Nicknames of Thai girls translated

mr peter says:

what do Dao, Toon, Porn, Cake and Ratt mean, anyone?-peter

Jim says:

Dao is star, Porn is blessing, Cake(?) might be guest...

mr peter says:

I know a Dao who is a star, but my GF name is Toon and I think that must mean a pain in the arse-peter

X says:

I met a girl at the Bamboo bar named Poo, wot the bloody hell does that mean. ?

David says:

X - Poo means crab - David

tonychang says:

rarther unfortunate nickname dont you think,
especially if she's a brass.

MWest says:

How about Pui?
Anyone know that one??

Anonymous says:

^It depends how "Pbui" (ปุ้ย) is used as a rootword. The nickname Pbui is either a derivative of:
1) Pbui-fai (ปุ้ยฝ้าย) --> "fluffy"; or
2) Pboom-Pbui (ปุ้มปุ้ย) --> which conjurs up imagery of "adorable plumpness"...emphasis on the plump.

jaideeman says:

How about 'Kwan'? Everyone including her family seem to use it with her. In this case her real name is Kwanjai (seen her ID). Do you think she has a nickname too if this one was given by a monk?

Errant says:

Go out and get yourself a girlfriend named Nit. See how long you can refrain from calling her Nitwit.

Bobby says:

one more....Jeab?

Cog says:

Jeab is a shortened form of L¸k Jeab (ลูกเจี๊ยบ). The nickname means chick - the newly hatched young of a chicken/bird.

Cog says:

Kwan = shortened form of Kwan-jai (ขวัญใจ); beloved; most cherished.

Kwan by itself is difficult to explain -- means one's "inner spirit".

Darkie says:

The word Ting according to may gal Ting means kitten

as for Noi , there are 3 types of Noi .

Nui , Noi and Noy all aparently different

Nui = small fat girl ...

Trakkes says:

How about 'Yo' and 'Poy'? Please? :-)

S- says:

Hey DJ, i have a few more requests...

Nita / Ammy / Pin / Natt

Anyone?

gna gna

Niall says:

Poodam,

Black crab.

Was the nickname of one girl I knew because she was very dark skinned. But she was supermodel standard, no kidding.

Gorgeous to us unsophisticated westerns ugly to a Thai. Oh well...

ozzy says:

Hi, came across a real beauty in a bar near nana plaza with the nickneme "Nan", there were also two sisters there named "Pum" and "Jum", anybody know what these could mean? I think Nan might roughly translate to river, could this be right?

On another note, i was informed by a Thai lady once that "jim" is slang for cock and "jum" is slang for pussy. Anyone else come across this?

hank says:

Anyone know what the thai nickname AE means? How about SISAKANCHANA?

Guran says:

Ae means "young". I hope she was not to "Ae" to be beyond decency and common sense.

Nick says:

I met a lady whose nickname is Tontan. Any ideas what it means?

Dick Headley says:

Sorry Nick but your question is far too sensible. You are supposed to include at least one insult with every post. I think I can answer it anyway.

I believe Thon-than means something that lasts a long time....enduring.....cheers dh (not just a pretty face)

srikanth says:

hi all ,
my gf name is preethi i m calling her sugar
is there any other name with which i can call her with love.. plz help

Jaa says:

Anybody know a nickname that means "Strong" or something around that area?

kev taylor says:

what do the names Paa, Tum, Aom and Nong mean. I know that thai girls use the word 'strong ' as meaning well hung.

pvtryan12 says:

What about Nim? Her real name is Nittaya, and she says her knickname is Nim, but I'm just curious what Nim means.

Johnny says:

Some answers I know :
Kaeng = Strong, also means stiff or vigorous.
Juu = Cock
Jim = Pussy (I know a girl called Jim)

I can't believe you left out Dtaa (or Da) which means Eye. Well I've met lots of Dtaa's, who are always full of personality and positive outlook.

My name John, could mean either Poor (Jon), Bandit or Robber (Joon). I noticed that they say it more like Jorn. I'll stick to Johnny for now (Jornny ?). So now I know why sometimes if a TG says "Name you ?" (Cher A-lai?) and I say "Jon", they would blink for a couple of seconds thinking I was poor.

Amazing how alot of their words are funny in our language, and alot of our words are funny in their language. I can't think of many other languages that have similar words let alone funny meanings.
men = stink in Thai.
I had a few laughs when I said Crocodile once.

mii sanuuk (have fun)

Maybe we could have an article on the names they like to use for us ? They seem to take great delight in using nicknames for particular farangs amongst themselves. Then again somethings are probably better left as a mystery. I'm guessing they are saying stuff like, Hairy, Stinky, Fat Guts, Sweaty, Stingy, Cheater etc...

Johnny says:

Nim = gentle

Jack Howitzer says:

Does anyone know what Pang means?

Liam says:

How about Nong and Anong? Are they the same. I think Nong means younger, but unsure.
Cheers

Billy says:

How about "Ged"? My Thai wife wont tell me what her #1 girlfriends name means.

Andy says:

Far as I know chaps; "pang" means 'broken'; "ged" translates as 'scale' as in fish scale(s); 'strong' can be translated a few ways; "kaeng (laeng)"; "nak" etc.

Robert says:

It must be remembered that we are talking about how the Thais use these words as nicknames which is not necessarily their everyday meanings.

Pang comes from a very old Thai story about a Cambodian prince lost in a forest who meets two sisters Puan and Pang. It is generally taken to mean ‘beautiful lady’

Nong is the diminutive nickname of Anong which is a proper name. Again they are taken to mean someone of great beauty.

Ged depends on whether the G is hard or soft. If hard, it depends on the Thai spelling but it is probably a reference to the Pole Star (dow Ged). However, in this case there is no reason to be embarrassed about its meaning. If the G is soft it is probably either an abbreviation of Somged – determination or Gedsupar – leader. In either case it is exclusively a man’s name and hence the embarrassment.

Robert

Anonymous says:

it depends also on the tone of the word. we've got 5 tones. say it one way and it means a totally opposite thing.

Anonymous says:

What is "Live to Learn to Live" translated into Thai?

james mc donough says:

l thai lady l know,her nick name is kung ,what is the meaning

James says:

My wife says "Ae" means "beautiful and smart"

john says:

What does Kaew mean ?

seems to be pronounced as Gail .

Dante says:

Does anyone know what the nicknames Bu, Phisao, Li and Lata mean? Thanks

sgtdem says:

I think Ged is short for Gerald (or Gerard)

Alex says:

What is "Live to learn to live" translated into thai

jerome says:

I met this girl her name is Annie - what does that mean in thai.

Johnny says:

Probably just Annie,

but an nii means, this one.

Sam says:

How ya goin, my thai g/f name is pen what does it mean.cheers

Joey says:

what about "Toy" ?? great massage from a girl with this nickname

Anonymous says:

A lame attempt at some answers......

Noi, perhaps small, little
Kaew, perhaps glass
Kung, perhaps shrimp
Bu, perhaps crab
Phet, perhaps spicy hot, perhaps diamond, depends
Phi sao, most likely older sister - fewer alternatives, the Thai almost always refer to their elders as 'phi/pi', not by name.

Like the man says, there are 5 tones.
A classic but artificial illustration from Lonely Planet:
mai mai mai mai mai - all pronounced differently means, "New wood doesn't burn, does it?"

Also, English spellings of Thai words are neither standard nor consistent. Spellings may be phonetic or they may be literal (cf. Ubon/Ubol). Yes, there is a standard, it is not in common use.

Best way to find out? Get the Thai spelling, go to one of the bookstores around Bangkok, buy an English-Thai dictionary. Benjawan Poomsan Becker's is complete but small enough for a tourist, not too expensive. Look it up yourself.

You're an ex-pat? Why aren't you taking Thai lessons?

Wombat says:

Anonymous says "Spellings may be phonetic or they may be literal". Incidentally does anyone know what a gatois is?

New York Casual says:

Sounds like a gatois is a different spelling for a katoey.

Mac says:

Wombat -

I don't know where you got 'gatois' from; I don't see it anywhere on this thread. But since we're discussing things linguistic, I would venture to guess that it is a misspelling of patois (pronounced pa-TWA), which is the dialect of the common people of a region, differing in various respects from the standard language of the rest of the country.

Alternatively, it can refer to the jargon or informal speech used by a particular social group.

So a bargirl might use a patois - either the jargon type or the Isaan dialect type - with her friends if she thinks you are trying to listen in on their conversation about you.

Wombat says:

New York Casual

Give yourself a pat on the back. Got it in one.

Mac

Sorry but thanks for playing.

If memory serves it was sometime during the late 90's that katoey began to replace gatois. Just an example of how the accepted spelling of a word can change over time.

Anonymous says:

met a girl called on g wot does this mean

Kay says:

my mum's named Tukta! when she gets older she shortens it to Tuk

Mai says:

My Cousins name is "Bui" what is the exactly meaning?

satori says:

Gratoey is actually Thai word for gay man.