Farang – a foreigner in Thailand
In Thailand you will hear the word 'farang' (Thai: ฝรั่ง) many times. Because Thai usually don't pronounce the 'r' (which they can by the way) you usually hear 'falang' around you. The Thai use the word 'farang' to indicate a white Westerner. If you come from the Netherlands, then you are a 'farang'
Origin of the word 'farang'
In the 17th century, the French were the first Westerners to establish relations with Thailand. Farang is therefore a kind of corruption of 'Frenchman'. The word 'farang' means white person, foreigner or foreigner.
Is farang offensive?
In particular, expats who have been living in Thailand for some time hate the word 'farang', they believe that Thai means it somewhat mockingly or racist. A bit comparable to the word 'black', which is an unsympathetic word in the Netherlands to indicate people of color. This feeling among expats also has to do with the fact that the normal word for foreigner is 'khon tang chat'. So normally you would expect the Thai to use 'khon tang chat' to indicate a foreigner.
Farang as a swear word
Thais sometimes use puns to make fun of a 'farang'. Farang is also the Thai word for Guava (a tropical fruit). A Thai then makes the joke: farang kin farang (chin = eat). Because a certain kind of Guava also has the name 'kee nok', which means bird droppings, you can also use the word farang insultingly. In addition, 'kee ngok', which you pronounce the same as 'kee nok', also means stingy. So when a Thai calls you 'farang kee nok', he/she is actually saying 'stingy bird shit'. You don't have to have studied the Thai language to understand that this is not meant as a compliment.
You could add that the “Khon” is missing. It's Khon Thai, Khon Angkriet etc but not khon farang. Doesn't really concern people! What is? That the foreigner often hears it as falang instead of farang (at least I think) because we mostly deal with the people from the Isaan. Ben them becomes the R a L Just like with Chinese. I noticed that my brother-in-law was amused when people in Cambodia were already talking about farangs. So less complimentary?
Now see that the writer also pointed out the lack of khon. My apologies! Good read Van Kampen!
The fact that the word “Khon” is missing from Farang has a very simple cause: grammar
Thai, Angkrit, etc. are adjectives that say something extra about the noun it stands for. In this case “Khon”, but also eg Ahaan Thai or Pasaa Angkrit.
Farang is both a noun and an adjective. It is usually used as a noun, so you don't need to add "Khon" again.
If you translate Farang as a Westerner, then you don't say "de Westerner man" in Dutch either.
How Thais see foreigners I leave in the middle, but you can't deduce anything from the fact that Khon is missing from Farang.
It is not yet agreed among linguists that the word comes from khon Francet. It is also said that the word comes from the Sanskrit 'farangi', meaning stranger.
As said before, the Thai refer to France with Farangsee and comes from Francais, so the abbreviated version Farang. I believe that the French wanted to occupy Thailand at the time and the then King Rama prevented that. Tino Kuis once wrote an article about this. Thus, all whites are called Farang. The ordinary Thai has no idea what the countries outside Thailand are or are called or where they are located. Hence.
Personally, I don't see it as an insult at all if someone calls me farang, which is pronounced falang by many Thais. The fact that they usually don't pronounce the R often has to do with the fact that they just can't, and not as stated, that they can. If one listens to the Radio or TV, to someone who speaks Thai correctly, one can hear a clear R. When many Thai people talk about a school, they say "Long Lien" although officially it is almost pronounced with a rolling R should be like,, Rong Rien” the same applies to the word,, Krap” Or Rong rehm for hotel etc. etc. A Thai who cannot pronounce it with an R, is not very happy to be pointed out. So next time someone is offended when a Thai calls him/her FALANG, just correct him in Farang, with a rolling R. 5555
Here in the Isan ( Buriram ) people can pronounce the r well, but when they speak Thai they just don't and use the l. However, as soon as they start talking Khmer and they often do that among themselves, the rs roll out very easily..
Rob Huai Rat, that's why I didn't want to generalize about the R, so I left it at, mostly or a lot. My wife and her eldest sister cannot possibly pronounce the R, while the two of their other immediate relatives can. Many of the rest of the family, and also villagers can't do it either, so you can safely speak of a lot. Even if they would like to get a job as a news speaker or moderator in TV or Radio, they are usually not hired because of this fact.
Years ago when people called me in Isaan: “falang!”…then I also found this annoying…now I am proud of it!
As far as I know, linguists agree that the word comes from the French word for Frenchman, of course a corruption of the French word for Frenchman, but then it also sounds very logical:
Frenchman = Français -> (the combination FR is difficult to pronounce for Thai people, so...) -> Farançais -> Farangçais -> (pronunciation of the R becomes L in the Thai vernacular, so...) -> Falangçais -> Falang
Although the meaning of the word farangi in Farsi (the Persian language) is foreigner, this does not coincide with the beginning of the use of the word Farang in Thailand, which is around the time of the first French in South East Asia, halfway through the 19th century. The Persian farangi has been around for much longer.
The Thai word (expression) for a white Westerner, farang, is a corruption of the Persian word 'Feringi'. The presses (Arabs?) were the first traders from the west to come into contact with Thailand. Next up were the Portuguese, a good 400 years ago. And they were called 'feringi' by the Persians in Thailand, which was corrupted to 'farang' by the local population.
And that also became the appointment for the Dutch who later settled in Ayuthia in the 17th century.
Alexander is absolutely right. Thai pronunciation is Farangsee from Francais.
I have thought for years that “Farang” came from the English word “foreigner”.
I must be wrong if I read it that way.
if is the translation and meaning, and also using it read it exactly right.
foreigner, foreigner, strange foreigner, unknown foreigner, foreigner,
foreign language, foreign, awkward. (already google)
Farang denotes the white stranger or foreigner. For Asian foreigners they use more specific names like khon Jippun, Kauree etc, probably because they were more familiar with it.
For Africans they use their color, namely Khon sii dam.
What you also hear instead of farang:
_” handsome man” have you become a little older then it becomes: “papa” (That is life!” )
In all 3 cases, your place is determined exactly!
In the Netherlands, the current trend is to ban the word allochtoon, some people involved may feel offended and others view it as discriminatory. Everyone (or should I no longer use that saying) feels discriminated against these days. Well, I don't, whatever and whatever I'm called, so any Thai may refer to me as farang/falang. Keep it all nice and simple and everyone knows what it's about.
For example, your child grew up in the Netherlands from birth. Completely Dutch except for some genes from a Thai mother. Will she or he receive a lifelong stamp that she/he is an immigrant while there is no difference with others?
Other nonsense is, for example, that those from Japan are counted among the Western immigrants by the CBS. While people from Singapore, for example, are considered to be non-western immigrants. And if the Japanese are less internationally oriented than people from Singapore, in various areas such as languages, education, culture, economy and more, then you know that pigeonhole thinking is sometimes wrong.
The definitions of the terms immigrant and autochthonous have a - at least I think so - nice consequence: almost the entire Dutch royal family is immigrant.
Only Pieter van Vollenhoven and his children are native Dutch.
All other family members were born abroad and/or have at least one parent who was born abroad and are therefore immigrants according to the definition.
By the way, I don't like being addressed with "farang". My name is Theo and not a ethnic group. When I address a Thai, I don't say “สวัสดีแคระ.” (“Hello dwarf.”).
Do not have so much trouble being addressed as farang, but can tell you that if you were born and raised in the Netherlands, have a fluent command of the language in speech and writing, even better than many 'real' Dutchmen, have completed military service, you have always worked without ever having made an appeal to social security, you have paid your tax annually, you have never been in contact with the judiciary, etc. In short, completely integrated.
I don't want to call it discrimination, but it is very crooked to be dismissed as an immigrant or even worse 'that foreigner' by compatriots and no less by official bodies and the business community.
Don't forget that a generation will also have emerged from Dutch fathers and Thai mothers, a generation that will have more or less the same qualifications as my argument.
And in the isaan you are called baxida again??
Anyone know where that comes from?
Marcel, I think from Japanese. Dialect or something. I know the Japanese word "bakketarrie" so pronounced and is a terrible Japanese insult. Maybe from there? I guess.
It is in Isan บักสีดา with the pronunciation 'bàksǐedaa'. The word bàk has many meanings such as prefix to fruits (as 'má' in Thai), term of address between young people and towards young people and it also means penis.
'bàksǐedaa' in the guava fruit, the farang fruit, and indicates a white nose
'bàkhǎm means testicles
'bàksìeeng' is a cheerful greeting between friends
Interesting.
Now I also understand why my girlfriend sometimes says mamuang and sometimes bakmuang when she talks about a mango.
I read :”The Thai use the word 'farang' to indicate a white Westerner. If you come from the Netherlands, then you are a 'farang'”
Now my question is: What then are colored Westerners called?
Black people are called negro arabs khek
More often the common ''khon phǐew dam'', people with black skin or the abusive 'khon mûut', dark, dark (in a negative sense) people. The word khàek” means guest, but is indeed also used for dark Arabs, Persians and Indians, but is generally perceived as negative.
And for people from the Isan there are also certain names chonabot and ban ohk
Strange Thais will call you Falang but the people I have daily contact with we just call lung Jacob.
People who know me call me by my name, others call me lung or just start speaking. If people talk about me by Thai people who don't know me, it's falang.
'Stingy' and 'bird shit' are pronounced differently in Thai.
Indeed, we can sometimes get annoyed by constantly hearing the word "farang". What is actually even more annoying is that people call you with "hey you". Usually I say to such a figure in Thai, if you don't know my name. You can also address me as mister. They often don't know how to behave and look at you like a cow that needs to be milked.
However, we should not forget one thing, the Thai also discriminate against their own people if they happen to be a bit darker than themselves. Experienced more than once.
I sometimes hear it, “You, you!”, when they want to get your attention.
In English it sounds a bit rude, but 9/10 times it is literally translated from Thai: “Khun, khun”, which is actually very respectful.
Actually, that person is very polite, but it comes across a bit wrong due to the poor English in the translation 🙂
I understand that they look a bit disappointed when you lecture them 🙂
Using the word farang or falang is not proper when you know or should know someone's name. If you have to pick out the white person(s) in a group of people, it is easy to talk about the farang. In a large group of people in which there is 1 Asian person whom we do not know, we would also say 'that Asian man' or 'that Asian'. If you use it to designate a specific group (too white Westerner) or to refer to an unfamiliar white person in a large group, it just makes sense to use the term. But if your in-laws and other Thai acquaintances and friends address you as farang, it is clearly disrespectful.
A normal person just asks for your name. Unknown Thai with whom I come into conversation ask my name, and then call me Rob, Robert and a minority call me Lob. A single Thai, a local abbot, stubbornly continued to call me 'falang', even when others in the party (including other monks) did call me by name. Then it's just a sign of disinterest or lack of decency, so the abbot can go up the tree from me.
About the R vs L: Among acquaintances (mostly from Khon Kaen) my love pronounced the words I could get out with an L. But when she spoke in ABT (common civilized Thai) they used an R. She could make a beautiful rolling R, better than me, and she used to tease me about it.
My ex-father-in-law never mentioned my name. He always referred to others as 'farang'. 'The farang is not here', 'The farang is sick', 'Where is the farang?' etc. And that for ten years! #@%^$#*&^()(
Well Tino, you would almost see it as a compliment, so as 'the farang' you are an object, a piece of furniture and part of the house… 555
My mother-in-law said to me during my visit last February “I don't have a daughter anymore but you are my son Rob”.
A few weeks ago, the inquisitor wrote that he had called their dog 'farang', which is also a good solution if people around you refuse to call you by name out of convenience. 😉
In the Deep South, all Muslims properly pronounce the rolling 'r'. Farang is therefore also pronounced as such. No problem at all, because Malay, their mother tongue, also knows it. Only the Thai Buddhists use the 'l' sound, but they are tpch in the minority here. In this province, more than 80 percent are Muslim and ethnic Malay.