do have a question regarding a Thai expression farang keenok  which I like to use. I thought it was simply a general contempt for a farang who did something stupid, But the bf said it had to do with a Cheap Charlie (his words) farang.  Any thoughts?

[Bob]

Literally, "falang kee nok" means "birdshit foreigner" and I've always understood the "key nok" part of it to simply reference a general negative (similar English adjectives might be "dumbass", "shithead", "dickhead", etc.).  I've never heard it used in reference to the notion of someone being miserly or, simply, being a "cheap charlie."  When conveying that notion, they actually often use the English ("cheap charlie!") or reference the falang as "kee niaw" (which literally means "prone to be sticky" and references that the person's money sticks to his hands as he isn't prone to give it up very often).  That's the same word in "kao niaw" or sticky rice.

 

Those two phrases contain the word "kee" (falling tone and spelled in Thai ขี้) and that word has two general meanings:

(1) Generally - shit/shitty.  The same word is a noun (shit, crap) and a verb (to shit) and I've even heard it used as an adjective.....which I guess is pretty much how we use it in English.

(2) Or it means "to be prone to be something" and usually conjures up something negative.  "Kee giat" means lazy and "kee glua" means fearful, timorous, or even shy.

 

Speaking of "kees", most of you have heard the phrase "prik kee noo" which is what they call the little Thai chili peppers.  Literally, it means "rat shit peppers"  (because, I guess, they look something similar to rat shit). 

[ChristianPFC]

Here is a website with some juicy ones but cannot copy/paste as it is protected.

 

nawcom.com/swearing/thai.htm

 

I think I came across this website before. Without Thai script, it is completely useless, those who can read and write Thai will not use it and those who can't read and write Thai will not get the correct vowel lenght and tones (and therefore will not be understood, which is a good thing in this case).

 

If you stay long enough on the message boards, you notice that some stuff gets asked/posted again and again (e.g. off fees, AEON ATM) and then you just have to copy past what you said earlier (if you can still find it, I need google to find my own posts!):

 

This is what I said here: http://bangkokbois-gay-thailand-blog.com/2013/02/28/first-timers-guide-to-bangkok-gay-gogo-bars-part-x/

 

 

kee nok and kee ngok, both are correct but have different meaning!

ฝรั่งขี้นก (farang kee nok) = bird shit foreigner (general insult for

impolite, unclean foreigners)

ฝรั่งขี้งก (farang Kee ngok) = stingy foreigner

Thanks to a Thai friend for confirming my initial suspicion. Then I found this article:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/464622-farangorigin-and-meaning-of-the-word/?p=4389007

[vinapu]

 

 

If you stay long enough on the message boards, you notice that some stuff gets asked/posted again and again (e.g. off fees, AEON ATM) and then you just have to copy past what you said earlier (if you can still find it, I need google to find my own posts!):

 

 

which is good thing as it's sign new people are coming in

[kokopelli]

I think I came across this website before. Without Thai script, it is completely useless, those who can read and write Thai will not use it and those who can't read and write Thai will not get the correct vowel lenght and tones (and therefore will not be understood, which is a good thing in this case).

 

If you stay long enough on the message boards, you notice that some stuff gets asked/posted again and again (e.g. off fees, AEON ATM) and then you just have to copy past what you said earlier (if you can still find it, I need google to find my own posts!):

 

This is what I said here: http://bangkokbois-gay-thailand-blog.com/2013/02/28/first-timers-guide-to-bangkok-gay-gogo-bars-part-x/

Based on what you posted, it seems that my bf was correct, depending on pronunciation, that farang kee nok /kee ngok can refer to a stingy or cheap charlie person. 

[kokopelli]

 Without Thai script, it is completely useless, those who can read and write Thai will not use it and those who can't read and write Thai will not get the correct vowel lenght and tones (and therefore will not be understood, which is a good thing in this case).

 

I can read, write and pronounce my name in Thai; does that count?  โกโก้

[Bob]

Good job, koko (or should I say "go (flat tone) - go (falling tone)"?).  One thing I've noticed from some language classes, dictionaries, and hearing Thais talk is that adopted foreign words said in Thai normally end with a high tone.  Listen to them, for example, say pizza, Australia, computer, etc., and it seems that the last syllable is almost always accented with a high tone.  Sounds pretty funny once you get used to it.

 

I can write my name in Thai (it's บ๊อบ) but it doesn't do me much good as Thais pronounce a "b" sound at the end of a syllable as a "p."  So I'm "Bop" to most of them.  

[Guest anonone]

This whole thread just makes me want to start up Thai lessons again.  

 

Damn, wish I had the time.