Archive for November, 2008
Polite v. vulgar: Part Three – The body
In the Thai conception of the human body, the head occupies an almost sacred position, while the feet, conversely, are considered the lowest of the low. That is why it is considered extremely rude to touch a Thai person on the head, and equally uncouth to point to something with one’s feet (indeed, the Thais have perfected a sitting position in which one’s feet are firmly tucked away).
Such conceptions of the body are reflected in Thai vocabulary. As with much other Thai vocabulary, the politer versions of the words tend ultimately to be derived from Sanksrit, while the vulgar or informal words are original Thai.
The body itself can be referred to in a number of ways in Thai. At the bottom of the rung, as it were, of informality, the body is tua (ตัว). This carries connotations beyond the physical: tua eng, for instance, means oneself, while tua lakorn is a character in a play. However, it is at the same time deeply rooted in the physical, being the classifier for animals (more on classifiers in a later post).
Even more physical is the word rang kai (ร่างกาย), which very much refers to the body as a physical, as opposed to psychological, entity. In certain contexts the body may also be referred to by either one of the two components of this word: rang or kai.
The head, meanwhile, is referred to in informal usage as hua (หัว), which extends into the metaphorical realm in the same way as the word ‘head’ does in (English (the head of an organization, for instance, is referred to as hua naa). Much more specific to the physical human head is the polite word seesa (ศีรษะ), which is what you’ll normally see in written Thai, and is the word you would use when talking to, say, a doctor.
If you want to talk about the foot, meanwhile, you would use the word thao (เท้า), a word acceptable in both formal and informal usage. However, some people use the word dteen (ตีน), which is thought of as being considerably more vulgar, and indeed is found in the construction son dteen (ส้นตีน), which literally means ‘heel’, but by extension is used as a swearword to mean something (or someone) base and vulgar. Finally, you often come across the word baat (บาท) to mean ‘foot’, particularly in reference to the Buddha’s footprints. Baat is also found in the word baat withee (บาทวิถี), the formal word for a pavement, although a Thai version of the word ‘footpath’ is more often used in general conversation.
Add comment November 17, 2008
Polite v. vulgar: Part Two – bodily functions
While in the West we can be quite squeamish when talking about bodily functions, and frequently employ euphemisms (‘going to see a man about a dog’, ‘going to powder one’s nose’), Thais generally have far fewer compunctions. This is not to say that there are not euphemisms, but their use is nowhere near as frequent, and Thais on the whole (if you’ll excuse my language), call a shit a shit.
The most useful word to know in this context is khee (ขี้). While on its own khee means something like ’shit’ (although it should be noted that while it is a rather blunt word, it is not considered swearing), in conjunction with other words is can mean almost any bodily excretion. For instance khee mook (ขี้มูก) is nasal mucus, khee huu (ขี้หู) is earwax, khee dtaa (ขี้ตา) is sleep from one’s eyes, and so on. You also find prik khee nu chillies, which in English are often called ‘bird’s eye’ chillies, but which actually translates as ‘mouse shit chillies’.
The equivalent word when it comes to urination, which means something along the lines of ‘pee’ in English, ischee (ฉี่), although in slightly more vulgar speech one might use the word yiaw (เยี่ยว), a word commonly used when talking about animals (hence the name for preserved eggs – khai yiaw maa – which literally means ‘horse piss eggs’. Appetising stuff).
A further word for poo, commonly used when talking to or about small children, is eu (อึ), a word that sounds so much like a young child straining to go, that it is surely onomatopoeic.
Of course, these words are very informal, and one would not normally use them in a formal context, or when talking to one’s doctor. Here one would use the word bpassawa (ปัสสาวะ) for urine, and tai bpassawa (ถ่ายปัสสาวะ) for urinate. Similarly, stools are utchara (อุจจาระ), and to defecate is tai utchara.
Another rather formal word for urine, and one that surely began as a euphemism, as the word otherwise means ‘to relieve’, ‘light’, ‘easy’, is bao (เบา). This word is used when talking of the Royal Family, and is also preserved in bao waan (literally ’sweet urine’) or diabetes.
Finally, Thais do sometimes employ more obvious euphemisms. If you are a woman and you bpai det dork mai (‘go to pick flowers’), you might actually be going to the loo, while the equivalent for men is bpai ying gratai (‘go to shoot rabbits’), expressions which no doubt have their origins in the fields.
If you are not in the fields, you will do your business in the hong nam (ห้องน้ำ – ‘water room’), hong suam (ห้องส้วม – ‘latrine room’), or more formally, the sukha (สุขา). This last one would seem to derive from suk, or pleasure. So glad to have got that out.
Add comment November 3, 2008
