Swearing in Thai

[Bedman]

I like to know if someones badmouthing me so I looked up A few words/phrases so I can walk away if need be, do not use ( no joke it can cause them loss of face and get you in big shit ) : but handy to lisen and know.

 

N.B. mods move this thread if you feel necessary

 

Insults

stupid ngo

buffalo kwai

crazy bah

crazy ding-dong

ugly nah gliat

ugly kee ray

 

stingy kee nee-ow

stingy kee ngok

bird shit kee nok

 

rude title for male ai

son of a bitch ai hee-ah

bastard ai wen

rude title for female ee

bitch ee hee-ah

old crow ee-gah

whore ee-dtua

 

whore gah-ree

son of a whore luke gah-ree

ladyboy katoey

 

insulting form of 'you' mung

arrogant form of 'me' goo

 

kwai

This is the Thai word for buffalo. Thais consider the animal slow and stupid so the implication is the same if directed at people.

 

nah gliat

This is a funny one. It means ugly but you will also often hear Thais use it affectionately for babies and small children. It is an old Thai superstition that you do not call babies lovely or beautiful because that may attract the attention of demons who want to whisk beautiful babies away. Of course, Thais do not actually believe this, but just in case...

 

kee nee-ow

This phrase means stingy or tight with money.

 

kee - can be the Thai word for excrement, not really as harsh as 'shit' but ruder than 'pooh'. However, in this case that is not its meaning. This word can also mean 'a tendancy to be'.

 

nee-ow - means sticky.

 

So in this case, kee nee-ow means 'a tendancy to be sticky'. That is you tend to keep hold of your money.

 

'kee nok' and 'kee ngok'

These two insults probably cause more confusion and debate than any others. This is partly because they are sometimes directed at western foreigners (farang) and partly because we don't quite know what they mean. It is also because the western ear finds it very difficult to distinguish between the 'n' sound at the start of nok and the 'ng' sound at the start of ngok. Westerners therefore often think they have heard the strong insult farang kee nok when what was actually said is the much gentler insult farang kee ngok.

 

farang kee nok - in this case kee is being used as 'shit' and nok means bird. The phrase therefore means 'bird shit foreigner' and is quite a nasty insult. However, it really isn't used all that often. It is more common that the westerner thinks that is what he heard when what was actually said is...

 

farang kee ngok - in this case kee is being used as 'a tendancy to be' and ngok implies both a tendancy to keep your own possessions and to be covetous of other people's possessions. The phrase suggests stingyness. It says that the foreigner is happy to accept Thai hospitaily but is not giving anything back.

 

ai & ee

These are insulting titles. They can be placed before other words to make them an insulting title for the person being described. ai is for men and ee is for women. They can be used to make up insults. For example the Thai word farang for westerner is not an insult. If you make it ai farang then it becomes an insult.

 

Thai people tend to look down on dark skin as ugly and a sign of being lower class. It suggests you have spent a lot of time working outdoors. So to call a woman ee dum (Ms Blacky) is insulting. You can use it with many words to form insults, e.g. ai kwai (Mr Buffalo), ee ngo (Ms Stupid), ai bah (Mr Crazy).

 

Although they are insulting terms, you will often hear Thais usng them in casual conversation. They can be used comically or fondly but you have to be very good at the language. Foreigners should not try to use them.

 

ai hee-ah / ee hee-ah - Just do not even think about using this one. 'Son of a bitch' or 'bitch' is a rough translation of this but does not begin to convey the strength of the insult. The word hee-ah is a monitor lizard but as in insult it suggests lowly, slimey and all kinds of bad things.

 

 

 

Swear Words

Here is a short list of general Thai swear words.

 

fuck yet

motherfucker yet mair

fuck you yet mung

duck fucker yet pet

cock kuay

cocksucker om kuay

dog dick kuay mah

dick gra-dor

short dick dor sun

pussy hee

pussy hoi

dog pussy hee mah

what the hell arai wah

shit kee

bullshit dtor-lair

wank (male) chuk waow (fly a kite)

wank (female) dtok bet (angling for fish)

dor sun short dick

mae meung ttai your mom is dead

naa hee cunt face

naa-yet fuckable

por meung ttai your dad is dead

shia! damn it!

tuud suei nice ass

yet mae mother fuck - heah bastard

i - saht you animal! (male)

kuai Penis (dirtyest word for penis)

Yet Kae Fuck the Crocodile

Yet Maa Fuck The Dog

Yet Mae Motherfucker

ai na son teen (to say to male)/ e na son teen (to say to female) your face looks like my feet

ai son teen! damn you!

bpaakmaa Bad mouth

e - dawg bitch/whore

e - heah bitch

e - saht you animal! (female)

e-raan slut

ga-rii prostitute (slang)

hii mae meung your mom's pussy

hii pussy (dirtyest word for pussy)

hum noi small dick

Ei Sut Bitch!

Gaak you sucker!

Gin Kii Eat Shit

Hua Quay Dick Head

I-Mok-Quay Cocksucker

Por mung dai Your dad dies

Sueak U're interfering (vv. rude)

Yet Bpet Fuck A Duck

 

Have fun and remember lisen rather than use

Edited October 16, 2010 by Bedman

[Buddy Edgewood]

Interesting stuff, thanks!

 

As I'm rarely a person who throws down insults or directly swear at someone, I'll be careful when trying to speak Thai - wouldn't want to inadvertently insult anyone.

[LazyJay]

try ee-door or ee-doc-tong to get on the wrong side of a ladyboy LOL (use at your own risk!)

[Bedman]

try ee-door or ee-doc-tong to get on the wrong side of a ladyboy LOL (use at your own risk!)

No I`mm not trying to get on the bad side of anyone,but so many times you hear another language and wonder whats said,if its insulting or not so thats why I printed something like this for last trip and learn so they don`t get so much as 1 Satang out of me for badmouthing.

[LazyJay]

no worries mate, just adding to your list mate

 

be cafeful asking for a bannana in thai, the word is very simular to kuay

[Sam Hill]

Some of your insults are simply old fashioned Thai - still heard in the villages. The schools for decades have tried to "educate" young Thais in speaking more politely. But the old terms are still used amongst friends, especially young men. If an outsider used them, it would be punch up time however.

[Airgear]

What does "Toom" mean?

 

Many years ago two girls a friend and me had BF for a few days told us that ferangs were "tooms". It was obviously an insult but they said they couldn't translate it properly. Bit like "Follest Gump" they laughed. When anyone in our company of four did anything mildly stupid the rest would call them a toom and we'd all have a laugh.

 

Our attempts to gain a better translation from other Thais always seemed to be thwarted by our BFs until we were sat talking to a Swiss man who was married to a Thai and owned a bar on Ko Samet. When we asked him what it meant I seem to remember him with a sort of annoyed or disapproving look on his face when he looked at the BFs who in turn seemed to look a bit worried that we were going to find out. My friend held up his hand and said don't worry, no need to tell us and spoil the party.

 

Has anyone heard or know what it means? I didn't spot anything like it in the above list.

[slick67]

It could be ทึ่ม Teum, which means stupid.

Or maybe ตุ่น Dtoon, which actually means mole (as in the animal), but can also mean a fool.

 

Have a look here as well: http://www.thai-language.com/id/138362

 

A page full of synonyms meaning stupid

Edited March 31, 2011 by slick67

[Airgear]

It could be ทึ่ม Teum, which means stupid.

Or maybe ตุ่น Dtoon, which actually means mole (as in the animal), but can also mean a fool.

 

Have a look here as well: http://www.thai-language.com/id/138362

 

A page full of synonyms meaning stupid

 

Thanks Slick. Not too serious an insult then and their "Follest Gump" translation was pretty close. LoL

Edited April 2, 2011 by Airgear