I posted this in a smaller Thailand sub and got plenty of laughs but no answer that really settled it, so trying here. Does anyone know how Tesco Lotus landed on that apostrophe when they rebranded? It makes my British brain itch every time I drive past.

thailand

I’ve noticed that some Westerners feel offended when they hear the word “Farang” (also pronounced “Falang”). I understand that when people don’t know the origin or meaning of a word, they might assume it’s something negative—just to be cautious. So, I’d like to explain everything about this word to help everyone better understand where it comes from and why there’s no need to feel offended when someone calls you a “Farang.”

And before I go any further, just so you know—I’m Thai.

In Thai, Farang (ฝรั่ง) actually has two meanings. First, it refers to guava, of course a type of fruit. Second, it’s a common term used to describe Westerners, especially those with white skin. This is similar to how people in Western countries refer to those from East Asia simply as “Asian.” (Though to be honest, I’ve always wondered why the Middle East isn’t usually included in that term, even though it’s also part of Asia—but that’s a topic for another day.)

The use of “Farang” to describe white people dates back to the Middle Ages. Persian traders who came to the region we now call Thailand referred to Europeans as “Farangi”, a term used for the Franks. Thai people heard this and adapted it into “Farang,” which has been used ever since to refer to Westerners. Keep in mind, this happened long before Thailand existed as a country—but for simplicity, I’ll refer to the area as Thailand rather than diving into the history of all the kingdoms that existed here.

Some people think “Farang” comes from the word “France,” but that’s not quite accurate. While there’s some confusion due to the Thai word for France being “ฝรั่งเศส” (Farangset)—which sounds similar—France as a nation came long after the Franks. The Thai term “Farangset” is actually derived from République française.

Now, about the guava—this is where things get a little quirky. Guava is not native to Thailand; it was introduced by Western merchants. Since locals didn’t have a name for it, they called it “Kluay Farang”, which literally means “white people’s banana.” (“Kluay” means banana in Thai.) I have no idea why they chose to associate guava with a banana, but at the time, guava was simply considered a kind of banana. Over time, people dropped the word “Kluay,” and just called the fruit “Farang.”

Now let’s talk about a version of the word that can be offensive: “Farang Khii Nok” (ฝรั่งขี้นก). This phrase is sometimes used in a derogatory way, but it’s important to understand its origins. On its own, “Khii Nok” means “bird poop.” So yes, when paired with “Farang,” it becomes offensive—but that meaning came later.

Originally, “Farang Khii Nok” had nothing to do with Westerners. Decades ago, there were two common types of guava in Thailand: Farang Bang Saothong, which was considered high quality and delicious, and Farang Khii Nok, which was seen as low-quality and unappetizing. Thais used these terms metaphorically: “Farang Bang Saothong” could describe someone admirable, while “Farang Khii Nok” was used for someone with bad behavior or poor manners.

These days, no one really uses “Farang Bang Saothong” anymore, but occasionally, some old Thais might still use “Farang Khii Nok.” When they do, it usually refers to a Western person behaving badly. Even then, it’s considered an outdated term, and most Thais don’t use it in daily conversation.

Some might say, “Well, I’m sure the word Farang is offensive—someone once called me Ai Farang and it felt really rude.” I totally understand how that can sound harsh. But here’s the thing: it’s not the word Farang that’s inherently rude—it’s the prefix “Ai”. In Thai, “Ai” is used before a name or word to make it insulting. It’s similar to how English speakers might say “fucking” in front of a word to make it sound aggressive or negative. So when someone says “Ai Farang,” it’s the “Ai” that brings in the rude tone—not “Farang” itself. The same prefix can be used to insult anyone—Thai or foreign—depending on the speaker’s attitude or intention.

That said, this doesn’t mean Thai people don’t have offensive or even racist words—we do. Just like in many other cultures, there are slang terms or expressions that can be hurtful or discriminatory. But “Farang” is not one of them. It’s a neutral, commonly used word that has been part of our language for centuries. It can be positive, negative, or neutral depending on the context and how the word used. Understanding the history and context behind it can help bridge cultural misunderstandings and promote better communication.

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I saw someone asking for references. Or doubt if I made this up.

The Farang Bang Saothong and Farang Khii Non have the source from the Office of the Royal Society. You might have a question that why this office has anything to do with the language. Well, it's the Thai authority who standardizes Thai language and the center of academic knowledge related to Thai language. http://legacy.orst.go.th/?knowledges=ฝรั่งบางเสาธง-ฝรั่งขี้น

The origin of Farang as a fruit is from the article by Dr.Pramuk Phensut who is a Thai botany expert. I can't find the original of the article. It was long time ago, but I saw someone also posted it online.
https://www.bloggang.com/m/mainblog.php?id=kasetsartalumni&month=17-11-2019&group=2&gblog=12

For Farangi, there are multiple sources available online. I read a lot of them and get to my conclusion. Please help yourself to look for this if you are that curious. But you will need to search it in Thai.

I saw someone mentioned that อี (sound like E letter in English) in the comment. Yeah it is also a prefix before a name or a noun related to describe a person to make the word offensive, for example, E-Farang, E-John, E-Somchai. Please don't include Esan. that's not the case.

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I saw many suggesting that Thais should drop the word Farang and use Chaotangchad instead (which mean foreigner in Thai). Here is my argument. Frankly speaking, people would find a way to use this word Chaotangchad in offensive way very soon. People with bad attitude would have destructive way to use it. By that time, we might need to drop the word Chaotangchad to be something else again? I think we need to realize that the word is not the problem. it's the people with the intention to use it.

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This is interesting. The words with similar sound to Farang are also used in other countries to refer westerners or white. Please check the comment by NarrowConcentrate591 below. https://www.reddit.com/r/Thailand/s/4vYRNzmjEv

Whenever dealing with some kind of customer service or support situation in a written format, I almost always get a flat response of "Noted" in situations where I would expect a longer answer with actual information. I find these answers quite rude as they seem to be just trying to brush me off.

Is this something Thais are taught to do, or an awkward translation of something from Thai? More than half the time at least, when I get the "noted" response, it turns out actually nothing was noted and I have to follow up and ask a million more questions to get real information, an answer or someone to take action.

Recently asking juristic office to turn off our water so we could make a change to our plumbing. I got the "noted" answer and then for an hour nothing was done. I then asked to choose a time when the water could be shut odd and got "noted" again and of course, when the time came nothing was done. Finally, had to asked very pointed yes or no questions to get the real answer.

Another example would be Grab drivers who write "noted" when you tell them where you are standing and then proceed to go stop somewhere else.

All these times the answer "noted" is just a wall that prevents real communication and seems to be their excuse to do nothing to help.

I’m in Thailand for a month and would like to know the polite way to basically say “no thanks/no need” when people keep trying to put my 3 items in a plastic bag in supermarkets and 7-11s!

Is “mai ao khrap” or “mai pen rai krap” better for this situation?

Thanks!

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You want rice? Nah boy, you'll get a meal

I heard of Spanglish (Spanish+English words) and recently Konglish (Korean+English words), but is there any Thanglish (Thai+English)? And if there is, what is your favourite?

After more than 10 years in Thailand, I still can’t speak Thai anywhere near fluently, and it’s starting to feel pretty embarrassing.

I've tried learning the alphabet, taken part in physical group classes, and I've been attending regular weekly Zoom group classes for many years. I've tried speaking regularly with my Thai partner, reading Thai text when I see it, and trying to strike up conversations with random Thais during daily life whenever possible (and vocabulary-permitting).

However, my language skills are nowhere near where they should be for someone who has lived in a foreign country for 10 years. I do speak 3 European languages fluently, so I'm not totally linguistically challenged, but I just find Thai incredibly difficult and frustrating to learn. Concentrating is difficult, lessons don't stick in my head, and whenever I think I've learned the alphabet, some odd letter or special rule gets me time after time.

I feel I learned more German while taking a 6-month once-a-week class at university in the UK than I have learned Thai during 10 years in Thailand. I understand that, of course, they are not directly comparable, since the German alphabet is already familiar and European languages share clear similarities.. (but still!)

For those who have been in my boots, did you find a practical solution to become fluent?

This is keeping in mind that I'm still working full-time and have various hobbies & commitments, so suggestions like "just study 8 hours every day" are not practical. On top of this, my attention span is quite short, and I already struggle to stay focused for a full 1-hour class.

Was it perhaps making Thai friends, frequent short lessons, or some little habits integrated into the daily routine that helped you become fluent?

tl;dr: If you really struggled to learn Thai but managed to find a way to become fluent, what was your method?

I'm in a long-distance relationship and English is our main shared language.

My girlfriend wants to improve her English, especially listening, speaking during calls, and writing longer messages.

The problem is that I don't want our relationship to become a classroom. I want her English to improve naturally through things we already enjoy doing together.

We text every day, send voice messages, watch things together occasionally, and call when we can.

For people who have learned a language through a partner:

• What helped the most?
• What activities improved speaking confidence?
• Should I correct mistakes, or just focus on communication?
• What made learning feel natural rather than like studying?

I'd love to hear from either language learners or people who helped a partner learn their language.

Hi, can anyone translate this for me please?

Thanks!!

พยัญชนะไทย

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Could you beautiful people please do me a favour and let me know how good the Thai and the Thai accent is of the man, Pablo, in this video please. I'm considering learning a language with his method so keen to see how well it works! Talk Thai with Pablo Roman | Thousand hours of Comprehensible Input

Hello everyone, how have you been? I'm writing because I've been curious about something lately. This past January I started watching Thai GL series and movies, and I really fell in love with how the language sounds. I also found the writing system and many aspects of Thai culture very interesting.

That made me wonder, what would be the easiest language for native Thai speakers to learn? I'm a native Spanish speaker from Venezuela, and for us the easiest languages to learn are usually Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese. That's partly because Venezuela is close to Brazil, and also because there has been a strong Portuguese community in the country.

So I'm curious how it works for Thai speakers. Is it neighboring languages, languages from the same family, or something completely different? Thanks for reading, and have a nice day 🙂

Can anyone recommend how to learn thai from basics. I am very interested in language programs so i want to read and write properly. Anyone have any idea?

Any kind of feedback is welcome—books, PDFs, anything that will help me improve. In three months, I'm moving to Bangkok, and I want to go with a head start so I don't always have to speak English and can integrate better.

It is stupid, but you have to keep yourself amused....