In America if a proud parent shows us pictures of the new born, regardless of the truth, we always say the little one is adorable. It would be unthinkable to state otherwise. Not so in Thailand.
You see, in Thailand one must take great care to avoid attracting the evil spirits that would take the new baby away. Consequently everyone always says the baby is ugly. Apparently the bad spirits only favor cute babies.
Here are the latest additions to the Thai English page…
Malig - is short for malignant and the word Thais use for cancer.
Boxing - anything having to do with one or more people physically fighting - with or without weapons.
Flying kites is a popular pastime activity in Thailand. The Thai word for fly kite is chuk wow. I’ve also seen it written as chak wow and shock wow. When pronounced it usually sounds more like shock wow.
Thais have adopted chak wow as a playful and euphemistic expression for masturbation. The term equates male masturbation to the hand action of flying a kite. While there are other more formal Thai words for choking one’s chicken, chak wow is most commonly used.
Thai boys typically don’t know any English words for this activity - masturbation, jack off, and so on. If you want to communicate with a boy about this form of sexual activity chak wow is your best bet.
SIDE NOTE:
In researching the various spellings for chak wow I stumbled onto a couple of interesting reads….
The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality: Thailand
A very detailed and interesting academic read on sexuality in Thia culture.
WARNING!!!!
Use of some words or phrases in this list could result in serious injury or DEATH! I’m not kidding!
How to swear, insult, cuss and curse in Thai
The discovery of these two pages has inspired the creation of a new page - Interesting Reads.
In America it is common for someone to use the word guarantee when trying to express confidence in his or her words.
That project is guaranteed to fail.
I guarantee you will love this restaurant.
If the discussion involves the purchase of goods or services, guarantee takes on a very different meaning. We all understand, usually with some written stipulations, guarantee means you get your money back if not satisfied.
In Thailand guarantee has only one meaning. The individual wants to express his or her confidence. Interestingly enough, Thais tend to speak with a great deal of confidence, even if it isn’t warranted. In any case, don’t expect to get your money back if you are not satisfied. There are no refunds in Thailand.
A reader’s question…
i hear the expression used both by thai and farang… “FANCY” i have heard it referring ot an attitude by thai boys ( eg. “its my fancy to have a youung blond falang”,) or directly from a thai boy (eg/”I fancy you sir…”) What does this mean .. Is it like pre love ???? or sexual attracction? or??
FANCY means: be to one’s taste or liking.
If a boy from your culture fancies you, is it a prelude to love or a sexual attraction?
As it relates to MBs, I have written about how it is important the boy fancies you. I don’t want to spoil everyone’s fantasy, but the reality is the working boys are in the business of creating just that…fantasy It does not mean they like you. Some boys have an age and/or looks preference, while others do not. Regardless of their preferences, how much they like you is most important. They are individual human beings, just like us. You can be the most attractive man on earth, but a real jerk. The boy may be drawn to your looks, but turned away by your behavior, and that’s true in any culture.
If a MB truly fancies you, it will be a lot less about his trying to create your fantasy. It will be more genuine, and that translates into a much better experience. From his cultural point of view, how well any boy fancies you is driven, to a large extent, by your conduct. In other words, you can be doing all the right things, by your cultural standards, and fucking up by the numbers by his.
If a MB tells you he fancies you, take it with a grain of salt. Judge this instead by his actions.
I’ve just added two more to the Thai English page…
Snake Snake Fish Fish is the direct translation of a Thai idiom that means much the same as our “Good enough for government work”, “A lick and a promise”, “Didn’t give it his all”, and the ever popular “half assed.” You probably won’t hear it said too often in English. If you do, it will most likely sound more like sah neck sah neck fis fis. If you have an opportunity to use it in conversation, and the boy understands it in English, he will probably be caught off guard and impressed. EXAMPLE - Q: Did you finish your homework? A: Snake snake fish fish.
The phrase “look same” means “appears like” or “seems to me that you are.” You look same not happy. He look same gay.
My focus here is often about Thai culture, and in particular how that translates when interacting with the boys. After everything I have said, and will continue to say, it is important to remember culture makes the boy Thai, it does not define him as an individual.
If you ask ten different people in America to define what a Christian is, you will get ten different answers. Your neighbors are most likely all part of the same culture, but none of them are exactly alike. They all have different personalities, values, prejudices, goals, ambitions, interests, and so on. Each is uniquely different, and the same is true with Thais.
The lack of cues given from an overly simplified level of communication makes it easy for us to overlook the individual and evaluate everyone based solely on their culture. Yet it is their culture that contributes to this, because Thais tend to mask their true feelings, emotions and opinions.
It’s a lot harder, perhaps impossible, for us to really know a Thai like other Thais do, but we should always remind ourselves each is uniquely different. They are, after all, human beings.
I’ve just updated the Thai English page with a new section that tries to explain how many countries of the world are pronounced by Thais.
Country Names
These are the countries I’ve identified that are pronounced so uniquely different you might not even recognize them. Others, like America, are not on the list, because they are easily understood. This list was sourced from an Isan boy who insisted all Thais say them the same way, BUT there may be slight variations. In addition, the tonal inflections are difficult to convey, so this will just give you a general idea of what to expect. You can assume the R’s are always pronounced with a rolling LR.
England - Angred
Germany - Euranamy
France - Farangses or Farangsis - note the root is farang
Ireland - Ilan - similar to Island, but drop the D
Greece - Kreech
Turkey - TurAHkey
Russia - Lasseah - basically their way of dealing with the R
Greenland - Gleenland
Saudi Arabia - Sah OO DE Arabia
Israel - Islah L
Miramar - Pamar
Cambodia - Cambolia - I’ve also heard Cambosia
Malaysia - Malays E AH
Japan - Yee Poon
Korea - Gowree - I think I’ve also heard Koree
China - Gcheen - Sounds similar to Gin or chin with the I drawn out EA or EE
This is inspired by the latest comment left by a reader. He’s just discovered that his 27 year old Thai Boy love is a money boy. Now too old to compete with the younger guys, the boy is looking for a sugar daddy to ride out the rest of his life in relative comfort.
Here is my opinion on this situation and others like it. It’s just one man’s point of view…others are welcome to chime in.
I know of several successful relationships with money boys, so it is possible. Thai love is, to a large extent, driven by the opportunity for security in life. It is often more of a practical choice than an emotional one. That said, you can never take the money boy out of a boy.
Money boys live in a uniquely different subculture, which I and most farang do not understand, and probably never will. All I can tell you is their way of looking at and dealing with things is different from other Thai boys. These boys hate what they do, and have a very low self esteem. Many turn to drugs and alcohol to numb the emotional pain they are in. This is the psychology of the boy you are in love with.
That, by itself, does not suggest a relationship with a money boy is destine to failure. But you have to ask yourself how different it is for him to have one long-term customer as apposed to a different one every night.
In this situation the boy is 27 years old. He’s aged out and never did anything along the way to better himself…WHY? It is typical for Thais to live in the moment and not think about their future, so you can’t jump to the conclusion he lacks the desire, or motivation, to better himself, but it is a red flag!
Every farang, with personal experience on the subject, has told me the same thing. The boy MUST be motivated to better himself – money boy or not. He needs to get a degree, hold down a job, or both. You may have to push him along the way, and that’s okay, but he must be doing something for his future that does not depend on YOU! If he is not willing to do this, the relationship is destine to fail.
Is this boy still living in the moment? Like his youth, you won’t be around forever. In a few more years his looks will probably fade to the point he can’t get a replacement farang. And I can assure you it’s not lost on him, money boy or not, that he can be replaced for a newer model. This dark cloud will definitely hang over your relationship with him.
Assuming the boy is truly motivated to better him self, your demonstration of an earnest commitment to help him accomplish this will be healthy for the relationship, a ray of light through that dark cloud. But you must never forget that, in his culture, actions speak louder than words. This needs to be your rule with him, as well, because he’s going to tell you anything you want to hear.
I think you need to determine weather or not this boy has the desire, and motivation, to earn back his self respect. You can not ask him directly, because he will never admit there is a problem. Tell him he must do something for his future, because you will not be around forever. Explain how you will help him get there, and set milestones he must accomplish to demonstrate his commitment. Don’t give him boyfriend status until he has shown a willingness to better himself. Even if it takes him a year to accomplish something tangible, stand your ground.
All of this assumes you sincerely want to go the distance with a boy whose looks are going to fade over the next few years. Now if all you want is a 24/7 man servant that will suck your dick, he should do just fine. He won’t be happy, and in time neither will you. Fortunately for you, he can be replaced.
While I’m on the subject of trash, here’s a new one for the Thai English page…
Thais do not understand the words trash or garbage (trash can - garbage pail), and it should go without saying “waste receptacle” won’t work either. In many cases, when looking for your trash can, the boy will try and ask where the bin is. More often he will just hold up what he wants to throw away and give you a questioning look. Even though he might know how to say bin “where is” may be outside his limited English vocabulary.
