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[Rikker]

bina, on 2006-06-14 01:48:27, said:

rikker, can u transliterate the different words u wrote?? sorry still cant really read thai though recognize most letters... am curious

thai2english.com should fill all of your transliteration needs. Past any Thai text and there you go. You can configure it under "Preferences" to use any of seven different transliteration schemes. Very useful site for learners.

[Rikker]

Rinrada, on 2006-06-14 03:51:27, said:

Nothing to do with white trash.. it purely refers to (in this case foreigners)who are tight on spending their dosh....from a Thais perspective....of course

Again, I think people are mishearing the word ขี้งก "khii ngok" as ขี้นก "khii nok".

ขี้งก "khii ngok" is a common word for stingy or greedy, but not very polite. ฝรั่งขี้งก would be a stingy farang. ยิวขี้งก would be a stingy Jew, etc. etc. It doesn't have to follow a nationality. Thais call each other ขี้งก (but probably not to one another's faces... )

ฝรั่งขี้นก "farang khii nok" is a fixed phrase--the ขี้นก part doesn't detach. It comes from the name of a variety of guava with red flesh inside. Originally referred to Thais who acted like Westerners (because they were the same on the outside different on the inside). Then came to mean Thais with bad manners, like a Westerner (i.e. breaking Thai decorum, much like a farang who didn't know proper Thai manners). Now it has come to mean a farang with bad manners, or a farang who frequents whorehouses, or Eurotrash farangs, etc.

If anyone can refute me authoritatively, please do ... I'm just still not convinced of "stingy" being a meaning for ฝรั่งขี้นก, when ขี้งก--a phonetic minimal pair!--already has that meaning. I still reserve the right to be proven wrong, though.

Edited by Rikker, 2006-06-14 22:19:31.

[meadish_sweetball]

For what it is worth, my experience of ฝรั่งขี้นก "farang khii nok" is 100% as Rikker says.

'khii ngok' and 'khii niaow' are words used for people reluctant to part with their possessions, Thai or farang.

[Postie]

"Kii Nok"...(again!)
Decribing a Tiny (as in, utterly worthless) bit of white bird shite. "Kii Mar", as in (stinking) dog shite.
"Dark ling" (and it ain't Darling) Lao for monkeys' anus.
The first two are warning/descriptive phrases. Suggesting "this is what you get, for your time and trouble...NO money/Unpleasant experience.
As with all expletives. They can be heated Abstract terms of abuse. Generally a sign of frustratioin in a social context.
OR...
"Kii mar! MEHN Wa!" When changing (wife's job) the baby's nappy...Or me dropping my guts!
Exclamation. But indicating this is being tolerated as a LABOUR OF LOVE. Hence, WE ALL LAUGH TOGETHER!
Insults...Shared experiences...Keep smiling "Waa!"

[meadish_sweetball]

Nordlys, on 2006-06-14 10:23:34, said:

I have been told "ai yun" is the derogatory term used against Japanese, though I've never been called this way in 25 years I lived in Thailand.  Can someone tell me what "yun" means and what connotation it might have, if any?

If anyone knows better feel free to correct me, but I dont think 'yun' has any other meaning than as a mildly derogatory version of Japanese, like 'Jap' - although, with an 'ai' in front, it would be more of an insult.

[Neeranam]

I heard a girl making a comment about an isarn girl today, which wasn't very nice I think - "dtang maeb" meaning no bridge of the nose. this is not as bad as "dtang boeng", meaning wide nose, which is fighting talk.